Effects of physical activity and air pollution on blood pressure

Ione Avila-Palencia, Michelle Laeremans, Barbara Hoffmann, Esther Anaya-Boig, Glòria Carrasco-Turigas, Tom Cole-Hunter, Audrey de Nazelle, Evi Dons, Thomas Götschi, Luc Int Panis, Juan Pablo Orjuela, Arnout Standaert, Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

20 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Aim: To assess the main and interaction effects of black carbon and physical activity on arterial blood pressure in a healthy adult population from three European cities using objective personal measurements over short-term (hours and days) and long-term exposure. Methods: A panel study of 122 healthy adults was performed in three European cities (Antwerp, Barcelona, and London). In 3 seasons between March 2015 and March 2016, each participant wore sensors for one week to objectively measure their exposure to black carbon and monitor their physical activity continuously. Blood pressure was assessed three times during the week: at the beginning (day 0), in the middle (day 4), and at the end (day 7). Associations of black carbon and physical activity with blood pressure and their interactions were investigated with linear regression models and multiplicative interaction terms, adjusting for all the potential confounders. Results: In multiple exposure models, we did not see any effects of black carbon on blood pressure but did see effects on systolic blood pressure of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity effect that were statistically significant from 1 h to 8 h after exposure and for long-term exposure. For a 1METhour increase of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, the difference in the expected mean systolic blood pressure varied from −1.46 mmHg (95%CI -2.11, −0.80) for 1 h mean exposure, to −0.29 mmHg (95%CI -0.55, −0.03) for 8 h mean exposure, and −0.05 mmHg (95%CI -0.09, −0.00) for long-term exposure. There were little to no interaction effects. Conclusions: Results from this study provide evidence that short-term and long-term exposure to moderate-to-vigorous physical activity is associated with a decrease in systolic blood pressure levels. We did not find evidence for a consistent main effect of black carbon on blood pressure, nor any interaction between black carbon and physical activity levels.

Original languageEnglish
JournalEnvironmental Research
Volume173
Pages (from-to)387-396
Number of pages10
ISSN0013-9351
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2019
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the European project PASTA, which had partners in London, Rome, Antwerp, Örebro, Vienna, Zurich, and Barcelona. PASTA ( http://www.pastaproject.eu/ ) was a 4-year project funded by the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program under EC-GA No. 602624-2 (FP7-HEALTH-2013-INNOVATION-1). ML was supported by a VITO PhD scholarship (project number 1410533 ; www.vito.be ). ED was supported by a postdoctoral scholarship from FWO Research Foundation Flanders (grant number: 12L8815N ; www.fwo.be ). JPO 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 funding sources had no involvement in the study. MJN had full access to all the data in the study and had final responsibility for the decision to submit for publication.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Inc.

Keywords

  • Black carbon
  • Blood pressure
  • Cities
  • Physical activity
  • Seasons

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