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Particulate matter and heart rate variability among elderly retirees: the Baltimore 1998 PM study

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 11, pages 116–122 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between ambient fine particle pollution and impaired cardiac autonomic control in the elderly. Heart rate variability (HRV) among 56 elderly (mean age 82) nonsmoking residents of a retirement center in Baltimore County, Maryland, was monitored for 4 weeks, from July 27 through August 22, 1998. The weather was seasonally mild (63–84°F mean daily temperature) with low to moderate levels of fine particles (PM2.5 <50 μg/m3). Two groups of approximately 30 subjects were examined on alternate days. A spline mixed-effects model revealed a negative relationship between outdoor 24-h average fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and high-frequency (HF) HRV that was consistent with our earlier Baltimore study for all but 2 days. These 2 days were the only days with significant precipitation in combination with elevated PM2.5. They were also unusual in that back-trajectoryof their air masses was distinctly different from those on the other study days, emanating from the direction of rural Pennsylvania. Mixed-effects analysis for all 24 study days showed a small negative association of outdoor PM2.5 with HF HRV (−0.03 change in log[HF HRV] for a 10 μg/m3 increment in PM2.5) after adjustment for age, sex, cardiovascular status, trend, maximum temperature, average dew point temperature, random subject intercepts, and autocorrelated residuals. After excluding study days 4 and 5, this association was strengthened (−0.07 change in log[HF HRV] for 10 μg/m3 PM2.5, 95% CI −0.13 to −0.02) and was similar to that obtained in an earlier study (−0.12 change in log[HF HRV] for a 10 μg/m3 increment in outdoor PM2.5, 95% CI −0.24 to −0.00) [Liao D., Cai J., Rosamond W.D., Barnes R.W., Hutchinson R.G., Whitsel E.A., Rautaharju P., and Heiss G. Cardiac autonomic function and incident coronary heart disease: a population-based case-cohort study. The ARIC Study. Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. Am J Epidemiol 1997: 145 (8): 696–706]. Acute (1 to 4 h) previous PM2.5 exposure did not have a stronger impact than the 24-h measure. A distributed lag model incorporating the six preceding 4-h means also did not indicate any effect greater than that observed in the 24-h measure. This study is consistent with earlier findings that exposures to PM2.5 are associated with decreased HRV in the elderly.

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Acknowledgements

The participation of D. Liao and C. Shy in this study was funded through cooperative agreement CR820076 between the Human Studies Division (National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, U.S. EPA) and the Department of Epidemiology (School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC). Health measurements were conducted in the field under contract to Westat, Contract No. 68-D-98-115. Exposure measurements were administered under EPA-NERL Contract No. 68-D5-0040 with the Research Triangle Institute (RTI). The authors would like to thank EPA field study team members Richard Kwok, Scott Rhoney, and Ed Hudgens for their dedicated efforts that resulted in the excellent data quality achieved, and Westat field supervisors Shirley Friend and Vickie Klementowicz who contributed greatly to the success of this study. The views expressed in this article are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the EPA. The research described in this article has been subject to EPA's peer and administrative review and it has been approved for publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, US EPA, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 27711

    JOHN CREASON, LUCAS NEAS & DEBRA WALSH

  2. National Exposure Research Laboratory, US EPA, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 27711

    RON WILLIAMS & LINDA SHELDON

  3. Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, Pennsylvania

    DUANPING LIAO

  4. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Public Health, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

    CARL SHY

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  1. JOHN CREASON
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Correspondence to JOHN CREASON.

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CREASON, J., NEAS, L., WALSH, D. et al. Particulate matter and heart rate variability among elderly retirees: the Baltimore 1998 PM study. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 11, 116–122 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jea.7500154

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