Differences in Heart Rate Variability Associated with Long-Term Exposure to${\rm NO}_{2}$

Media type: E-Article

Title: Differences in Heart Rate Variability Associated with Long-Term Exposure to${\rm NO}_{2}$

Contributor: Dietrich, Denise Felber; Gemperli, Armin; Gaspoz, Jean-Michel; Schindler, Christian; Liu, L.-J. Sally; Gold, Diane R.; Schwartz, Joel; Rochat, Thierry; Barthélémy, Jean-Claude; Pons, Marco; Roche, Frédéric; Hensch, Nicole M. Probst; Bridevaux, Pierre-Olivier; Gerbase, Margaret W.; Neu, Urs; Ackermann-Liebrich, Ursula

imprint: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 2008

Language: English

ISSN: 0091-6765

Keywords: Research

Origination:

Footnote:

Description: <p>Background: Heart rate variability (HRV), a measure of cardiac autonomic tone, has been associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Short-term studies have shown that subjects exposed to higher traffic-associated air pollutant levels have lower HRV. Objective: Our objective was to investigate the effect of long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide on HRV in the Swiss cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA). Methods: We recorded 24-hr electrocardiograms in randomly selected SAPALDIA participants ≥ 50 years of age. Other examinations included an interview investigating health status and measurements of blood pressure, body height, and weight. Annual exposure to ${\rm NO}_{2}$ at the address of residence was predicted by hybrid models (i.e., a combination of dispersion predictions, land-use, and meteorologic parameters). We estimated the association between ${\rm NO}_{2}$ and HRV in multivariable linear regression models. Complete data for analyses were available for 1,408 subjects. Results: For women, but not for men, each $10\text{-}\mu {\rm g}/{\rm m}^{3}$ increment in 1-year averaged ${\rm NO}_{2}$ level was associated with a decrement of 3% (95% CI, -4 to -1) for the standard deviation of all normal-to-normal RR intervals (SDNN), -6% (95% CI, -11 to -1) for nighttime low frequency (LF), and -5% (95% CI, -9 to 0) for nighttime LF/high-frequency (HF) ratio. We saw no significant effect for 24-hr total power (TP), HF, LF, or LF/HF or for nighttime SDNN, TP, or HF. In subjects with self-reported cardiovascular problems, SDNN decreased by 4% (95% CI, -8 to -1) per $10\text{-}\mu {\rm g}/{\rm m}^{3}$ increase in ${\rm NO}_{2}$. Conclusions: There is some evidence that long-term exposure to ${\rm NO}_{2}$ is associated with cardiac astonomic dysfunction in elderly women and in subjects with cardiovascular disease.</p>

Access State: Open Access

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