Associations between air pollution and perceived stress: the Veterans Administration Normative Aging Study

作者：Mehta Amar J^*; Kubzansky Laura D; Coull Brent A; Kloog Itai; Koutrakis Petros; Sparrow David; Spiro Avron III; Vokonas Pantel; Schwartz Joel

来源：Environmental Health, 2015, 14(1): UNSP 10.

DOI：10.1186/1476-069X-14-10

• Aged
• Air pollution
• Male
• Particulate matter
• Prospective studies
• Stress
• Psychological

Background: There is mixed evidence suggesting that air pollution may be associated with increased risk of developing psychiatric disorders. We aimed to investigate the association between air pollution and non-specific perceived stress, often a precursor to development of affective psychiatric disorders.
Methods: This longitudinal analysis consisted of 987 older men participating in at least one visit for the Veterans Administration Normative Aging Study between 1995 and 2007 (n = 2,244 visits). At each visit, participants were administered the 14-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), which quantifies stress experienced in the previous week. Scores ranged from 0-56 with higher scores indicating increased stress. Differences in PSS score per interquartile range increase in moving average (1, 2, and 4-weeks) of air pollution exposures were estimated using linear mixed-effects regression after adjustment for age, race, education, physical activity, anti-depressant medication use, seasonality, meteorology, and day of week. We also evaluated effect modification by season (April-September and March-October for warm and cold season, respectively).
Results: Fine particles (PM2.5), black carbon (BC), nitrogen dioxide, and particle number counts (PNC) at moving averages of 1, 2, and 4-weeks were associated with higher perceived stress ratings. The strongest associations were observed for PNC; for example, a 15,997 counts/cm(3) interquartile range increase in 1-week average PNC was associated with a 3.2 point (95% CI: 2.1-4.3) increase in PSS score. Season modified the associations for specific pollutants; higher PSS scores in association with PM2.5, BC, and sulfate were observed mainly in colder months.
Conclusions: Air pollution was associated with higher levels of perceived stress in this sample of older men, particularly in colder months for specific pollutants.

• 出版日期2015-1-27