Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Original Article
  • Published:

Impact of traffic-related air pollution on acute changes in cardiac autonomic modulation during rest and physical activity: a cross-over study

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 26, pages 133–140 (2016)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

People are often exposed to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) during physical activity (PA), but it is not clear if PA modifies the impact of TRAP on cardiac autonomic modulation. We conducted a panel study among 28 healthy adults in Barcelona, Spain to examine how PA may modify the impact of TRAP on cardiac autonomic regulation. Participants completed four 2-h exposure scenarios that included either rest or intermittent exercise in high- and low-traffic environments. Time- and frequency-domain measures of heart rate variability (HRV) were monitored during each exposure period along with continuous measures of TRAP. Linear mixed-effects models were used to estimate the impact of TRAP on HRV as well as potential effect modification by PA. Exposure to TRAP was associated with consistent decreases in HRV; however, exposure–response relationships were not always linear over the broad range of exposures. For example, each 10 μg/m3 increase in black carbon was associated with a 23% (95% CI: −31, −13) decrease in high frequency power at the low-traffic site, whereas no association was observed at the high-traffic site. PA modified the impact of TRAP on HRV at the high-traffic site and tended to weaken inverse associations with measures reflecting parasympathetic modulation (P≤0.001). Evidence of effect modification at the low-traffic site was less consistent. The strength and direction of the relationship between TRAP and HRV may vary across exposure gradients. PA may modify the impact of TRAP on HRV, particularly at higher concentrations.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

BC:

black carbon

BMI:

body mass index

BP:

blood pressure

b.p.m.:

beats per minute

HF:

high frequency power

HR:

heart rate

HRV:

heart rate variability

LAeq:

A-weighted decibels (dB) of sound pressure

LF:

low frequency power

LF:HF:

ratio of low to high frequency power

NO:

nitrogen oxide

NO2:

nitrogen dioxide

NOX:

nitrogen oxides

PM2.5:

particulate matter ≤2.5 μm (fine)

RMSSD:

root mean square of successive differences in adjacent NN intervals

SDNN:

standard deviation of normal to normal intervals

TRAP:

traffic-related air pollution

UFP:

ultrafine particle.

References

  1. Weichenthal S . Selected physiological effects of ultrafine particles in acute cardiovascular morbidity. Environ Res 2012; 115: 26–36.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Pope CA, Verrier RL, Lovett EG, Larson a C, Raizenne ME, Kanner RE et al. Heart rate variability associated with particulate air pollution. Am Heart J 1999; 138 (Pt 1): 890–899.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Pieters N, Plusquin M, Cox B, Kicinski M, Vangronsveld J, Nawrot TS . An epidemiological appraisal of the association between heart rate variability and particulate air pollution: a meta-analysis. Heart 2012; 98: 1127–1135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Weichenthal S, Kulka R, Dubeau A, Martin C, Wang D, Dales R . Traffic-related air pollution and acute changes in heart rate variability and respiratory function in urban cyclists. Environ Health Perspect 2011; 119: 1373–1378.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Weichenthal S, Hatzopoulou M, Goldberg MS . Exposure to traffic-related air pollution during physical activity and acute changes in blood pressure, autonomic and micro-vascular function in women: a cross-over study. Part Fibre Toxicol 2014; 11: 70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. De Hartog J, Boogaard H, Nijland H, Hoek G . Do the health benefits of cycling outweigh the risks? Environ Health Perspect 2010; 118: 1109–1116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Rojas-Rueda D, de Nazelle A, Tainio M, Nieuwenhuijsen MJ . The health risks and benefits of cycling in urban environments compared with car use: health impact assessment study. BMJ 2011; 343: d4521.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Andersen ZJ, de Nazelle A, Mendez MA, Garcia-Aymerich J, Hertel O, Tjønneland A et al. A study of the combined effects of physical activity and air pollution on mortality in elderly urban residents: the Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health Cohort. Environ Health Perspect 2015; 123: 557–563.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Ajuntament de Barcelona. Barcelona Data Sheet. Generalitat de Catalunya: Barcelona, Spain, 2012. Available from http://w42.bcn.cat/web/en/media-room/.

