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Results of previous studies about the acute effects of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on blood lipids were inconsistent. This study aimed to quantify the short-term effects of PM2.5 on blood lipids and estimate the modifying role of insulin resistance, reflected by the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). From September 2019 to January 2020, the study recruited 70 healthy adults from Wuhan University for a total of eight repeated data collections. At each visit, three consecutive days were monitored for personal exposure to PM2.5, and then a physical examination was carried out on the fourth day. The linear mixed-effect models were operated to investigate the impact of PM2.5 over diverse exposure windows on blood lipids. With the median of the HOMA-IR 1.820 as the cut-off point, participants were assigned to two groups for the interaction analyses. We found the overall mean level (standard deviation, SD) of PM2.5 was 38.34 (18.33) μg/m3. Additionally, with a 10 μg/m3 rise in PM2.5, the corresponding largest responses in triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), as well as high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), were −0.91% (95% confidence interval (CI): −1.63%, −0.18%), −0.33% (95% CI: −0.64%, −0.01%,), −0.94% (95% CI: −1.53%, −0.35%), and 0.67% (95% CI: 0.32%, 1.02%), respectively. The interaction analyses revealed that a significantly greater reduction in the four lipids corresponded to PM2.5 exposure when in the group with the lower HOMA-IR (<1.820). In conclusion, short-term PM2.5 exposure over specific time windows among healthy adults was associated with reduced TG, TC, as well as LDL-C levels, and elevated HDL-C. Additionally, the association of PM2.5–lipids may be modulated by insulin resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of daily mean temperature on health outcomes have been discussed in many previous studies, but few have considered the adverse impacts on upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) due to variance of temperature in one day. Diurnal temperature range (DTR) was a novel indicator calculated as maximum temperature minus minimum temperature on the same day. In this study, generalized additive model (GAM) with quasi-Poisson distribution was used to investigate the association between DTR and the number of daily outpatient visits for URTI among college students. Data about meteorological factors and air pollutants were provided by Hubei Meteorological Bureau and Wuhan Environmental Protection Bureau, respectively. Outpatient visits data were collected from the Hospital of Wuhan University from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2018. Short-term exposure to DTR was associated with the increased risk of outpatient for URTI among all college students. Per 1 °C increased in DTR was associated with 0.73% (95%CI: 0.24, 1.21) increased in outpatient visits of all college students for URTI at lag 0 day. The greatest effect values were observed in males [1.35% (95%CI: 0.33,2.39)] at lag 0-6 days, and in females [0.86% (95%CI: 0.24, 1.49)] at lag 0-1 days. DTR had more adverse health impact in autumn and winter. Public health departments should consider the negative effect of DTR to formulate more effective prevention and control measures for protecting vulnerable people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ambient air pollutants have been linked to adverse health outcomes, but evidence is still relatively rare in college students. Upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) is a common disease of respiratory system among college students. In this study, we assess the acute effect of air pollution on clinic visits of college students for URTI in Wuhan, China. Data on clinic visits due to URTI were collected from Wuhan University Hospital, meteorological factors (including daily temperature and relative humidity) provided by Wuhan Meteorological Bureau, and air pollutants by Wuhan Environmental Protection Bureau. In the present study, generalized additive model with a quasi-Poisson distribution link function was used to examine the association between ambient air pollutants (fine particulate matter (PM2.5), particulate matter (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3)) and the daily number of clinic visits of college students for URTI at Wuhan University Hospital in Wuhan, China. In the meantime, the model was adjusted for the confounding effects of long-term trends, seasonality, day of the week, public holidays, vacation, and meteorological factors. The best degrees of free in model were selected based on AIC (Akaike Information Criteria). The effect modification by gender was also examined. A total of 44,499 cases with principal diagnosis of URTI were included from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2018. In single-pollutant models, the largest increment of URTI visits were found at lag 0 day in single-day lags, and the effect values in cumulative lags were greater than those in single-day lags. PM2.5 (0.74% (95%CI: 0.05, 1.44)) at lag 0 day, PM10 (0.61% (95%CI: 0.12, 1.11)) and O3 (1.01% (95%CI: 0.24, 1.79)) at lag 0–1 days, and SO2 (9.18% (95%CI: 3.27, 15.42)) and NO2 (3.40% (95% CI:1.64, 5.19)) at lag 0–3 days were observed to be strongly and significantly associated with clinic visits for URTI. PM10 and NO2 were almost still significantly associated with URTI after controlling for the other pollutants in our two-pollutant models, where the effect value of SO2 after inclusion of O3 appeared to be the largest and the effects of NO2 were also obvious compared with the other pollutants. Subgroups analysis demonstrated that males were more vulnerable to PM10 and