US EPA

1254274 

Journal Article 

The association between chronic exposure to traffic-related air pollution and ischemic heart disease 

Beckerman, BS; Jerrett, M; Finkelstein, M; Kanaroglou, P; Brook, JR; Arain, MA; Sears, MR; Stieb, D; Balmes, J; Chapman, K 

2012 

1 

Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A: Current Issues
ISSN: 1528-7394
EISSN: 1087-2620 

75 

7 

402-411 

English 

22524595 

10.1080/15287394.2012.670899 

WOS:000303594100004 

Increasing evidence links air pollution to the risk of cardiovascular disease. This study investigated the association between ischemic heart disease (IHD) prevalence and exposure to traffic-related air pollution (nitrogen dioxide [NO₂], fine particulate matter [PM₂.₅], and ozone [O₃]) in a population of susceptible subjects in Toronto. Local (NO₂) exposures were modeled using land use regression based on extensive field monitoring. Regional exposures (PM₂.₅, O₃) were modeled as confounders using inverse distance weighted interpolation based on government monitoring data. The study sample consisted of 2360 patients referred during 1992 to 1999 to a pulmonary clinic at the Toronto Western Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to diagnose or manage a respiratory complaint. IHD status was determined by clinical database linkages (ICD-9-CM 412-414). The association between IHD and air pollutants was assessed with a modified Poisson regression resulting in relative risk estimates. Confounding was controlled with individual and neighborhood-level covariates. After adjusting for multiple covariates, NO₂ was significantly associated with increased IHD risk, relative risk (RR) = 1.33 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.2, 1.47). Subjects living near major roads and highways had a trend toward an elevated risk of IHD, RR = 1.08 (95% CI: 0.99, 1.18). Regional PM₂.₅ and O₃ were not associated with risk of IHD.