Association of exposure to fine airborne particulate matter and cardiovascular diseases in Beirut, Lebanon.

Abstract

Ambient air pollution represents worldwide an environmental risk factor to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Previous studies have reported an association between exposure to ambient air pollution and CVDs in Lebanon. However, no studies in Lebanon used a modeled spatial distribution of air pollutants to investigate this association. This study aimed to determine the relationship between the level of exposure to airborne particulate matter and obstructive coronary artery diseases (CAD) in the city of Beirut using a modeled spatial distribution of PM₂.₅. Information on demographic characteristics, smoking habits and place of residence were collected for a group of subjects living in Beirut from March 2014 to December 2017 under the Vascular Medicine Program (VMP) in the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC). All participants signed an IRB approved informed consent and their coronaries were visualized by cardiac catherization at AUBMC. In parallel, a modeled spatial distribution of PM₂.₅ for a representative meteorological situation in Beirut was obtained from the mesoscale and micro-scale dispersion model system GRAMM-GRAL (versions v17.1 and v18.1). The modeled distribution of PM₂.₅ was used to determine the level of PM₂.₅ exposure at the participant’s place of residence. Results from univariate linear regression revealed that obstructive CAD was significantly associated with the levels of PM₂.₅ among smokers (OR 1.052, 95percent CI (1.016–1.089), P 0.01) per 1 µg.m⁻³ rise in PM₂.₅ concentration. After adjusting for age and smoking habits, results from multivariate linear regression revealed also a significant association among males (OR 1.030, 95percent CI (1.003–1.059), P 0.05). This knowledge will be certainly useful for assessing the impact of PM₂.₅ on CVDs and urging public health interventions to reduce air pollution in Beirut.