Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T04:28:30.417Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Air pollution and carotid arterial stiffness in children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 March 2010

Arcangelo Iannuzzi ,
Maria Carmela Verga ,
Maurizio Renis ,
Alfonso Schiavo ,
Vittorio Salvatore ,
Carlo Santoriello ,
Dario Pazzano ,
Maria Rosaria Licenziati  and
Mario Polverino
Arcangelo Iannuzzi*
Affiliation:
Division of Internal Medicine, A Cardarelli Hospital, Napoli, Italy
Maria Carmela Verga
Affiliation:
Ambulatory Pediatrician, Azienda Sanitaria Locale (ASL) Salerno, Italy
Maurizio Renis
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine and Medical Specialities, Azienda Sanitaria Locale (ASL) Salerno, Italy
Alfonso Schiavo
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine and Medical Specialities, Azienda Sanitaria Locale (ASL) Salerno, Italy
Vittorio Salvatore
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine and Medical Specialities, Azienda Sanitaria Locale (ASL) Salerno, Italy
Carlo Santoriello
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine and Medical Specialities, Azienda Sanitaria Locale (ASL) Salerno, Italy
Dario Pazzano
Affiliation:
Division of Internal Medicine, A Cardarelli Hospital, Napoli, Italy
Maria Rosaria Licenziati
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, A Cardarelli Hospital, Napoli, Italy
Mario Polverino
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine and Medical Specialities, Azienda Sanitaria Locale (ASL) Salerno, Italy
*
Correspondence to: Arcangelo Iannuzzi, MD, Division of Internal Medicine, A. Cardarelli Hospital, Via A Cardarelli, 9 – 80131, Napoli, Italy. Tel: +39 0818845386; Fax: +39 0817472121; E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background and purpose

Many studies unequivocally indicate that air pollution is directly linked to the adverse cardiovascular outcomes in the general population. No data are currently available on cardiovascular effects of exposure to trafficked roads in healthy children. Distance of the residence to a major road has been shown to be a useful proxy for long-term traffic exposure and seem to be more consistently associated with atherosclerosis than particulate matter2.5. The aim of this study was to investigate a possible association between the distance to a major road and carotid arterial subclinical markers of atherosclerosis in a group of children in Italy.

Methods

The participants consisted of 52 healthy children living in a small town of the Amalphitan Coast with only one highly trafficked road. All children underwent an ultrasound carotid arterial examination.

Results

A statistically significant difference was found in carotid arterial stiffness between children living closer to the main street and other children, both those living between 330 and 730 metres from the main street and those living more than 750 metres from the main street. No significant differences were detectable in carotid arterial thickness and arterial blood pressure among the three groups of children.

Conclusion

This study provides evidence in support of an association of exposure to air pollution with early atherosclerotic markers in healthy children. Impaired vascular health in childhood and adolescence gives further substance to the hypothesis that traffic exhausts are relevant to cardiovascular diseases even early in life.

Keywords

Childhoodarteriesatherosclerosisenvironment
Type
Original Articles
Information
Cardiology in the Young , Volume 20 , Issue 2 , April 2010 , pp. 186 - 190
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Brook, RD, Franklin, B, Cascio, W, et al. Expert panel on Population and Prevention Science of the American Heart Association. Air pollution and cardiovascular disease: a statement for healthcare professionals from the expert panel on population and prevention science of the American Heart Association. Circulation 2004; 109: 2655–2671.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2.Hoffmann, B, Moebus, S, Mohlenkamp, , et al. . for the Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study Investigative Group. Residential exposure to traffic is associated with coronary atherosclerosis. Circulation 2007; 116: 489–496.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3.Hoek, G, Brunekreef, B, Goldbohm, S, et al. Association between mortality and indicators of traffic-related air pollution in the Netherlands: a cohort study. Lancet 2002; 360: 1203–1209.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4.Laden, F, Neas, LM, Dockery, DW, van den Brandt, PA. Association of fine particulate matter from different sources with daily mortality in six US cities. Environ Health Perspect 2000; 108: 941–947.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5.Lanki, T, de Hartog, JJ, Heinrich, J, et al. Can we identify sources of fine particles responsible for exercise-induced ischemia on days with elevated air pollution? The ULTRA Study. Environ Health Perspect 2006; 114: 655–660.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6.Seagrave, J, McDonald, JD, Bedrick, E, et al. Lung toxicity of ambient particulate matter from southeastern US sites with different contributing sources: relationships between composition and effects. Environ Health Perspect 2006; 114: 1387–1393.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7.Künzli, N, Jerrett, M, Mack, WJ, et al. Ambient air pollution and atherosclerosis in Los Angeles. Environ Health Perspect 2005; 113: 201–206.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8.Naya, T, Hosomi, N, Ohyama, H, et al. Smoking, fasting serum insulin, and obesity are the predictors of carotid atherosclerosis in relatively young subjects. Angiology 2007; 58: 677–684.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9.Ishizu, T, Ishimitsu, T, Yanagi, H, et al. Effect of age on carotid arterial intima-media thickness in childhood. Heart Vessels 2004; 19: 189–195.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10.Iannuzzi, A, Licenziati, MR, Acampora, C, et al. Carotid artery stiffness in obese children with the metabolic syndrome. Am J Cardiol 2006; 97: 528–531.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11.Briet, M, Collin, C, Laurent, S, et al. Endothelial function and chronic exposure to air pollution in normal male subjects. Hypertension 2007; 50: 970–976.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12.Brook, RD. Air pollution: what is bad for the arteries might be bad for the veins. Arch Intern Med 2008; 168: 909–911.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13.Simkhovich, BZ, Kleinman, MT, Kloner, RA. Air pollution and cardiovascular injury: Epidemiology, toxicology, and mechanisms. J Am Coll Cardiol 2008; 52: 719–726.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14.Ruidavets, JB, Cournot, M, Cassadou, S, Giroux, M, Meybeck, M, Ferrieres, J. Ozone air pollution is associated with acute myocardial infarction. Circulation 2005; 111: 563–569.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15.Diez Roux, AV, Auchincloss, AH, Franklin, TG, et al. Long-term Exposure to Ambient Particulate Matter and Prevalence of Subclinical Atherosclerosis in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Am J Epidemiol 2008; 167: 667–675.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
16.Miller, KA, Siscovick, DS, Sheppard, L, et al. Long-term exposure to air pollution and incidence of cardiovascular events in women. N Engl J Med 2007; 356: 447–458.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17.Aggoun, Y, Bonnet, D, Sidi, D, et al. Arterial mechanical changes in children with familial hypercholesterolemia. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2000; 20: 2070–2075.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18.Rubba, P, Iannuzzi, A, Faccenda, F, De Leo, F, Pauciullo, P. Non-invasive vascular detection of early signs of atherosclerosis in hypercholesterolemic children: why and how. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 2001; 11 (Suppl. 5): 10–15.Google Scholar