Blood Pressure Changes and Chemical Constituents of Particulate Air Pollution: Results from the Healthy Volunteer Natural Relocation (HVNR) Study

BACKGROUND Elevated blood pressure (BP) has been associated with particulate matter (PM) air pollution, but associations with PM chemical constituents are still uncertain. OBJECTIVES We investigated associations of BP with various chemical constituents of fine PM (PM2.5) during 460 repeated visits among a panel of 39 university students. METHODS Resting BP was measured using standardized methods before and after the university students relocated from a suburban campus to an urban campus with different air pollution contents in Beijing, China. Air pollution data were obtained from central monitors close to student residences. We used mixed-effects models to estimate associations of various PM2.5 constituents with systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), and pulse pressure. RESULTS An interquartile range increase of 51.2 μg/m3 in PM2.5 was associated with a 1.08-mmHg (95% CI: 0.17, 1.99) increase in SBP and a 0.96-mmHg (95% CI: 0.31, 1.61) increase in DBP on the following day. A subset of PM2.5 constituents, including carbonaceous fractions (organic carbon and elemental carbon), ions (chloride and fluoride), and metals/metalloid elements (nickel, zinc, magnesium, lead, and arsenic), were found to have robust positive associations with different BP variables, though robust negative associations of manganese, chromium, and molybdenum with SBP or DBP also were observed. CONCLUSIONS Our results support relationships between specific PM2.5 constituents and BP. These findings have potential implications for the development of pollution abatement strategies that maximize public health benefits.