Long-term exposure to air pollution and risk of Sarcopenia in adult residents of Taiwan: a nationwide retrospective cohort study.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Sarcopenia is an age-related, multifactorial syndrome. Previous studies have shown that air pollutants are associated with inflammation and oxidative stress. However, the association between long-term exposure to air pollution and sarcopenia is not completely understood.

METHODS:

The Taiwan National Health Research Database (NHIRD) contains medical records of almost all Taiwanese residents. Daily air pollution data collected by the Taiwan Environmental Protection Agency was used to analyze concentrations of sulfur oxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen monoxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10). The databases were merged according to the insurants' living area and the location of the air quality monitoring station. We categorized the pollutants into quartiles (Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4).

RESULTS:

Our study population consisted of 286,044 patients, among whom 54.9% were female and 45.1% were male. Compared to Q1 levels of pollutants, Q4 levels of SO2 (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 8.43; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 7.84, 9.07); CO (aHR = 3.03; 95%CI = 2.83, 3.25); NO (aHR = 3.47; 95%CI = 3.23, 3.73); NO2 (aHR = 3.72; 95%CI = 3.48, 3.98); PM2.5 (aHR = 21.9; 95% CI = 19.7, 24.5) and PM10 (aHR = 15.6; 95%CI = 14.1, 17.4) increased risk of sarcopenia.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our findings indicated a significantly increased risk of sarcopenia in both male and female residents exposed to high levels of air pollutants.

• Authors: Ssu-Wen Chen, Chih-Ying Lin, Chiu-Ying Chen, Cheng-Li Lin, Tsai-Ling Hsieh, Fuu-Jen Tsai, Kuang-Hsi Chang
• Journal: BMC public health (BMC Public Health) Vol. 23 Issue 1 Pg. 2172 (11 06 2023) ISSN: 1471-2458 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 37932727 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: © 2023. The Author(s).

Chemical References

• Nitrogen Dioxide
• Air Pollutants
• Particulate Matter
• Environmental Pollutants
• Sulfur Dioxide

Topics

• Humans
• Male
• Adult
• Female
• Nitrogen Dioxide (analysis)
• Retrospective Studies
• Taiwan (epidemiology)
• Sarcopenia (chemically induced)
• Air Pollution (adverse effects)
• Air Pollutants (analysis)
• Particulate Matter (analysis)
• Environmental Pollutants
• Environmental Exposure (adverse effects)
• Sulfur Dioxide (analysis)