Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore.
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore and NUS Environmental Research Institute, Singapore.
Sci Total Environ. 2020 May 10;716:137027. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137027. Epub 2020 Jan 30.
Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) is associated with cardiovascular disease risk. To date, there are few studies on short-term PM exposure in different microenvironments and its impact on immediate health effects, particularly in the Southeast Asia region. This study assessed PM concentrations in different microenvironments in a densely populated city in the tropics using low-cost personal PM sensors as well as their associations with acute cardiovascular health outcomes. A total of 49 adult participants affiliated with the National University of Singapore (NUS) community were recruited. Personal low-cost sensors were used to measure PM concentrations between September 2017 and March 2019. Demographic information and time-activity patterns were collected using questionnaires. Wilcoxon pairwise comparisons were used to determine statistical differences between PM exposures at 18 different microenvironments. Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) models were used to assess the association between PM exposure and blood pressure as well as heart rate. All models were adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, physical activity, temperature, duration of exposure, and baseline cardiovascular parameters. Significant differences in PM concentrations were observed across different microenvironments. Air-conditioned offices and tertiary teaching spaces had the lowest (median = 13.1 μg/m) and hawker centres had the highest (median = 32.0 μg/m) PM concentrations. Significant positive associations between PM exposure and heart rate (β = 0.40, p = 4.6 × 10) as well as diastolic blood pressure (β = 0.16, p = 0.0077) were also observed. Short-term exposure to PM was significantly associated with higher heart rate and blood pressure. Further work is needed to investigate the variations within each type of microenvironment and expand the study to other sub-populations such as the elderly and children.
颗粒物（PM）暴露与心血管疾病风险有关。迄今为止，关于不同微环境中的短期 PM 暴露及其对即时健康影响的研究很少，特别是在东南亚地区。本研究使用低成本的个人 PM 传感器评估了热带地区一个人口稠密城市的不同微环境中的 PM 浓度及其与急性心血管健康结果的关系。共招募了 49 名与新加坡国立大学（NUS）社区有关的成年参与者。使用个人低成本传感器测量 2017 年 9 月至 2019 年 3 月之间的 PM 浓度。使用问卷收集人口统计学信息和时间活动模式。使用 Wilcoxon 配对比较确定 18 个不同微环境中的 PM 暴露之间的统计差异。使用广义估计方程（GEE）模型评估 PM 暴露与血压和心率之间的关联。所有模型均根据年龄、性别、体重指数、体力活动、温度、暴露时间和基线心血管参数进行调整。不同微环境中的 PM 浓度存在显著差异。空调办公室和三级教学空间的 PM 浓度最低（中位数=13.1μg/m），小贩中心的 PM 浓度最高（中位数=32.0μg/m）。PM 暴露与心率（β=0.40，p=4.6×10）和舒张压（β=0.16，p=0.0077）之间存在显著正相关。短期 PM 暴露与心率和血压升高显著相关。需要进一步研究每种微环境内的变化，并将研究扩展到其他亚人群，如老年人和儿童。
