Exposure to air pollution and non-neoplastic digestive system diseases: findings from the China health and retirement longitudinal study

Front Public Health. 2024 Nov 15:12:1372156. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1372156. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Objectives: Increasing concern about air pollution's impact on public health underscores the need to understand its effects on non-neoplastic digestive system diseases (NNDSD). This study explores the link between air pollution and NNDSD in China.

Methods: We conducted a national cross-sectional study using 2015 data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), involving 13,046 Chinese adults aged 45 and above from 28 provinces. Satellite-based spatiotemporal models estimated participants' exposure to ambient particulate matter (3-year average). An analysis of logistic regression models was conducted to estimate the association between air pollutants [particulate matter with a diameter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5) or ≤10 μm (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), and carbon monoxide (CO)] and NNDSD. Interaction analyses were conducted to examine potential modifiers of these associations.

Results: The prevalence of NNDSD among participants was 26.29%. After adjusted for multivariate factors, we observed a 6% [odd ratio (OR) = 1.06, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.94, 1.19], 23% (OR = 1.23, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.38), 26% (OR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.12, 1.41), 30% (OR = 1.30, 95% CI: 1.16, 1.46), 13% (OR = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.27) and 27% (OR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.13, 1.43) increase in NNDSD risk with an interquartile range increase in PM2.5 (23.36 μg/m3), PM10 (50.33 μg/m3), SO2 (17.27 μg/m3), NO2 (14.75 μg/m3), O3 (10.80 μg/m3), and CO (0.42 mg/m3), respectively. Interaction analyses showed that PM2.5, SO2, and O3 had stronger effects on NNDSD risk among older adults, highly educated individuals, smokers, and married people, respectively.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates that long-term exposure to PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, O3, and CO is positively associated with NNDSD risk in Chinese adults aged 45 and above. Implementing intervention strategies to enhance air quality is essential for reducing the burden of NNDSD.

Keywords: CHARLS; Chinese; air pollution; digestive disease; older adult.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Air Pollutants / adverse effects
  • Air Pollution* / adverse effects
  • Air Pollution* / statistics & numerical data
  • China / epidemiology
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Digestive System Diseases* / epidemiology
  • Environmental Exposure* / adverse effects
  • Environmental Exposure* / statistics & numerical data
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Particulate Matter*
  • Prevalence
  • Risk Factors
  • Sulfur Dioxide / analysis

Substances

  • Particulate Matter
  • Air Pollutants
  • Sulfur Dioxide

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was supported by the Guangdong Provincial Medical Science and Technology Research Fund Project (Grant No. B2024202) and the High-Level Talent Research Project of the Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University (Grant No. GCC20230037).