TY - JOUR
T1 - Association of long-term exposure to ambient air pollution with retinal neurodegeneration: the prospective Alienor study
AU - Gayraud, Laure
AU - Mortamais, Marion
AU - Schweitzer, Cédric
AU - de Hoogh, Kees
AU - Cougnard-Grégoire, Audrey
AU - Korobelnik, Jean-François
AU - Delyfer, Marie-Noelle
AU - Rougier, Marie-Bénédicte
AU - Leffondré, Karen
AU - Helmer, Catherine
AU - Vienneau, Danielle
AU - Berr, Claudine
AU - Delcourt, Cécile
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Chronic exposure to air pollution may have adverse effects on neurodegenerative diseases. Glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness worldwide, is a neurodegenerative disease of the optic nerve, characterized by progressive thinning of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL). We investigated the relationship of air pollution exposure with longitudinal changes of RNFL thickness in the Alienor study, a population-based cohort of residents of Bordeaux, France, aged 75 years or more. Peripapillary RNFL thickness was measured using optical coherence tomography imaging every 2 years from 2009 to 2020. Measurements were acquired and reviewed by specially trained technicians to control quality. Air pollution exposure (particulate matter ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5), black carbon (BC), nitrogen dioxide (NO2)) was estimated at the participants’ geocoded residential address using land-use regression models. For each pollutant, the 10-year average of past exposure at first RNFL thickness measurement was estimated. Associations of air pollution exposure with RNFL thickness longitudinal changes were assessed using linear mixed models adjusted for potential confounders, allowing for intra-eye and intra-individual correlation (repeated measurements). The study included 683 participants with at least one RNFL thickness measurement (62% female, mean age 82 years). The average RNFL was 90 μm (SD:14.4) at baseline. Exposure to higher levels of PM2.5 and BC in the previous 10 years was significantly associated with a faster RNFL thinning during the 11-year follow-up (−0.28 μm/year (95% confidence interval (CI) [-0.44;-0.13]) and −0.26 μm/year (95% CI [-0.40;-0.12]) per interquartile range increment; p < 0.001 for both). The size of the effect was similar to one year of age in the fitted model (−0.36 μm/year). No statistically significant associations were found with NO2 in the main models. This study evidenced a strong association of chronic exposure to fine particulate matter with retinal neurodegeneration, at air pollution levels below the current recommended thresholds in Europe.
AB - Chronic exposure to air pollution may have adverse effects on neurodegenerative diseases. Glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness worldwide, is a neurodegenerative disease of the optic nerve, characterized by progressive thinning of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL). We investigated the relationship of air pollution exposure with longitudinal changes of RNFL thickness in the Alienor study, a population-based cohort of residents of Bordeaux, France, aged 75 years or more. Peripapillary RNFL thickness was measured using optical coherence tomography imaging every 2 years from 2009 to 2020. Measurements were acquired and reviewed by specially trained technicians to control quality. Air pollution exposure (particulate matter ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5), black carbon (BC), nitrogen dioxide (NO2)) was estimated at the participants’ geocoded residential address using land-use regression models. For each pollutant, the 10-year average of past exposure at first RNFL thickness measurement was estimated. Associations of air pollution exposure with RNFL thickness longitudinal changes were assessed using linear mixed models adjusted for potential confounders, allowing for intra-eye and intra-individual correlation (repeated measurements). The study included 683 participants with at least one RNFL thickness measurement (62% female, mean age 82 years). The average RNFL was 90 μm (SD:14.4) at baseline. Exposure to higher levels of PM2.5 and BC in the previous 10 years was significantly associated with a faster RNFL thinning during the 11-year follow-up (−0.28 μm/year (95% confidence interval (CI) [-0.44;-0.13]) and −0.26 μm/year (95% CI [-0.40;-0.12]) per interquartile range increment; p < 0.001 for both). The size of the effect was similar to one year of age in the fitted model (−0.36 μm/year). No statistically significant associations were found with NO2 in the main models. This study evidenced a strong association of chronic exposure to fine particulate matter with retinal neurodegeneration, at air pollution levels below the current recommended thresholds in Europe.
KW - Air pollution Neurodegeneration Retina Glaucoma Retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) Central nervous system (CNS)
U2 - 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116364
DO - 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116364
M3 - Article
SN - 0013-9351
VL - 232
JO - Environmental Research
JF - Environmental Research
M1 - 116364
ER -