Skip Navigation
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.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Use this QR code to view the newest version of this document
Use this QR code to view the newest version of this document

Your Environment. Your Health.

Publication Detail

Title: Air pollution exposure and telomere length in highly exposed subjects in Beijing, China: a repeated-measure study.

Authors: Hou, Lifang; Wang, Sheng; Dou, Chang; Zhang, Xiao; Yu, Yue; Zheng, Yinan; Avula, Umakanth; Hoxha, Mirjam; Diaz, Anaite; McCracken, John; Barretta, Francesco; Marinelli, Barbara; Bertazzi, Pier Alberto; Schwartz, Joel; Baccarelli, Andrea A

Published In Environ Int, (2012 Nov 1)

Abstract: Ambient particulate matter (PM) exposure has been associated with short- and long-term effects on cardiovascular disease (CVD). Telomere length (TL) is a biomarker of CVD risk that is modified by inflammation and oxidative stress, two key pathways for PM effects. Whether PM exposure modifies TL is largely unexplored.To investigate effects of PM on blood TL in a highly-exposed population.We measured blood TL in 120 blood samples from truck drivers and 120 blood samples from office workers in Beijing, China. We measured personal PM(2.5) and Elemental Carbon (EC, a tracer of traffic particles) using light-weight monitors. Ambient PM(10) was obtained from local monitoring stations. We used covariate-adjusted regression models to estimate percent changes in TL per an interquartile-range increase in exposure.Covariate-adjusted TL was higher in drivers (mean=0.87, 95%CI: 0.74; 1.03) than in office workers (mean=0.79, 95%CI: 0.67; 0.93; p=0.001). In all participants combined, TL increased in association with personal PM(2.5) (+5.2%, 95%CI: 1.5; 9.1; p=0.007), personal EC (+4.9%, 95%CI: 1.2; 8.8; p=0.01), and ambient PM(10) (+7.7%, 95%CI: 3.7; 11.9; p<0.001) on examination days. In contrast, average ambient PM(10) over the 14 days before the examinations was significantly associated with shorter TL (-9.9%, 95%CI: -17.6; -1.5; p=0.02).Short-term exposure to ambient PM is associated with increased blood TL, consistent with TL roles during acute inflammatory responses. Longer exposures may shorten TL as expected after prolonged pro-oxidant exposures. The observed TL alterations may participate in the biological pathways of short- and long-term PM effects.

PubMed ID: 22871507 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: No MeSH terms associated with this publication

Back
to Top