Effects of long-term exposure to PM2.5 and chemical constituents on blood lipids in an essential hypertensive population: A multi-city study in China

Previous studies on the effects of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and chemical constituents on lipid disorder among hypertension populations, particularly in China, are very limited. We aimed to examine the effects of long-term exposure to PM2.5 and chemical constituents on dyslipidemias in China. Finally, we included 34,841 participants with essential hypertension from 19 regions in China during 2010–2011. Data were modeled using the generalized additive mixed model. We found that PM2.5 and chemical constituents exposure were positively associated with the increased risk of dyslipidemias and increased levels of total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG). The odds ratio for hypercholesterolemia was 1.356 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.246, 1.477] for PM2.5, and the strongest association with PM2.5 constituents was found for nitrate. Each 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 showed a significant increase of TC by 2.60% (95% CI: 2.03, 3.17) and TG by 2.91% (95% CI: 1.60, 4.24), respectively. Meanwhile, an interquartile range increase in nitrate, ammonium and organic matter had stronger associations with TC and TG parameters than black carbon, sulfate, and mineral dust. Our findings may contribute to a better understanding of the chronic effects of PM2.5 and chemical constituents on lipid disorder in an essential hypertensive population.