O3, while females seemed more vulnerable to exposure to SO2 and NO2. This study implied that short-term exposure to ambient air pollution was associated with increased risk of URTI among college students at Wuhan University Hospital in Wuhan, China. And gaseous pollutants had more negative health impact than solid pollutants. SO2 and NO2 were the major air pollutants affecting the daily number of clinic visits on URTI, to which females seemed more vulnerable than males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most studies of short-term exposure to ambient air pollution and cerebrovascular diseases focused on specific stroke-related outcomes, and results were inconsistent due to data unavailability and limited sample size. It is unclear yet how ambient air pollution contributes to the total cardiovascular mortality in central China. Daily deaths from cerebrovascular diseases were obtained from the Disease Surveillance Point System (DSPs) of Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention during the period from 2013 to 2019. Air pollution data were obtained from Wuhan Ecology and Environment Institute from 10 national air quality monitoring stations, including average daily PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, and O3. Average daily temperature and relative humidity were obtained from Wuhan Meteorological Bureau. We performed a Poisson regression in generalized additive models (GAM) to examine the association between ambient air pollution and cerebrovascular disease mortality. We observed a total of 84,811 deaths from cerebrovascular diseases from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2019 in Wuhan. Short-term exposure to PM2.5, PM10, SO2, and NO2 was positively associated with daily deaths from cerebrovascular diseases, and no significant association was found for O3. The largest effect on cerebrovascular disease mortality was found at lag0 for PM2.5 (ERR: 0.927, 95% CI: 0.749–1.105 per 10 μg/m3) and lag1 for PM10 (ERR: 0.627, 95% CI: 0.493–0.761 per 10 μg/m3), SO2 (ERR: 2.518, 95% CI: 1.914, 3.122 per 10 μg/m3), and NO2 (ERR: 1.090, 95% CI: 0.822–1.358 per 10 μg/m3). The trends across lags were statistically significant. The stratified analysis demonstrated that females were more susceptible to SO2 and NO2, while elder individuals aged above 65 years old, compared with younger people, suffered more from air pollution, especially from SO2. Short-term exposure to PM2.5, PM10, SO2, and NO2 were significantly associated with a higher risk of cerebrovascular disease mortality, and elder females seemed to suffer more from air pollution. Further research is required to reveal the underlying mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute health effects of air pollution on diabetes risk have not been fully studied in developing countries and the results remain inconsistent. This study aimed to investigate the association between short-term exposure to ambient air pollution and Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) mortality in China. Data on T2DM mortality from 2013 to 2019 were obtained from the Cause of Death Reporting System (CDRS) of Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Air pollution data for the same period were collected from 10 national air quality monitoring stations of Wuhan Ecology and Environment Institute, including daily average PM 2.5 , PM 10 , SO 2 , and NO 2. Meteorological data including daily average temperature and relative humidity were collected from Wuhan Meteorological Bureau. Generalized additive models (GAM) based on quasi-Poisson distribution were applied to evaluate the association between short-term exposure to air pollution and daily T2DM deaths. A total of 9837 T2DM deaths were recorded during the study period in Wuhan. We found that short-term exposure to PM 2.5 , PM 10 , SO 2 , and NO 2 were positively associated with T2DM mortality, and gaseous pollutants appeared to have greater effects than particulate matter (PM). For the largest effect, per 10 μg/m3 increment in PM 2.5 (lag 02), PM 10 (lag 02), SO 2 (lag 03), and NO 2 (lag 02) were significantly associated with 1.099% (95% CI: 0.451, 1.747), 1.016% (95% CI: 0.517, 1.514), 3.835% (95% CI: 1.480, 6.189), and 1.587% (95% CI: 0.646, 2.528) increase of daily T2DM deaths, respectively. Stratified analysis showed that females or elderly population aged 65 and above were more susceptible to air pollution exposure. In conclusion, short-term exposure to air pollution was significantly associated with a higher risk of T2DM mortality. Further research is required to verify our findings and elucidate the underlying mechanisms. [Display omitted] • Short-term exposure to air pollution was associated with an increased risk of T2DM. • Greater effects of gaseous pollutants than those of particulates were identified. • This study adds to the current body of literature coming from developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epidemiological evidence linking type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with air pollution is discrepant and most are restricted to the influences of air-pollutant mass concentration. This study aims to explore the effects of long-term exposure to air pollution and its metal constituents on T2DM prevalence in China. We used data on 10,253 adult residents from the baseline survey of Wuhan Chronic Disease Cohort in 2019. Ambient PM 2.5 , PM 10 and NO 2 exposure were estimated at residences based on Chinese Air Quality Reanalysis Dataset. Concentrations of 10 metal constituents were measured by 976 PM 2.5 filter samples collected from four monitoring stations. Logistic regression models were employed to examine associations of T2DM prevalence with 3-year mean concentrations of each air pollutant and PM 2.5 metal