The associations of particulate matter short-term exposure and serum lipids are modified by vitamin D status: A panel study of young healthy adults

Particulate matter (PM) exposure is associated to the adverse change in blood lipids. Vitamin D is beneficial to lipid metabolism, but whether vitamin D levels modifies the impact of air pollutants on lipids is unclear. The purpose of the study was to investigate if vitamin D modifies the associations of PM and serum lipids in young healthy people. From December 2017 to January 2018, a panel study with five once weekly follow-ups was conducted on 88 healthy adults aged 21.09 (1.08) (mean (SD)) years on average in Guangzhou, China. We measured serum lipids, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations (440 blood samples in total), mass concentrations of particulate matter with diameters <= 2.5 mu m (PM2.5), <= 1.0 mu m (PM1.0), and <= 0.5 mu m (PM0.5), and number concentrations of particulate matter with diameters <= 0.2 mu m (PN0.2) and <= 0.1 mu m (PN0.1) at each follow-up. Linear mixed-effect models were applied to assess the interaction of vitamin D and size-fractionated PM short-term exposure on four lipid metrics. We found the interactions between 25(OH)D and size-fractionated PM exposure on blood lipids in different lags (lag 3 days and 4 days). An interquartile range increase in PM2.5, PM1.0, PM0.5 were significantly associated with increments of 12.30%, 12.99%, and 13.66% in triglycerides (TGs) at lag 4 days at vitamin D levels <15 ng/mL group, respectively. Similar results were found for PN0.2, PN0.1 and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). All the associations between size-fractionated PM and blood lipids were found null statistically significant in vitamin D levels >= 15 ng/mL group.

Automated summary

This study examined the potential modifying effect of vitamin D levels on the associations between particulate matter (PM) exposure and serum lipids among young healthy individuals. The results showed that vitamin D levels influenced the impact of PM exposure on blood lipids, with significant associations observed in individuals with lower vitamin D levels.