title: Association between long-term exposure to traffic particles and blood pressure in the Veterans Administration Normative Aging Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Particulate air pollution is associated with cardiovascular events, but the mechanisms are not fully understood. The main objective was to assess the relationship between long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution and blood pressure (BP).
  
  
  METHODS
  The authors used longitudinal data from 853 elderly men participating in the Veterans Administration Normative Aging Study, followed during 1996-2008. Long-term average exposures to traffic particles were created from daily predictions of black carbon (BC) exposure at the geocoded address of each subject, using a validated spatiotemporal model based on ambient monitoring at 82 Boston-area locations. The authors examined the association of these exposures with BP using a mixed model. The authors included the following covariates: age, body mass index, smoking, alcohol, fasting glucose, creatinine clearance, use of cardiovascular medication, education, census-level poverty, day of week and season of clinical visit.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The authors found significant positive associations between 1-year average BC exposure and both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. An IQR increase in 1-year average BC exposure (0.32 μg/m(3)) was associated with a 2.64 mm Hg increase in systolic blood pressure (95% CI 1.47 to 3.80) and a 2.41 mm Hg increase in diastolic blood pressure (95% CI 1.77 to 3.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Long-term exposure to traffic particles is associated with increased BP, which may explain part of the association with myocardial infarctions and cardiovascular deaths reported in cohort studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA.
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.forename: Stacey E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Alexeeff
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mordukhovich
authors.forename: Alexandros
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gryparis
authors.forename: Pantel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vokonas
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.forename: Brent A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Coull
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects*; D001900:Boston; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000139:chemically induced*; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016014:Linear Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D053260:Soot / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D053260:Soot; D001335:Vehicle Emissions