constituents prior to the baseline investigation. A total of 673 T2DM cases (6.6%) were identified. The 3-year mean exposures to PM 2.5 , PM 10 and NO 2 were 50.89 μg/m3, 82.86 μg/m3, and 39.79 μg/m3, respectively. And interquartile range (IQR) of 10 metals in PM 2.5 varied from 0.03 ng/m3 to 78.30 ng/m3. For 1 μg/m3 increment in PM 2.5 , PM 10 and NO 2 , the odds of T2DM increased by 7.2% (95%CI: 1.026, 1.136), 3.1% (95%CI: 1.013, 1.050), and 2.1% (95%CI: 1.005, 1.038) after adjusting for potential confounders. Cd and Sb in PM 2.5 were significant risk factors to T2DM with odds ratios of 1.350 (95%CI: 1.089, 1.673) and 1.389 (95%CI: 1.164, 1.658) for per IQR increase, respectively. Stratification analyses indicated that males and those aged ≥45 years were more susceptive to long-term air pollution. Long-term exposure to PM 2.5 , PM 10 and NO 2 increased T2DM prevalence in a Wuhan population, especially for men and middle-aged and elderly people. Moreover, T2DM was significantly associated with Cd and Sb in PM 2.5. Further research to validate these results and to clarify the underlying mechanisms is warranted. • Long-term exposure to PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 was positively associated with T2DM prevalence. •Cd and Sb in PM2.5 were risk factors to T2DM. •Association of air pollution and T2DM was stronger in males than in females. •Participants aged ≥45 years old were more susceptible to air pollution exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence on the associations between long-term exposure to ambient air pollutants (including particle with aerodynamic diameter ≤10 μm (PM 10), particle with aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 μm (PM 2.5), ozone (O 3), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2), and sulfur dioxide (SO 2)) and prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) remains inconclusive. This study aimed to determine the associations based on a case-control study nested in the Wuhan Chronic Disease Cohort study (WCDCS), a population-based study with baseline survey in 2019. A total of 10,253 residents living in Wuhan were recruited. The 3-year average concentrations of main pollutants (PM 10 , PM 2.5 , O 3 , NO 2 , and SO 2) at residences prior to the survey date were estimated to evaluate the long-term exposures. The generalized linear mixed models were used to investigate the changes in MetS prevalence by an IQR increases in each air pollutant exposure concentrations. Interaction effects between air pollutants and demographic, lifestyle, and dietary factors on MetS were evaluated by including an interactive item in the main model. The prevalence of MetS in Wuhan was 9.8%, and the 3-year exposure concentrations of PM 10 , PM 2.5 , O 3 , NO 2 , and SO 2 were 84.1 μg/m3, 50.5 μg/m3, 55.7 μg/m3, 46.0 μg/m3, and 9.4 μg/m3, respectively. Higher PM 10 , PM 2.5 and O 3 exposure concentrations were associated with an elevated MetS prevalence (e.g. an IQR increase in PM 2.5 , OR = 1.193, 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs): 1.028, 1.385; for O 3 , OR = 1.074, 95%CIs: 1.025, 1.124), whereas NO 2 , and SO 2 were negatively or insignificant correlated with odds of Mets (e.g. an IQR increase in NO 2 , OR = 0.865, 95%CIs: 0.795, 0.941). Males, smokers, alcohol drinkers and individuals who intake fruits occasionally exposure to PM 10 and PM 2.5 were found had a higher risk of developing MetS. Long-term exposure to higher concentrations of ambient air pollutants may elevate the prevalence of MetS in populations in Central China. Susceptible individuals especially those with unhealthy lifestyles had a higher risk for MetS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an emerging risk factor, long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) has been linked to glucose homeostasis in numerous epidemiological researches. However, the acute adverse effects of PM 2.5 exposure on glucose homeostasis among healthy population are not well described. The study aims to investigate the short-term association between PM 2.5 exposure and glucose homeostasis among the healthy populations. We scheduled 8 repeated physical examinations with venous blood collection every 1–2 weeks from 9 September 2019 to 7 January 2020 in a panel of 70 healthy adults (aged 18–26) in Wuhan, China. We measured the individual hourly PM 2.5 concentrations, fasting blood glucose (FBG), insulin (FINS) along HOMA-B and HOMA-IR. The linear mixed-effect model was conducted to evaluate the acute effect of PM 2.5 on glucose homeostasis. PM 2.5 concentrations range varied from 7.38 to 115.38 μg/m3, with an average level of 38.34 μg/m3. Each 10 μg/m3 increment in 3-days PM 2.5 moving average was associated with a 4.19% increase in FINS (95% CI: 2.35, 6.05), 5.95% increase in HOMA-B (95% CI: 3.66, 8.26), and 3.77% increase in HOMA-IR (95% CI: 1.41, 4.64), respectively. We found the adverse effect on HOMA-IR was greater in the overweight (%Change = 7.98; 95% CI: 3.54, 12.61) than in the normal-weight (%Change = 3.35; 95% CI: 1.34, 5.38). And the lifestyle factors, such as exercise also showed a modification effect on the short-term association between PM 2.5 and glucose homeostasis. Conclusively, exposure to PM 2.5 for short-term, even within hours, was positively associated with elevated IR status and impaired glucose homeostasis in the healthy population. The result may suggest a plausible biological pathway underlying PM 2.5 and metabolic events. • Short-term exposure to PM 2.5 was associated with elevated FINS, HOMA-IR, and HOMA-B. • Exposure to particulate matter impairs glucose homeostasis. • Physiological and lifestyle factors show a modification of the PM 2.5 -induced adverse health effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]