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Exposure to ambient carbon monoxide linked with increased risk for CVD admissions
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Short-term exposure to even low levels of carbon monoxide was associated with an increased risk for CVD hospitalization.
Researchers conducted a time-series analysis of emergency daily hospital admissions that included >9.3 million Medicare enrollees aged 65 years and older from 126 urban counties in the United States. Using statistical analyses, the researchers evaluated the relationship between short-term exposure to outdoor carbon monoxide and the risk for CVD hospitalizations.
Carbon monoxide levels were low in all communities included in the study. The researchers reported a statistically significant relationship between same-day carbon monoxide and an increased risk for hospitalization for various CVD outcomes (including ischemic heart disease, HF, cerebrovascular disease and total CVD). The association was attenuated once copollutants were adjusted for but remained statistically significant. According to the study results, a 1 part per million increase in same-day daily one-hour maximum carbon monoxide was associated with a 0.96% (95% CI, 0.79%-1.12%) increase in the risk for CVD hospital admission. After adjusting for same-day nitrogen dioxide exposure, a 1 ppm increase in same-day daily one-hour maximum carbon monoxide was linked with a 0.55% (95% CI, 0.36%-0.74%) increase in the risk for CVD admissions.
“This study provides one of the first population-based investigations of the health effects of current low ambient carbon monoxide levels,” the researchers wrote. “Although much of the current research on health and traffic-related air pollution focuses on particulate matter, our study indicates that ambient carbon monoxide and traffic may present a far larger health burden than suspected previously.”
Bell ML. Circulation. 2009;doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.851113.