Air pollution and inflammatory response in myocardial infarction survivors: gene-environment interactions in a high-risk group.
Ambient air pollution has been associated with an increased risk of hospital admission and mortality in potentially susceptible subpopulations, including myocardial infarction (MI) survivors. The multicenter epidemiological study described in this report was set up to study the role of air pollution in eliciting inflammation in MI survivors in six European cities, Helsinki, Stockholm, Augsburg, Rome, Barcelona, and Athens. Outcomes of interest are plasma concentrations of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin 6 (IL-6) and the acute-phase proteins C-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen. In addition, the study was designed to assess the role of candidate gene polymorphisms hypothesized to lead to a modification of the short-term effects of ambient air pollution. In total, 1003 MI survivors were recruited and assessed with at least 2 repeated clinic visits without any signs of infections. In total, 5813 blood samples were collected, equivalent to an average of 5.8 repeated clinic visits per subject (97% of the scheduled 6 repeated visits). Subjects across the six cities varied with respect to risk factor profiles. Most of the subjects were nonsmokers, but light smokers were included in Rome, Barcelona, and Athens. Substantial inter- and intraindividual variability was observed for IL-6 and CRP. The study will permit assessing the role of cardiovascular disease risk factors, including ambient air pollution and genetic polymorphisms in candidate genes, in determining the inter- and the intraindividual variability in plasma IL-6, CRP, and fibrinogen concentrations in MI survivors.
Peters
Annette
A
GSF-National Research Center for Environment and Health, Institute of Epidemiology, Neuherberg, Germany. peters@gsf.de
Schneider
Alexandra
A
Greven
Sonja
S
Bellander
Tom
T
Forastiere
Francesco
F
Ibald-Mulli
Angela
A
Illig
Thomas
T
Jacquemin
Bénédicte
B
Katsouyanni
Klea
K
Koenig
Wolfgang
W
Lanki
Timo
T
Pekkanen
Juha
J
Pershagen
Göran
G
Picciotto
Sally
S
Rückerl
Regina
R
Rosario
Angelika Schaffrath
AS
Stefanadis
Christodoulos
C
Sunyer
Jordi
J
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000276:immunology*; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D012307:Risk Factors; D017741:Survivors
D000393:Air Pollutants