Indoor black carbon and biomarkers of systemic inflammation and endothelial activation in COPD patients

Environmental Research
Eric GarshickPetros Koutrakis

Abstract

Evidence linking traffic-related particle exposure to systemic effects in chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) patients is limited. Assess relationships between indoor black carbon (BC), a tracer of traffic-related particles, and plasma biomarkers of systemic inflammation and endothelial activation. BC was measured by reflectance in fine particle samples over a mean of 7.6 days in homes of 85 COPD patients up to 4 times seasonally over a year. After the completion of sampling, plasma C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and soluble vascular adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1) were measured. Current smokers and homes with major sources of BC were excluded; therefore, indoor BC was primarily a measure of infiltrated outdoor BC. Mixed effects regression models with a random intercept for each participant were used to assess BC effects at different times (1-9 days before phlebotomy) and in the multi-day sample. Measured median BC was 0.19 µg/m3 (interquartile range, IQR=0.22 µg/m3). Adjusting for season, race, age, BMI, heart disease, diabetes, ambient temperature, relative humidity, a recent cold or similar illness, and blood draw time, there was a positive relationship between BC and CRP. The largest effect size was for B...Continue Reading

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