Each 1-µg/m³ higher annual average PM2.5 linked to increased risk for incident chronic kidney disease
FRIDAY, Feb. 28, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Exposure to a higher annual average concentration of particulate matter (PM) <2.5 µm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) is associated with increased albuminuria and an increased risk for chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a study published online Feb. 27 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
Matthew F. Blum, M.D., from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and colleagues evaluated the association between long-term PM2.5 exposure and kidney disease among 10,997 participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities cohort, followed from 1996 to 1998 through 2016. Monthly mean PM2.5 concentrations were estimated at geocoded participant addresses and were averaged for the 12-month period prior to participant examination.
The researchers found that at baseline, there was no significant PM2.5-estimated glomerular filtration rate association. After adjustment for demographics, socioeconomic status, and clinical covariates, each 1-µg/m³ higher annual average PM2.5 was associated with a higher urinary albumin-creatinine ratio (percentage difference, 6.6 percent). A significantly higher risk for incident CKD was seen in association with each 1-µg/m³ higher annual average PM2.5 (hazard ratio, 1.05).
“This finding may be especially important for parts of the world with higher air pollution burden, such as China and India, where PM2.5 concentrations are five to ten times higher than in the United States,” the authors write. “Future work should quantify whether efforts to improve air quality yield health benefits, including reducing the burden of CKD.”
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