Long-term exposure to air pollutants enhanced associations of obesity with blood pressure and hypertension

Although obesity reflected by BMI can enhance the association of air pollution with increase blood pressures (BP) and prevalent hypertension in susceptible population, there remains lack evidence on interactive effects of different obesity indices and air pollutants on BP and prevalent hypertension in rural adults. 39,259 individuals were recruited from the Henan Rural Cohort. Concentrations of air pollutants (PM1, PM2.5, PM10 and NO2) were evaluated by a spatio-temporal model based on satellites data. Independent associations of air pollutants and obesity reflected by BMI, WC, WHR, WHtR, BFP and VFI on BP indicators (SBP, DBP, MAP and PP) and prevalent hypertension were analyzed by linear regression and logistic regression models, respectively. Furthermore, their additive effects were quantified by RERI, AP and S. Six obesity indices enhanced the associations of four air pollutants and BP indicators. Individuals with high PM1 concentrations plus obesity classified by BMI, WC, WHR, WHtR, BFP and VFI had a 4.18-fold (95% CI: 3.86, 4.53), 3.58-fold (95% CI: 3.34, 3.84), 3.53-fold (95% CI: 3.28, 3.81), 4.02-fold (95% CI: 3.72, 4.35), 3.89-fold (95% CI: 3.59, 4.23), 3.87-fold (95% CI: 3.62, 4.14) increase in prevalent hypertension, respectively, compared to non-obese individuals with low PM1 concentrations; similar results were observed for combined effect of PM2.5, PM10 or NO2 and obesity indices on prevalent hypertension. The significant values of RERI, AP and S indicated additive effects of air pollutants and obesity indices on hypertension. Obesity amplified the effects of exposure to high levels of air pollutants on increased BP values and prevalent hypertension, implying that obese individuals may be susceptible to elevate BP and prevalent hypertension in relation to air pollution exposure. Clinical trial registration: The Henan Rural Cohort study has been registered at Chinese Clinical Trial Register (Registration number: ChiCTR-OOC-15006699, http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx? proj1/411375). (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study found that obesity amplifies the effects of exposure to high levels of air pollutants on blood pressure values and prevalent hypertension, suggesting that obese individuals may be more susceptible to the influence of air pollution. The results provide important information for exploring the interactive effects of air pollution and obesity on blood pressure and hypertension in rural adults.