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Metabolic syndrome in the SCAPIS cohort — Investigating associations at low level exposure to ambient air pollution

Tondel, Martin ; Kisiel, Marta A. ; Barregard, Lars ; Dahlquist, Marcus ; Edlund, Karl Kilbo ; Eriksson, Charlotta ; Lindvall, Jenny ; Ljunggren, Stefan ; Ljungman, Petter and Lõhmus, Mare , et al. (2025) In Science of the Total Environment 995.
Abstract

Background: Studies on long-term exposure to air pollution at high levels suggest an association with increased risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS). We aimed to study this relationship at very low levels, less well-studied, yet of public health importance. Methods: The Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS) consists of randomly selected subjects aged 50–64 years from six large cities in Sweden (n = 30,154). Participants underwent medical examination and answered a health-related questionnaire at enrolment. MetS was defined using established criteria. Residential exposure to PM2.5 and NO2 was modelled annually for each subject over 10 years before enrolment. Adjusted prevalence ratios (adj PR) were calculated... (More)

Background: Studies on long-term exposure to air pollution at high levels suggest an association with increased risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS). We aimed to study this relationship at very low levels, less well-studied, yet of public health importance. Methods: The Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS) consists of randomly selected subjects aged 50–64 years from six large cities in Sweden (n = 30,154). Participants underwent medical examination and answered a health-related questionnaire at enrolment. MetS was defined using established criteria. Residential exposure to PM2.5 and NO2 was modelled annually for each subject over 10 years before enrolment. Adjusted prevalence ratios (adj PR) were calculated both by quartiles of exposure and per 1 μg/m3 increment in PM2.5 and NO2, with adjustments for age, lifestyle and socioeconomic factors. Results: Full information on exposure, covariates, and MetS was obtained for 13,997 (90.26 %) females and 12,978 (88.61 %) males, respectively. The 10-years mean exposures of PM2.5 and NO2 before enrolment were 6.57 and 11.47 μg/m3, respectively. The prevalence of MetS was 28.75 % in females and 38.20 % in males, respectively. Quartile analysis of PM2.5 did not reveal significant increased adj PR for MetS, neither in females nor in males. For females the adj PR per 1 μg/m3 was 0.91 (0.89–0.94) and for males 0.95 (0.92–0.97), respectively. Similar, but somewhat weaker, associations were seen for NO2. Conclusion: Some inverse associations between air pollution and MetS were observed, but these results should be interpreted with caution due to limitations in the cross-sectional design. Results should not be interpreted beyond our studied exposure range.

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organization
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type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Ambient air pollution, Cohort, Cross-sectional, NO, PM, Prevalence ratio
in
Science of the Total Environment
volume
995
article number
180120
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • pmid:40714611
  • scopus:105011374829
ISSN
0048-9697
DOI
10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.180120
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b0e1a10f-ed3f-4d04-810a-1278905b9697
date added to LUP
2025-11-04 08:58:34
date last changed
2025-11-04 08:58:44
@article{b0e1a10f-ed3f-4d04-810a-1278905b9697,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: Studies on long-term exposure to air pollution at high levels suggest an association with increased risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS). We aimed to study this relationship at very low levels, less well-studied, yet of public health importance. Methods: The Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS) consists of randomly selected subjects aged 50–64 years from six large cities in Sweden (n = 30,154). Participants underwent medical examination and answered a health-related questionnaire at enrolment. MetS was defined using established criteria. Residential exposure to PM<sub>2.5</sub> and NO<sub>2</sub> was modelled annually for each subject over 10 years before enrolment. Adjusted prevalence ratios (adj PR) were calculated both by quartiles of exposure and per 1 μg/m<sup>3</sup> increment in PM<sub>2.5</sub> and NO<sub>2</sub>, with adjustments for age, lifestyle and socioeconomic factors. Results: Full information on exposure, covariates, and MetS was obtained for 13,997 (90.26 %) females and 12,978 (88.61 %) males, respectively. The 10-years mean exposures of PM<sub>2.5</sub> and NO<sub>2</sub> before enrolment were 6.57 and 11.47 μg/m<sup>3</sup>, respectively. The prevalence of MetS was 28.75 % in females and 38.20 % in males, respectively. Quartile analysis of PM<sub>2.5</sub> did not reveal significant increased adj PR for MetS, neither in females nor in males. For females the adj PR per 1 μg/m<sup>3</sup> was 0.91 (0.89–0.94) and for males 0.95 (0.92–0.97), respectively. Similar, but somewhat weaker, associations were seen for NO<sub>2</sub>. Conclusion: Some inverse associations between air pollution and MetS were observed, but these results should be interpreted with caution due to limitations in the cross-sectional design. Results should not be interpreted beyond our studied exposure range.</p>}},
  author       = {{Tondel, Martin and Kisiel, Marta A. and Barregard, Lars and Dahlquist, Marcus and Edlund, Karl Kilbo and Eriksson, Charlotta and Lindvall, Jenny and Ljunggren, Stefan and Ljungman, Petter and Lõhmus, Mare and Sommar, Johan Nilsson and Nordquist, Tobias and Oudin, Anna and Pershagen, Göran and Stockfelt, Leo and Xu, Yiyi and Ögren, Mikael and Svartengren, Magnus}},
  issn         = {{0048-9697}},
  keywords     = {{Ambient air pollution; Cohort; Cross-sectional; NO; PM; Prevalence ratio}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Science of the Total Environment}},
  title        = {{Metabolic syndrome in the SCAPIS cohort — Investigating associations at low level exposure to ambient air pollution}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.180120}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.180120}},
  volume       = {{995}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}