Endothelial function and short-term exposure to particulate matter in air：a Meta-analysis

RUAN Yan-ping; LIANG Rui-juan; LIAN Hui; LIU Xiao-le; FAN Zhong-jie

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-4055.2016.03.05

Abstract：Objective To review systematically the correlation between short-term exposure to particulate matter in air and endothelial function.Methods The databases of PubMed, EMbase, Cochrane Library and Web of Science were retrieved with computer taken relevant indexes of air pollution and endothelial function including reactive hyperemia index (RHI), flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and nitroglycerin-mediated dilatation (NMD) as keywords. The data and review indexes were extracted from included studies by 2 independent researchers. The pooled analysis in random effect model indicated the changes of endothelial function indexes induced by each increment of PM2.5 (10μg/m3) and each increment of black carbon (BC, 1 μg/m3).Results There were totally 12 documents eligible to the criteria. The results of Meta-analysis showed that as PM2.5 increased by 10 μg/m3 per time, FMD decreased by 0.27% (P=0.046). The grouping analysis showed that FMD changed the most significantly when duration of exposure to particulate matter was delayed 1 d. The subgroup analysis indicated that the above effect could be modified by following factors: American, population aged below 55 and population with female percentage below 50%, and the effect was more significant in groups with grouping tracking design. The results of Meta-analysis for reviewing BC and endothelial function showed that as BC increased by 1 μg/m3 per time, brachial artery diameter decreased 0.07 mm and NMD decreased by 2.46% (P=0.005,P=0.043). The correlation between BC and FMD was observed.Conclusion The decrease of endothelial function is correlated to short-term exposure to PM2.5 and BC, which provide the evidence of air pollution improving risk of cardiovascular diseases.