Metal composition of fine particulate air pollution and acute changes in cardiorespiratory physiology

Background Studying the physiologic effects of components of fine particulate mass (PM2.5) could contribute to a better understanding of the nature of toxicity of air pollution. Objectives We examined the relation between acute changes in cardiovascular and respiratory function, and PM 2.5-associated-metals. Methods Using generalized linear mixed models, daily changes in ambient PM2.5-associated metals were compared to daily changes in physiologic measures in 59 healthy subjects who spent 5-days near a steel plant and 5-days on a college campus. Results Interquartile increases in calcium, cadmium, lead, strontium, tin, vanadium and zinc were associated with statistically significant increases in heart rate of 1-3 beats per minute, increases of 1-3 mmHg in blood pressure and/or lung function decreases of up to 4% for total lung capacity. Conclusion Metals contained in PM2.5 were found to be associated with acute changes in cardiovascular and respiratory physiology. © 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND.