TY - JOUR

T1 - Short-term effects of physical activity, air pollution and their interaction on the cardiovascular and respiratory system

AU - Laeremans, Michelle

AU - Dons, Evi

AU - Avila-Palencia, Ione

AU - Carrasco-Turigas, Glòria

AU - Orjuela, Juan Pablo

AU - Anaya, Esther

AU - Cole-Hunter, Tom

AU - de Nazelle, Audrey

AU - Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark

AU - Standaert, Arnout

AU - Van Poppel, Martine

AU - De Boever, Patrick

AU - Int Panis, Luc

N1 - Funding Information: This research received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Program to the PASTA project under grant agreement No. 602624 (FP7-HEALTH-2013-INNOVATION-1) (Physical Activity through Sustainable Transport Approaches). Michelle Laeremans is supported by a VITO PhD scholarship (project number 1410533; www.vito.be ). Evi Dons holds a postdoctoral scholarship from FWO Research Foundation Flanders (grant number: 12L8815N; www.fwo.be ). Juan Pablo Orjuela received a beneficiary grant from Colciencias (Administrative Department of Science, Technology and Innovation of the Colombian Government) (grant number 646; www.colciencias.gov.co ). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © 2018

PY - 2018/8

Y1 - 2018/8

N2 - Physical activity (PA) in urban environments may lead to increased inhalation of air pollutants. As PA and air pollution (AP) have respectively beneficial and detrimental effects on the cardiorespiratory system, the responses to these exposures can interact. Therefore, we assessed the short-term effects of PA, AP and their interaction on a set of subclinical cardiovascular and respiratory outcomes in a panel of healthy adults: heart rate variability (HRV), retinal vessel diameters, lung function and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO). One hundred twenty two participants measured their PA level and exposure to black carbon (BC), a marker of AP exposure, with wearable sensors during an unscripted week in three different seasons. The study was part of the PASTA project in three European cities (Antwerp: 41 participants, Barcelona: 41 participants, London: 40 participants). At the end of each measurement week, the health outcomes were evaluated. Responses to PA, BC and their interaction were assessed with mixed effect regression models. Separate models were used to account for a 2-h and 24-h time window. During the 2-h time window, HRV and lung function changed statistically significantly in response to PA (METhours) and logarithmic BC (%change). Changes in HRV marked an increased sympathetic tone with both PA (logarithmic LF/HF: +7%; p < 0.01) and BC (logarithmic HF: −19%; p < 0.05). In addition, PA provoked bronchodilation which was illustrated by a significant increase in lung function (FEV1: +15.63 mL; p < 0.05). While a BC %increase was associated with a significant lung function decrease (PEF: −0.10 mL; p < 0.05), the interaction indicated a potential protective effect of PA (p < 0.05). We did not observe a response of the retinal vessel diameters. Most subclinical outcomes did not change in the 24-h time window (except for a few minor changes in LF/HF, FeNO and PEF). Our results on the separate and combined effects of short-term PA and AP exposure on subclinical markers of the cardiorespiratory system are relevant for public health. We provide insights on the physiological responses of multiple, complementary markers. This may move further research towards elucidating potential pathways to disease and the long-term clinical impact of the observed physiological changes.

AB - Physical activity (PA) in urban environments may lead to increased inhalation of air pollutants. As PA and air pollution (AP) have respectively beneficial and detrimental effects on the cardiorespiratory system, the responses to these exposures can interact. Therefore, we assessed the short-term effects of PA, AP and their interaction on a set of subclinical cardiovascular and respiratory outcomes in a panel of healthy adults: heart rate variability (HRV), retinal vessel diameters, lung function and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO). One hundred twenty two participants measured their PA level and exposure to black carbon (BC), a marker of AP exposure, with wearable sensors during an unscripted week in three different seasons. The study was part of the PASTA project in three European cities (Antwerp: 41 participants, Barcelona: 41 participants, London: 40 participants). At the end of each measurement week, the health outcomes were evaluated. Responses to PA, BC and their interaction were assessed with mixed effect regression models. Separate models were used to account for a 2-h and 24-h time window. During the 2-h time window, HRV and lung function changed statistically significantly in response to PA (METhours) and logarithmic BC (%change). Changes in HRV marked an increased sympathetic tone with both PA (logarithmic LF/HF: +7%; p < 0.01) and BC (logarithmic HF: −19%; p < 0.05). In addition, PA provoked bronchodilation which was illustrated by a significant increase in lung function (FEV1: +15.63 mL; p < 0.05). While a BC %increase was associated with a significant lung function decrease (PEF: −0.10 mL; p < 0.05), the interaction indicated a potential protective effect of PA (p < 0.05). We did not observe a response of the retinal vessel diameters. Most subclinical outcomes did not change in the 24-h time window (except for a few minor changes in LF/HF, FeNO and PEF). Our results on the separate and combined effects of short-term PA and AP exposure on subclinical markers of the cardiorespiratory system are relevant for public health. We provide insights on the physiological responses of multiple, complementary markers. This may move further research towards elucidating potential pathways to disease and the long-term clinical impact of the observed physiological changes.

KW - Black carbon

KW - CRAE

KW - FeNO

KW - Heart rate variability

KW - Lung function

KW - Retina

U2 - 10.1016/j.envint.2018.04.040

DO - 10.1016/j.envint.2018.04.040

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 29729518

AN - SCOPUS:85046433423

VL - 117

SP - 82

EP - 90

JO - Environment international

JF - Environment international

SN - 0160-4120

ER -