Associations of Short-Term Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter with Neural Damage Biomarkers: A Panel Study of Healthy Retired Adults.

Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) is associated with various adverse health effects, such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the association of PM with neural damage biomarkers. A total of 34 healthy retirees were recruited from Xinxiang Medical University from December 2018 to April 2019. Concentrations of PM constituents including 24 metals and nonmetallic elements and 6 ions, and 5 biomarkers of neural damage including brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurofilament light chain (NfL), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), protein gene product 9.5 (PGP9.5), and S100 calcium-binding protein B (S100B) in serum were measured. A linear mixed-effect model was employed to estimate the association of PM and its constituents with neural damage biomarkers. Modification effects of glutathione S-transferase theta 1 gene () polymorphism, sex, education, and physical activity on PM exposure with neural damage were explored. PM and its key constituents were significantly associated with neural damage biomarkers. A 10 μg/m increase in PM concentration was associated with 2.09% (95% CI, 39.3-76.5%), 100% (95% CI, 1.73-198%), and 122% (95% CI, 20.7-222%) increments in BDNF, NfL, and PGP9.5, respectively. Several constituents such as Cu, Zn, Ni, Mn, Sn, V, Rb, Pb, Al, Be, Cs, Co, Th, U, Cl, and F were significantly associated with NfL. The estimated association of PM with NSE in -sufficient volunteers was significantly higher than that in -null volunteers. Therefore, short-term PM exposure was associated with neural damage, and expression levels modified the PM-induced adverse neural effects.