Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and serum liver enzymes in older adults: A population-based longitudinal study

Purpose: To investigate the association of long-term exposure to ambient air pollution with serum liver enzymes in older adults. Methods: In this longitudinal study, we investigated 318,911 adults aged 65 years or older and assessed their long-term residential exposure to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <= 2.5 mu m (PM2.5), particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <= 10 mu m (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and ozone (O-3). Linear mixed models and generalized linear mixed models were implemented for exposure-response analyses. Results: Each interquartile range (IQR) increase of PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, CO, and O-3 exposures was significantly associated with a 4.6%, 4.6%, 5.6%, 4.6%, 6.2%, and 3.6% increase in alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and a 4.6%, 5.2%, 3.6%, 3.3%, 6.1%, and 4.0% increase in aspartate aminotransferase (AST), respectively. Each IQR increase of PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, CO, and O-3 exposures was significantly associated with a 23%, 24%, 28%, 17%, 31%, and 19% increase in odds of elevated ALT (>40 U/L), and a 32%, 39%, 40%, 32%, 57%, and 25% increase in odds of elevated AST (>40 U/L), respectively. Conclusions: Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution was significantly associated with increased serum liver enzyme levels in older adults, suggesting that air pollution exposures may induce hepatocellular injury. (C) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study investigated the association between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and serum liver enzyme levels in older adults. The results showed a significant correlation between air pollution exposure and increased levels of liver enzymes, indicating that air pollution may induce hepatocellular injury.