  10. Gulati M, Shaw LJ, Thisted RA, Black HR, Bairey Merz CN, Arnsdorf MF . Heart rate response to exercise stress testing in asymptomatic women: the St. James Women Take Heart Project. Circulation 2010; 122: 130–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Huang J, Deng F, Wu S, Lu H, Hao Y, Guo X . The impacts of short-term exposure to noise and traffic-related air pollution on heart rate variability in young healthy adults. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 2013; 23: 559–564.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Wu S, Deng F, Niu J, Huang Q, Liu Y, Guo X . The relationship between traffic-related air pollutants and cardiac autonomic function in a panel of healthy adults: a further analysis with existing data. Inhal Toxicol 2011; 23: 289–303.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Hemmingsen JG, Rissler J, Lykkesfeldt J, Sallsten G, Kristiansen J, PM P et al. Controlled exposure to particulate matter from urban street air is associated with decreased vasodilation and heart rate variability in overweight and older adults. Part Fibre Toxicol 2015; 12: 6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Timonen KL, Vanninen E, de Hartog J, Ibald-Mulli A, Brunekreef B, Gold DR et al. Effects of ultrafine and fine particulate and gaseous air pollution on cardiac autonomic control in subjects with coronary artery disease: the ULTRA study. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 2006; 16: 332–341.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Riediker M, Cascio WE, Griggs TR, Herbst MC, Bromberg PA, Neas L et al. Particulate matter exposure in cars is associated with cardiovascular effects in healthy young men. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2004; 169: 934–940.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Huang Y-CT, Rappold AG, Graff DW, Ghio AJ, Devlin RB . Synergistic effects of exposure to concentrated ambient fine pollution particles and nitrogen dioxide in humans. Inhal Toxicol 2012; 24: 790–797.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Knibbs LD, Cole-Hunter T, Morawska L . A review of commuter exposure to ultrafine particles and its health effects. Atmos Environ 2011; 45: 2611–2622.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Daigle C, Chalupa D . Ultrafine particle deposition in humans during rest and exercise. Inhal Toxicol 2003; 15: 539–552.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Barak O, Jakovljevic D . Heart rate variability before and after cycle exercise in relation to different body positions. J Sport Sci Med 2010; 9: 176–182.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Babisch W . The noise/stress concept, risk assessment and research needs. Noise Heal 2002; 4: 1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Babisch W . Exposure to Environmental Noise: Risks for Health and the Environment. Workshop on “Sound Level of Motor Vehicles”. Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the European Parliament: : Brussels, Belgium. 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Wong C-M, Ou C-Q, Thach T-Q, Chau Y-K, Chan K-P, Ho S-Y et al. Does regular exercise protect against air pollution-associated mortality? Prev Med 2007; 44: 386–392.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Kraus U, Schneider A, Breitner S, Hampel R, Rückerl R, Pitz M et al. Individual daytime noise exposure during routine activities and heart rate variability in adults: a repeated measures study. Environ Health Perspect 2013; 121: 607–612.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank all participants for their assistance with data collection of the current study. This work was part of the European-wide project Transportation Air pollution and Physical ActivitieS (TAPAS): an integrated health risk assessment program of climate change and urban policies, which had partners in Barcelona, Basel, Copenhagen, Paris, Prague, and Warsaw. TAPAS was a 4-year project funded by the Coca-Cola Foundation, AGAUR, and CREAL (http://www.tapas-program.org/). CREAL is part of CIBERESP (http://www.ciberesp.es/), the Spanish Network for Epidemiology and Public Health Research. CREAL and its members are based at and supported by the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (http://www.upf.edu/en/). The funding bodies had no role in the study design, study procession, data analysis and interpretation, nor the decision to submit this paper for publication.

Author contributions

All authors contributed to the reporting of the work described in this article: TC-H, SW, MF, DM, DW, and MN guided data analyses and interpretation; NK, GC-T, AdN, and MN oversaw the planning and conduct of the work.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain

    Tom Cole-Hunter, Nadine Kubesch, Glòria Carrasco-Turigas, Laura Bouso, David Martínez & Mark Nieuwenhuijsen

  2. Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain

    Tom Cole-Hunter, Nadine Kubesch, Glòria Carrasco-Turigas, Laura Bouso, David Martínez & Mark Nieuwenhuijsen

  3. Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain

    Tom Cole-Hunter, Nadine Kubesch, Glòria Carrasco-Turigas, Laura Bouso, David Martínez & Mark Nieuwenhuijsen

  4. Air Health Effects Science Division, Health Canada, Ottawa, Canada

    Scott Weichenthal

  5. Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland

    Maria Foraster

  6. Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Dane Westerdahl

  7. Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, London, England

    Audrey de Nazelle

Authors
  1. Tom Cole-Hunter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Scott Weichenthal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Nadine Kubesch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Maria Foraster
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Glòria Carrasco-Turigas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Laura Bouso
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. David Martínez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Dane Westerdahl
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Audrey de Nazelle
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Mark Nieuwenhuijsen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tom Cole-Hunter.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology website

Supplementary information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Cole-Hunter, T., Weichenthal, S., Kubesch, N. et al. Impact of traffic-related air pollution on acute changes in cardiac autonomic modulation during rest and physical activity: a cross-over study. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 26, 133–140 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2015.66

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2015.66

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links