Research Unit Epidemiology of Air Pollution Health Effects
Head: Annette Peters
Projects on "Effects of Particles on the Cardiovascular System"
Ambient particulate matter is still a major concern at current levels and has been implicated to contribute to the onset and exacerbation of lung and heart disease. The largest population burden is attributable to cardiovascular disease although the particles primarily the body through the lung. Ambient air pollution has been linked to cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality in potentially susceptible subpopulations, such as patients with coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction survivors and diabetics. These associations have been strikingly robust and range from the observation of coronary heart disease exacerbation within hours of exposure to an increased risk of ischemic heart disease mortality for subjects chronically exposed to elevated concentrations of ambient particles. Despite a huge body of evidence for this association the mechanisms and biological pathways are still not completely resolved. Epidemiological as well as toxicological research has indicated that systemic inflammation, translocation of particles or particle components and a modulation of the autonomous nervous system may contribute to the health effects observed distal from the lung.
- Project EPA STAR 2:
"Source-Specific Health Effects of Ultrafine and Fine Particles"
The study examines the inflammation, coagulation and endothelial dysfunction associated with ambient air pollution in patients with type 2 diabetes, in individuals with enhanced risk of type 2 diabetes and in individuals with a potential genetic predisposition on the detoxifying pathway.
- Project: ESCAPE
"Effects of long-term exposure to air pollution on health in European cohorts" - Project DEPS:
Diabetes and the Environment Panel Study in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
A cooperation project between Helmholtz Zentrum München and US Environmental Protection Agency (Human Studies Division, Chapel Hill, North Carolina)
The objective of the study was to determine the association between fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and changes in health effect parameters which provide information about responses by the immune, vascular, cardiac, hematologic and autonomic nervous systems. The main focus of the study was to evaluate the role of vascular reactivity in association with air pollution by assessing endothelial function. - Project AIRGENE:
"Air Pollution and Inflammatory Response in Myocardial Infarction Survivors: Gene-Environment Interaction in a High Risk Group"
(also availble as pdf-file [110 KB] or Powerpoint-file [1 MB])
The study assessed an inflammatory response (C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 and fibrinogen) in myocardial infarction survivors, a possible high-risk population, in association with ambient concentrations of air pollution in six European cities and tried to define particularly susceptible subgroups based on genotyping. - Project EPA STAR 1:
"Inflammatory Response and cardiovascular risk factors in elderly subjects with angina pectoris or COPD in association with fine and ultrafine particles"
The study characterized the association between ambient particle exposures and changes in biomarkers of inflammation in the airways and in the blood as well as changes in cardiac parameters in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) and in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). - Project HEI Augsburg:
"Particulate Air Pollution and the Onset of Nonfatal Myocardial Infarction – A Case-Crossover Study"
The HEI project was designed to assess the association of nonfatal MI onset with particulate air pollution and prospectively applied the case-crossover methodology. Cases were drawn from the Coronary Event Registry in Augsburg, Southern Germany. The exposures of interest were the total number count (TNC) as an indicator for ultrafine particles and PM2.5
- Project HEAPSS:
"Health Effects of Air Pollution on Susceptible Subpopulations"
Traditional air pollutants, ultrafine particles and myocardial infarction: Database and health assessment
The HEAPSS project evaluated the effects of air pollution on acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in five European cities (Augsburg, Barcelona, Helsinki, Rome, and Stockholm) characterized by different air quality and climates. The aim of the project was to determine whether acute exposure to ambient air pollution increases the short-term risk of AMI hospitalization and the risk of mortality in the general population and among population-based cohorts of patients who had survived an AMI. - Project Ultra II:
"Exposure and risk assessment for fine and ultrafine particles in ambient air - ULTRA II"
The study investigated the association between exposure to fine and ultrafine particles of different chemical composition and cardiovascular health endpoints (such as angina pectoris symptoms, heart rate variability, heart rate, ST-segment changes, arrhythmia and blood pressure) as well as respiratory symptoms (such as lung function parameters and inflammatory responses in the lung) in three European countries.