Short-term exposure to PM2.5 increased acute atrial fibrillation admissions by 1.13% (CI 0.70-1.55%) per 10 µg/m3 increment, with effects observed even below WHO air quality guideline norms.
Observational (n=252,566)
Yes
Does short-term exposure to air pollution increase the risk of acute AF admissions?
Short-term exposure to air pollution, even at levels below WHO guidelines, is associated with an increased risk of acute hospital admissions for atrial fibrillation.
Effect estimate: 1.13% increase per 10 µg/m3 PM2.5 (95% CI 0.70-1.55)
AIMS: Air pollution remains the single largest environmental health risk factor, while atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most prevalent arrhythmia globally. The study aimed to investigate the relationship between short-term exposure to air pollution and acute AF admissions. METHODS AND RESULTS: Individual data on AF hospitalization in the years 2011-20 were collected from the National Health Fund in Poland (ICD-10: I48.XX). To obtain high-resolution data on air pollution, we applied a modelling method using the GEM-AQ model. Associations between air pollution exposure and acute AF admissions were estimated using generalized additive models with Poisson regression. Over the analysed period, we recorded 252 566 acute admissions due to AF. Each 10 µg/m3 increment of particulate matter with diameters ≤2.5 (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentration, 1 µg/m3 of sulfur dioxide and 10 ng/m3 of benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) concentration on the day of exposure resulted in 1.13% (0.70-1.55%), 1.65% (1.05-2.26%), 0.11% (0.01-0.21%), and 0.3% (0.04-0.55%) increases in acute AF admissions, respectively. The estimates are larger for women and older people. Stronger associations between PM2.5 and BaP concentrations and AF admissions in poorly urbanized areas were noted. Areas with high gross domestic product levels were more affected by the increase in NO2 concentrations, resulting in a 0.2% (1.001-1.003) increase in AF admissions. Exposure-response functions show steeper slopes of the pollutant-outcome associations in the lower ranges of exposures, far below World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guideline norms. For the zero-emission scenario, we estimate avoidable AF admissions-5873 for PM2.5 (95% confidence interval 3679 to 8047) and 3295 for NO2 (2108-4477). CONCLUSION: Air pollution acts as a triggering factor and can be associated with acute AF hospitalizations. PM2.5 and NO2 have an impact on AF even at concentrations levels below WHO air quality guideline norms.
Kurasz et al. (Sun,) conducted a observational in Acute atrial fibrillation (n=252,566). Short-term exposure to air pollution (PM2.5, NO2, SO2, BaP) was evaluated on Acute atrial fibrillation admissions (1.13% increase per 10 µg/m3 PM2.5, 95% CI 0.70-1.55). Short-term exposure to PM2.5 increased acute atrial fibrillation admissions by 1.13% (CI 0.70-1.55%) per 10 µg/m3 increment, with effects observed even below WHO air quality guideline norms.