School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China.
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY 12144, USA.
Sci Total Environ. 2022 Nov 25;849:157742. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157742. Epub 2022 Jul 30.
Studies show that fine particulate matter (PM) contributes to childhood obesity. However, evidence on the effects of its constituents on obesity has not been explored.
Using multistage stratified cluster sampling, we enrolled 41,439 school-age children (aged 6-17 years) from a representative nationwide survey of 30 provinces in China (mean age ± standard deviation: 12.0 ± 3.3 years). Weight and height were measured using a physician beam scale with a height rod, and covariates were determined using a standard questionnaire. The concentration of PM chemical constituents was estimated by a chemical transport (GEOS-Chem) model using input satellite data and ground-based observations. The constituents included black carbon, ammonium, nitrate, organic matter, sulfate, and soil dust. Generalized linear models were used to estimate the association between the chemical constituents of PM and obesity.
A positive association between the constituents of PM and obesity were observed. Children were more susceptible to black carbon than other species. A 1-μg/m increase in black carbon led to a 0.079 (95 % confidence interval [CI]:0.028, 0.130)-kg/m increase in body mass index (BMI). This also increased the odds of being obese and overweight to 1.174 (95 % CI: 1.111, 1.240) and 1.165 (95 % CI: 1.116, 1.216), respectively. Stratified analyses showed that the effects were stronger in girls and older children, as well as in urban and Northeast regions. The effect of the PM constituents on obese and overweight children from urban areas significantly interacted with that of rural areas.
The PM constituents were associated with an increased BMI and childhood obesity. Further studies are warranted to validate these results and clarify their potential mechanisms. We suggest focusing on black carbon and Northeast regions.
研究表明，细颗粒物（PM）会导致儿童肥胖。然而，其成分对肥胖的影响尚未得到探讨。
我们采用多阶段分层聚类抽样，从中国 30 个省份的一个具有代表性的全国性调查中招募了 41439 名学龄儿童（年龄 6-17 岁；平均年龄±标准差：12.0±3.3 岁）。体重和身高使用带有身高杆的医生梁秤进行测量，通过标准问卷确定协变量。利用输入卫星数据和地面观测的化学输送（GEOS-Chem）模型来估算 PM 化学成分的浓度。成分包括黑碳、铵、硝酸盐、有机物、硫酸盐和土壤尘。采用广义线性模型来估计 PM 化学成分与肥胖之间的关联。
观察到 PM 成分与肥胖之间存在正相关。儿童对黑碳比其他物质更敏感。黑碳浓度每增加 1μg/m，体重指数（BMI）就会增加 0.079（95%置信区间[CI]：0.028，0.130）kg/m。这也使肥胖和超重的几率分别增加到 1.174（95%CI：1.111，1.240）和 1.165（95%CI：1.116，1.216）。分层分析表明，这种影响在女孩和年龄较大的儿童中以及在城市和东北地区更强。PM 成分对城市地区肥胖和超重儿童的影响与农村地区的影响显著相互作用。
PM 成分与 BMI 增加和儿童肥胖有关。需要进一步的研究来验证这些结果并阐明其潜在机制。我们建议关注黑碳和东北地区。
