title: Long-term exposure to particulate matter in relation to mortality and incidence of cardiovascular disease: the JPHC Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Associations between long-term exposure to particulate matter (PM) and increased cardiovascular mortality have been reported, but few studies have investigated the associated incidence of cardiovascular disease, and none involved men.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used data on 78,057 participants (37,121 men, 40,936 women) to examine the associations of long-term exposure to PM with mortality and the incidence of cardiovascular diseases. Average PM levels in the relevant area during the study period were used as an index of individual exposure to each subject. Cox models adjusted for age, sex, smoking, environmental smoking, body mass index, and alcohol consumption were used, with further adjustments for nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide exposure, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, and diabetes mellitus.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Increased PM levels were associated with an increased risk of incident coronary heart disease (CHD) and myocardial infarction (MI), particularly among smokers (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) per 10 µg/m(3) increase in PM for CHD: 1.39, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.93; for MI: 1.52, 1.08-2.13) and among women (for CHD: 1.63, 0.91-2.92; for MI: 1.99, 1.07-3.70); however, the observed positive association of PM exposure with the incidence of CHD and MI was not robust, and the association disappeared when one of the areas (Akita) was excluded. The association with CHD mortality was not statistically significant (adjusted HR per 10 µg/m(3) increase in PM: 1.11, 0.92-1.33). There was an inverse association of long-term PM exposure with stroke mortality and incidence. There was no clear association between PM levels and lung cancer mortality and incidence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Long-term exposure to PM might increase the risk of incident CHD in middle-aged Japanese men and women. Our findings also suggest that women and smokers are especially vulnerable to PM exposure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Medicine, Toho University, Tokyo 143-8540, Japan. yuuji.nishiwaki@med.toho-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nishiwaki
authors.forename: Takehiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Michikawa
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takebayashi
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nitta
authors.forename: Hiroyasu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iso
authors.forename: Manami
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Shoichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tsugane
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010316:Particle Size
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants