Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 Jul;115(7):1072-80.
doi: 10.1289/ehp.10021.

Air pollution and inflammation (interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, fibrinogen) in myocardial infarction survivors

Regina Rückerl  1 , Sonja Greven, Petter Ljungman, Pasi Aalto, Charalambos Antoniades, Tom Bellander, Niklas Berglind, Christina Chrysohoou, Francesco Forastiere, Bénédicte Jacquemin, Stephanie von Klot, Wolfgang Koenig, Helmut Küchenhoff, Timo Lanki, Juha Pekkanen, Carlo A Perucci, Alexandra Schneider, Jordi Sunyer, Annette Peters; AIRGENE Study Group
Affiliations

Air pollution and inflammation (interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, fibrinogen) in myocardial infarction survivors

Regina Rückerl et al. Environ Health Perspect. 2007 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Numerous studies have found that ambient air pollution has been associated with cardiovascular disease exacerbation.

Objectives: Given previous findings, we hypothesized that particulate air pollution might induce systemic inflammation in myocardial infarction (MI) survivors, contributing to an increased vulnerability to elevated concentrations of ambient particles.

Methods: A prospective longitudinal study of 1,003 MI survivors was performed in six European cities between May 2003 and July 2004. We compared repeated measurements of interleukin 6 (IL-6), fibrinogen, and C-reactive protein (CRP) with concurrent levels of air pollution. We collected hourly data on particle number concentrations (PNC), mass concentrations of particulate matter (PM) < 10 microm (PM(10)) and < 2.5 microm (PM(2.5)), gaseous pollutants, and meteorologic data at central monitoring sites in each city. City-specific confounder models were built for each blood marker separately, adjusting for meteorology and time-varying and time-invariant covariates. Data were analyzed with mixed-effects models.

Results: Pooled results show an increase in IL-6 when concentrations of PNC were elevated 12-17 hr before blood withdrawal [percent change of geometric mean, 2.7; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.0-4.6]. Five day cumulative exposure to PM(10) was associated with increased fibrinogen concentrations (percent change of arithmetic mean, 0.6; 95% CI, 0.1-1.1). Results remained stable for smokers, diabetics, and patients with heart failure. No consistent associations were found for CRP.

Conclusions: Results indicate an immediate response to PNC on the IL-6 level, possibly leading to the production of acute-phase proteins, as seen in increased fibrinogen levels. This might provide a link between air pollution and adverse cardiac events.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Time series of air pollution (PNC and PM2.5) and air temperature in the six European cities of the AIRGENE study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Association between PNC and PM10 and blood markers for the single cities for the a priori specified lags. (A) IL-6. (B) Fibrinogen. (C) CRP. Abbreviations: AM, arithmetic mean; GM, geometric mean.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Pooled effects of PNC on IL-6 (A) and of PM2.5 and PM10 (B) on fibrinogen, different lags. Abbreviations: AM, arithmetic mean; GM, geometric mean. Error bars indicate 95% CIs. #Heterogeneity between the cities present.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effects of PM10 on fibrinogen (5-day average) as modified by active smoking, levels of NT-proBNP and HbA1c as indicators of left ventricular dysfunction and diabetes, respectively. AM, arithmetic mean. Error bars indicate 95% CIs. aActive smokers were only present in Rome and Barcelona; interaction thus calculated only for these two cities.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Aalto P, Hameri K, Paatero P, Kulmala M, Bellander T, Berglind N, et al. Aerosol particle number concentration measurements in five European cities using TSI-3022 condensation particle counter over a three-year period during health effects of air pollution on susceptible subpopulations. J Air Waste Manag Assoc. 2005;55:1064–1076. - PubMed
    1. Akaike H. Information theory and an extension of the maximum likelihood principle. In: Petrov BN, Csaki F, editors. Second International Symposium on Information Theory. Budapest: Akademiai Kiado; 1973. pp. 267–281.
    1. Arnaud C, Burger F, Steffens S, Veillard NR, Nguyen TH, Trono D, et al. Statins reduce interleukin-6-induced C-reactive protein in human hepatocytes: new evidence for direct antiinflammatory effects of statins. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2005;25:1231–1236. - PubMed
    1. Brook R, Franklin B, Cascio WE, Hong Y, Howard G, Lipsett M, et al. 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. - PubMed
    1. Burnett RT, Dales RE, Brook JR, Raizenne ME, Krewski D. Association between ambient carbon monoxide levels and hospitalizations for congestive heart failure in the elderly in 10 Canadian cities. Epidemiology. 1997;8:162–167. - PubMed

Publication types