Researchers from the University of Bristol found that lifetime exposure to common pollutants PM2.5 (Particulate Matter 2.5) and NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) was linked to poorer cardiovascular health, particularly higher diastolic blood pressure in young adults (the pressure when your heart relaxes between beats). Black carbon, a component of PM2 was associated with a higher heart rate, which can be detrimental to heart health. The study used data from 3,767 participants in the Children of the 90s study, which recruited 14,500 pregnant women from the Bristol area between 1991 and 1992. Over the subsequent decades, the study followed the lives and health of those babies into adulthood, and data collection is ongoing.
Researchers used air pollution modelling based on participants’ address records to calculate average air pollution exposure each year, including PM2.5, NO2, and black carbon. This was assessed alongside eight cardiometabolic health markers (such as heart rate and blood pressure measures) recorded at a clinical assessment at 18 years of age.
Air pollution is a growing cause of disease worldwide, with the number of disability-adjusted life-years caused by ambient particulate matter increasing by 70% from 1990 to 2019.
The study raises the possibility that prolonged exposure to air pollution can negatively impact cardiometabolic health in the long run, which would have important implications for preventative healthcare and policy.
Dr Ana Goncalves Soares, Research Fellow at the University of Bristol and lead author, said “We were able to identify people’s patterns of exposure to air pollution throughout their lives and how these could impact their cardiovascular health in early adulthood, showing that people with a higher exposure to air pollution had poorer cardiovascular health. Although air pollution has decreased over the years, people, particularly from more deprived backgrounds, have been and continue to be exposed to levels above those recommended by the World Health Organisation. Policies to improve air quality are therefore extremely important to promote a healthier environment.”
Professor Nic Timpson, Principal Investigator at Children of the 90s, said “As more people around the world grow up in urban environments, it’s crucial to look at how exposure to air pollution impacts on long-term health.
“Without longitudinal studies like Children of the 90s, which started in pregnancy, we wouldn’t be able to see pattens like this emerge. This study helps us identify the time periods that are particularly sensitive to air pollution exposure, which builds on the previous body of research and could have profound impacts on policy and preventative healthcare.”
Next, the research team want to explore how socioeconomic inequalities could impact this association, as well as delving deeper into the biological mechanisms that link air pollution to poor cardiovascular health.
Paper
‘Air pollution exposure from pregnancy to 18 years and cardiovascular health in young adulthood: findings from a UK birth cohort’ by Goncalves Soares et al. is published in Environment International and can be accessed here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412025005057