Association of outdoor air pollution, lifestyle, genetic factors with the risk of lung cancer: A prospective cohort study

Objectives: The effect of air pollution exposure on incident lung cancer remains uncertain, and the modifying role of lifestyle and genetic susceptibility in association between air pollution and lung cancer is ambiguous. Methods: A total of 367,623 participants from UK biobank cohort were enrolled in the analysis. The concentrations of particle matter (PM2.5, PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and nitrogen oxides (NOx), were evaluated by land-use regression model. Cox proportional hazard model was applied to assess the associations between air pollution and incident lung cancer. A lifestyle risk score and a polygenic risk score were established to investigate whether lifestyle and heritable risk could modify the effect of air pollution on lung cancer risk. Results: Per interquartile range (IQR) increment in annual concentrations of PM2.5 (HR = 1.22, 95% CI, 1.15 similar to 1.30), NO2 (HR = 1.19, 95% CI, 1.10 similar to 1.27), and NOx (HR = 1.14, 95% CI, 1.09-1.20) were associated with increased risk of lung cancer. We observed an additive interaction between air pollution including PM2.5 and NOx and lifestyle or genetic risk. Individuals with high air pollution exposure, poor lifestyle and high genetic risk had the highest risk of incident lung cancer. Conclusion: Long-term exposures to air pollution is associated with increased risk of lung cancer, and this effect was modified by lifestyle or genetic risk. Integrated interventions for environmental pollution by government and adherence to healthy lifestyle by individuals are advocated for lung cancer prevention.

Automated summary

In this study involving 367,623 participants, it was found that long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with an increased risk of lung cancer. The modifying role of lifestyle and genetic susceptibility in the association between air pollution and lung cancer was also observed. Integrated interventions for environmental pollution and adherence to a healthy lifestyle are advocated for lung cancer prevention.