THURSDAY, July 22 (HealthDay News) -- Exposure to traffic-related air pollution is associated with reduced heart rate variability (HRV) in patients with pre-existing heart or lung disease, according to a study published in the July issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Helen H. Suh and Antonella Zanobetti, Ph.D., of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, measured repeated 24-hour personal and ambient particulate matter, elemental carbon, and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations in 30 individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or previous myocardial infarction residing in Atlanta.
The researchers found that ambient air pollutant levels were not associated with HRV. However, the 24-hour monitoring devices worn by patients showed that their personal exposure to traffic-related air pollutants -- NO2 and elemental carbon in particular -- was significantly associated with decreased HRV.
"Changes in HRV, particularly those associated with parasympathetic control, were significantly and negatively associated with elemental carbon and to a lesser extent NO2, when measurements of personal exposure but not ambient, indoor, and outdoor concentrations were used to assess their exposures," the authors write.
Abstract
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