Influence of personal exposure to particulate air pollution on cardiovascular physiology and biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress in subjects with diabetes

Objective: We investigated whether personal exposure to particulate matter <= 10 mu m in diameter (PM10) contributes to impaired cardiovascular function and increased systemic inflammation and oxidative stress in diabetic patients. Methods: We monitored 25 patients' personal exposure to PM,0 for 24 hours and then measured their heart rate, blood pressure, brachial arterial diameter, flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD), plasma cytokines, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TEARS), which is an oxidative stress marker. We repeated this procedure for 7 weeks on each subject. We tested the associations using mixed-effects models. Results: PM10 was significantly positively associated with FMD and TEARS but inversely associated with end-systolic basal brachial arterial diameter (P < 0.05). Moreover, in subjects not taking vasoactive medications, PM10 was significantly positively associated with blood pressure but inversely associated with artery flow. Conclusion: Elevated PM10 may contribute to oxidative stress and impaired cardiovascular function in patients with diabetes mellitus.