title: Long-term effects of elemental composition of particulate matter on inflammatory blood markers in European cohorts.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Epidemiological studies have associated long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter with increased mortality from cardiovascular and respiratory disorders. Systemic inflammation is a plausible biological mechanism behind this association. However, it is unclear how the chemical composition of PM affects inflammatory responses.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the association between long-term exposure to elemental components of PM and the inflammatory blood markers high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and fibrinogen as part of the European ESCAPE and TRANSPHORM multi-center projects.
  
  
  METHODS
  In total, 21,558 hsCRP measurements and 17,428 fibrinogen measurements from cross-sections of five and four cohort studies were available, respectively. Residential long-term concentrations of particulate matter <10μm (PM10) and <2.5μm (PM2.5) in diameter and selected elemental components (copper, iron, potassium, nickel, sulfur, silicon, vanadium, zinc) were estimated based on land-use regression models. Associations between components and inflammatory markers were estimated using linear regression models for each cohort separately. Cohort-specific results were combined using random effects meta-analysis. As a sensitivity analysis the models were additionally adjusted for PM mass.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A 5ng/m(3) increase in PM2.5 copper and a 500ng/m(3) increase in PM10 iron were associated with a 6.3% [0.7; 12.3%] and 3.6% [0.3; 7.1%] increase in hsCRP, respectively. These associations between components and fibrinogen were slightly weaker. A 10ng/m(3) increase in PM2.5 zinc was associated with a 1.2% [0.1; 2.4%] increase in fibrinogen; confidence intervals widened when additionally adjusting for PM2.5.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Long-term exposure to transition metals within ambient particulate matter, originating from traffic and industry, may be related to chronic systemic inflammation providing a link to long-term health effects of particulate matter.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany. Electronic address: regina.hampel@helmholtz-muenchen.de.
authors.forename: Regina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hampel
authors.affiliation: Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.affiliation: Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Division Environmental Epidemiology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Rob
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Beelen
authors.affiliation: Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Division Environmental Epidemiology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Department of Epidemiology, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Bert
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Brunekreef
authors.affiliation: Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany; ESC-Environmental Science Center, University of Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Josef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cyrys
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ulf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: de Faire
authors.affiliation: MRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Imperial College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Kees
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: de Hoogh
authors.affiliation: IUF Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Kateryna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fuks
authors.affiliation: Medical School, The Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.affiliation: IUF Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Anke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hüls
authors.affiliation: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Medea
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Imboden
authors.affiliation: The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Aleksandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jedynska
authors.affiliation: The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ingeborg
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kooter
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine II - Cardiology, University of Ulm Medical Center, Ulm, Germany; Deutsches Herzzentrum München, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany; DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Munich Heart Alliance, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Koenig
authors.affiliation: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Nino
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Künzli
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Leander
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Patrik
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Magnusson
authors.affiliation: Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Satu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Männistö
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Penell
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Göran
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pershagen
authors.affiliation: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Harish
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Phuleria
authors.affiliation: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Probst-Hensch
authors.affiliation: Institute for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.
authors.forename: Noreen
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pundt
authors.affiliation: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schaffner
authors.affiliation: IUF Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Düsseldorf, Germany; Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Tamara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schikowski
authors.affiliation: IUF Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Dorothea
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sugiri
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Protection, National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Pekka
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tiittanen
authors.affiliation: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Ming-Yi
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Division Environmental Epidemiology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Kathrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Protection, National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Timo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lanki
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003300:Copper / Q000032:analysis; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D005340:Fibrinogen / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood*; D007501:Iron; D016014:Linear Models; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009532:Nickel; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000737:chemistry*; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases; D013455:Sulfur / Q000032:analysis; D013995:Time; D014639:Vanadium / Q000032:analysis; D015032:Zinc / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D052638:Particulate Matter; D014639:Vanadium; D013455:Sulfur; D003300:Copper; D009532:Nickel; D005340:Fibrinogen; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D007501:Iron; D015032:Zinc
keywords: ESCAPE; Elemental components; Inflammation; Long-term exposure; Particulate matter; TRANSPHORM