title: Effect Modification of Long-Term Air Pollution Exposures and the Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Disease in US Women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Ambient air pollution exposures have been frequently linked to cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. However, less is known about the populations most susceptible to these adverse effects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We assessed the associations of long-term particulate matter (PM) exposures with incident CVD in a nationwide cohort of 114 537 women in the Nurses' Health Study, and performed analyses to identify subpopulations at the greatest risk. Residential address level time-varying monthly exposures to PM2.5, PM10, and PM2.5 to 10 microns in diameter were estimated from spatio-temporal prediction models. In multivariable models, increases in all size fractions of PM were associated with small, but not statistically significant, increased risks of total CVD, coronary heart disease, and stroke. PM-associated CVD risks were statistically significantly higher among women with diabetes as compared to those without (P-for-interaction <0.0001 for PM10 and PM2.5 and 0.007 for PM2.5 to 10). For each 10 μg/m(3) increase in 12-month average PM2.5, PM2.5 to 10, and PM10, the multivariable adjusted hazard ratios were 1.44 (95% CI: 1.23 to 1.68), 1.17 (95% CI: 1.05 to 1.30), and 1.19 (95% CI: 1.10 to 1.28) among women with diabetes. There were also suggestions of higher risks among older (≥70 years) women, the obese, and those living in the Northeast and South. Smoking status and family history did not consistently modify the association between PM and CVD, and risks were most elevated with exposures in the previous 12 months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this nationwide cohort, women with diabetes were identified as the subpopulation most sensitive to the adverse cardiovascular health effects of PM.
authors.affiliation: Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (J.E.H., F.L.) Exposure, Epidemiology, and Risk Program, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA (J.E.H., F.L.).
authors.forename: Jaime E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Hart
authors.affiliation: Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, University of Maryland School of Public Health College Park, MD (R.C.P.).
authors.forename: Robin C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Puett
authors.affiliation: Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (K.M.R., C.M.A.).
authors.forename: Kathryn M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Rexrode
authors.affiliation: Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (K.M.R., C.M.A.) Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (C.M.A.).
authors.forename: Christine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Albert
authors.affiliation: Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (J.E.H., F.L.) Exposure, Epidemiology, and Risk Program, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA (J.E.H., F.L.) Exposure, Epidemiology, and Risk Program, Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA (F.L.).
authors.forename: Francine
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Laden
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D008875:Middle Aged; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D052638:Particulate Matter
keywords: air pollution; cardiovascular disease; effect modification; environment; myocardial infarction; stroke