Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES
Volume 119, Issue 9, Pages 1294-1300Publisher
US DEPT HEALTH HUMAN SCIENCES PUBLIC HEALTH SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1289/ehp.1003199
Keywords
cardiovascular disease; CRP; IL-6; inflammatory marker; nonsmoker; occupational health; plasma cotinine; secondhand smoke; sICAM-1; trucking industry
Funding
- Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute (FAMRI)
- National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences [R21 ES013726]
- Harvard-National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Education and Research Center [T42 OH 008416-03]
- American Heart Association [0815689D]
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BACKGROUND: Few studies have directly assessed the association of secondhand smoke (SHS) with cardiovascular disease-related inflammatory markers, and the findings are inconsistent. OBJECTIVES: We assessed the association between SHS exposure and the inflammatory markers high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and soluble inter-cellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) in 199 non-smoking U. S. trucking industry workers. METHODS: Participants provided blood samples either by mail (blood drawn at local health care provider near home) or at the work site (blood drawn by research staff on-site) and completed a health and work history questionnaire at the time of blood draw. Exposure to SHS was measured by plasma cotinine concentrations. We used multivariate regression analyses to assess the associations between levels of cotinine and inflammatory markers. RESULTS: The median cotinine level was 0.10 ng/mL (interquartile range, 0.04-0.23 ng/mL). The odds ratios of elevated hs-CRP (above highest CRP tertile, 1.5 mg/L) were 2.85 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.03-7.89] for the high-cotinine group (> 0.215 ng/mL) and 2.80 (95% CI, 1.11-7.10) for the moderate-cotinine group (0.05-0.215 ng/mL), compared with the low-cotinine group (< 0.05 ng/mL), adjusting for age, sex, race, educational level, obesity, previous smoking history, job title, and medical history. Plasma cotinine levels were not associated with IL-6 or sICAM-1. CONCLUSIONS: SHS exposure, as assessed by plasma cotinine, was positively associated with hs-CRP in this group of blue-collar workers. The strength of the association with hs-CRP depended on the cut points selected for analysis.
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