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Association of Roadway Proximity with Fasting Plasma Glucose and Metabolic Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease in a Cross-Sectional Study of Cardiac Catheterization Patients
Citation:
Ward-Caviness, C., W. Kraus, C. Blach, C. Haynes, E. Dowdy, M. Miranda, R. Devlin, D. Diaz-Sanchez, W. Cascio, S. Mukerjee, C. Stallings, L. Smith, S. Gregory, S. Shah, E. Hauser, AND Lucas M. Neas. Association of Roadway Proximity with Fasting Plasma Glucose and Metabolic Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease in a Cross-Sectional Study of Cardiac Catheterization Patients. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), Research Triangle Park, NC, 128(10):1007-14, (2015).
Impact/Purpose:
Impact Statement: The findings of an association between roadway proximity and the cardiovascular risk factors fasting plasma glucose and hyperlipidemia in women and African-Americans point to disproportionate health effects within the near-road environment based on gender and race. The identification of these disproportionate environmental effects on metabolic indicators of cardiovascular risk among women and African-Americans should motivate the development of strategies to understand and modify risk to achieve better long-term health outcomes among these at-risk populations.
Description:
Background: The relationship between traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) and risk factors for cardiovascular disease needs to be better understood in order to address the adverse impact o.f air pollution on human health.Objective: We examined associations between roadway proximity and traffic exposure zones, as markers of TRAP exposure, and metabolic biomarkers for cardiovascular disease risk in a cohort of patients undergoing cardiac catheterization.Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of 2,124 individuals residing in North Carolina, USA. Roadway proximity was assessed via distance to primary and secondary roadways, and we used residence in traffic exposure zones (TEZs) as a proxy for TRAP. Two categories of metabolic outcomes were studied: measures associated with glucose control and measures associated with lipid metabolism. Statistical models were adjusted for race, sex, smoking, body mass index, and socioeconomic status (SES).Results: An interquartile range (990 m) decrease in distance to roadways was associated with higher fasting plasma glucose B = 2.17 mg/dL; 95% CI: -0.24, 4.59), and the association appeared to be limited to women B = 5.16 mg/dL; 95% CI: 1.48, 8.84 compared with B = 0.14 mg/dL; 95% CI: -3.04, 3.33 in men). Residence in TEZ 5 (high-speed traffic) and TEZ 6 (stop and go traffic), the two traffic zones assumed to have the highest levels of TRAP, was positively associated with high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C; B = 8.36; 95% CI: -0.15, 16.9 and B = 5.98; 95% Cl: -3.96,15.9, for TEZ 5 and 6, respectively).Conclusion: Proxy measures of TRAP exposure were associated with intermediate metabolic traits associated with cardiovascular disease, including fasting plasma glucose and possibly HDL cholesterol.
