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Structural equation modeling of the inflammatory response to traffic air pollution

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 23, pages 268–274 (2013)Cite this article

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A Corrigendum to this article was published on 19 February 2014

Abstract

Several epidemiological studies have reported conflicting results on the effect of traffic-related pollutants on markers of inflammation. In a Bayesian framework, we examined the effect of traffic pollution on inflammation using structural equation models (SEMs). We studied measurements of C-reactive protein (CRP), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), and soluble intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) for 749 elderly men from the Normative Aging Study. Using repeated measures SEMs, we fit a latent variable for traffic pollution that is reflected by levels of black carbon, carbon monoxide, nitrogen monoxide and nitrogen dioxide to estimate its effect on a latent variable for inflammation that included sICAM-1, sVCAM-1 and CRP. Exposure periods were assessed using 1-, 2-, 3-, 7-, 14- and 30-day moving averages previsit. We compared our findings using SEMs with those obtained using linear mixed models. Traffic pollution was related to increased inflammation for 3-, 7-, 14- and 30-day exposure periods. An inter-quartile range increase in traffic pollution was associated with a 2.3% (95% posterior interval (PI): 0.0–4.7%) increase in inflammation for the 3-day moving average, with the most significant association observed for the 30-day moving average (23.9%; 95% PI: 13.9–36.7%). Traffic pollution adversely impacts inflammation in the elderly. SEMs in a Bayesian framework can comprehensively incorporate multiple pollutants and health outcomes simultaneously in air pollution–cardiovascular epidemiological studies.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported in part by grants from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (ES014663-01A2, ES-015172, ES015774 and PO1 ES09825) and from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA R827353 and R 83479801).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Emmanuel S Baja, Joel D Schwartz & Helen H Suh

  2. Institute of Clinical Epidemiology, National Institutes of Health University of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines

    Emmanuel S Baja

  3. Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Brent A Coull

  4. Center for Environmental Health and Technology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

    Gregory A Wellenuis

  5. VA Normative Aging Study, Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Pantel S Vokonas

  6. Department of Medicine, Boston University, Massachusetts, Boston, USA

    Pantel S Vokonas

  7. Environmental Health Program, NORC at the University of Chicago, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Helen H Suh

  8. Department of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Helen H Suh

Authors
  1. Emmanuel S Baja
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  2. Joel D Schwartz
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  4. Gregory A Wellenuis
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  5. Pantel S Vokonas
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  6. Helen H Suh
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Correspondence to Emmanuel S Baja.

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

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Baja, E., Schwartz, J., Coull, B. et al. Structural equation modeling of the inflammatory response to traffic air pollution. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 23, 268–274 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2012.106

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