Clogged Arteries near Highways

Ambient Air Pollution and the Progression of Atherosclerosis in Adults (10 page pdf, PLoS ONE 5(2), February 8, 2010)

Also discussed here: Study finds traffic pollution can speed hardening of arteries (Los Angeles Times Feb. 14, 2010)

Key Quotes:

“Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most important cause of morbidity and mortality in the developed world, and atherosclerosis is the central underlying pathology…no study has investigated the impact of ambient air pollution on the progression of atherosclerosis in humans.”

“To increase the number of subjects falling into the ‘high exposure zone’ .. we also used proximity to highways (100 m) or living within 50 m of a major road as a marker of exposure. Traffic density, and in particular diesel truck density, is much lower on main roads than on highways”

“the major weakness of the study remains the limited sample size. The percent of people living very close to highways is small, in general, and was only 1.6% in our more affluent population “

“In line with other U.S.- based air pollution studies, the effects were stronger among the socioeconomically disadvantaged, a possible marker for concomitant adverse environmental exposures, poor diet, and a more stressful life‘

“Proximity to highways may be a marker for exposure to high loads of ultrafine particles and other highly redox-active pollutants. .. The larger particles (i.e. PM2.5) may result in inflammatory reactions in the small and upper airways alike, and both types of pollution may independently enhance systemic inflammation . Second, the independent effects may indicate that both exposure assessment approaches capture similar types of pollution but on different spatial scales and concentration levels; ‘proximity’ would characterize the most extreme local conditions (hot spots) while PM2.5 captures the additional contrast occurring between geographic areas”

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