Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Zhang, Zilong
• Guo, Cui
• Chang, Ly-Yun
• Bo, Yacong
• Lin, Changqing
• Tam, Tony
• Hoek, Gerard
• Wong, Martin Cs
• Chan, Ta-Chien
• Lau, Alexis Kh
• Lao, Xiang Qian

Titel

Long-term exposure to ambient fine particulate matter and liver enzymes in adults: a cross-sectional study in Taiwan

Ist Teil von

• Occupational and environmental medicine (London, England), 2019-07, Vol.76 (7), p.488-494

Ort / Verlag

England

Erscheinungsjahr

2019

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Animal experiments indicate that exposure to particulate matter (PM) can induce hepatotoxic effects but epidemiological evidence is scarce. We aimed to investigate the associations between long-term exposure to PM air pollution and liver enzymes, which are biomarkers widely used for liver function assessment. A cross-sectional analysis was performed among 351 852 adult participants (mean age: 40.1 years) who participated in a standard medical screening programme in Taiwan. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT) levels were measured. A satellite-based spatio-temporal model was used to estimate the concentrations of ambient fine particles (PM with an aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 µm, PM ) at each participant's address. Linear and logistic regression models were used to investigate the associations between PM and the liver enzymes with adjustment for a wide range of potential confounders. After adjustment for confounders, every 10 µg/m increment in 2-year average PM concentration was associated with 0.02%(95% CI: -0.04% to 0.08%), 0.61% (95% CI: 0.51% to 0.70%) and 1.60% (95% CI: 1.50% to 1.70%) increases in AST, ALT and GGT levels, respectively. Consistently, the odds ratios of having elevated liver enzymes (>40 IU/L) per 10 µg/m PM increment were 1.06 (95% CI: 1.04 to 1.09), 1.09 (95% CI: 1.07 to 1.10) and 1.09 (95% CI: 1.07 to 1.11) for AST, ALT and GGT, respectively. Long-term exposure to PM was associated with increased levels of liver enzymes, especially ALT and GGT. More studies are needed to confirm our findings and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.