|
1
|
Gondalia R, Baldassari A, Holliday KM, Justice AE, Stewart JD, Liao D, Yanosky JD, Engel SM, Sheps D, Jordahl KM, Bhatti P, Horvath S, Assimes TL, Demerath EW, Guan W, Fornage M, Bressler J, North KE, Conneely KN, Li Y, Hou L, Baccarelli AA, Whitsel EA. Epigenetically mediated electrocardiographic manifestations of sub-chronic exposures to ambient particulate matter air pollution in the Women's Health Initiative and Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. Environ Res 2021; 198:111211. [PMID: 33895111 PMCID: PMC8179344 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.111211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2020] [Revised: 03/10/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Short-duration exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) air pollution is associated with cardiac autonomic dysfunction and prolonged ventricular repolarization. However, associations with sub-chronic exposures to coarser particulates are relatively poorly characterized as are molecular mechanisms underlying their potential relationships with cardiovascular disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS We estimated associations between monthly mean concentrations of PM < 10 μm and 2.5-10 μm in diameter (PM10; PM2.5-10) with time-domain measures of heart rate variability (HRV) and QT interval duration (QT) among U.S. women and men in the Women's Health Initiative and Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (nHRV = 82,107; nQT = 76,711). Then we examined mediation of the PM-HRV and PM-QT associations by DNA methylation (DNAm) at three Cytosine-phosphate-Guanine (CpG) sites (cg19004594, cg24102420, cg12124767) with known sensitivity to monthly mean PM concentrations in a subset of the participants (nHRV = 7,169; nQT = 6,895). After multiply imputing missing PM, electrocardiographic and covariable data, we estimated associations using attrition-weighted, linear, mixed, longitudinal models adjusting for sociodemographic, behavioral, meteorological, and clinical characteristics. We assessed mediation by estimating the proportions of PM-HRV and PM-QT associations mediated by DNAm. RESULTS We found little evidence of PM-HRV association, PM-QT association, or mediation by DNAm. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that among racially/ethnically and environmentally diverse U.S. populations, sub-chronic exposures to coarser particulates may not exert appreciable, epigenetically mediated effects on cardiac autonomic function or ventricular repolarization. Further investigation in better-powered studies is warranted, with additional focus on shorter duration exposures to finer particulates and non-electrocardiographic outcomes among relatively susceptible populations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rahul Gondalia
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
| | - Antoine Baldassari
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Katelyn M Holliday
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Department of Community and Family Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Anne E Justice
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Geisinger Health System, Danville, PA, USA
| | - James D Stewart
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Duanping Liao
- Division of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health Sciences, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA
| | - Jeff D Yanosky
- Division of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health Sciences, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA
| | - Stephanie M Engel
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - David Sheps
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Kristina M Jordahl
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Parveen Bhatti
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Steve Horvath
- Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA
| | | | - Ellen W Demerath
- Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Weihua Guan
- Division of Biostatistics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Myriam Fornage
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Jan Bressler
- Human Genetics Center, School of Public Health, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Kari E North
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Carolina Center for Genome Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Karen N Conneely
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Yun Li
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Department of Biostatistics, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Department of Computer Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Lifang Hou
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University Chicago, Evanston, IL, USA; Center for Population Epigenetics, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Andrea A Baccarelli
- Laboratory of Environmental Epigenetics, Departments of Environmental Health Sciences and Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA
| | - Eric A Whitsel
- Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| |
Collapse
|