Prenatal and childhood exposure to air pollution and traffic and the risk of liver injury in European children

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Erika Garcia, University of Southern California; Nikos Stratakis, University of Southern California; Damaskini Valvi, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Léa Maitre, Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona; Nerea Varo, Universidad de Navarra; Gunn Marit Aasvang, Norwegian Institute of Public Health; Sandra Andrusaityte, Vytautas Magnus university; Xavier Basagana, Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona; Maribel Casas, Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona; Montserrat de Castro, Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona; Serena Fossati, Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona; Regina Grazuleviciene, Vytautas Magnus university; Barbara Heude, Université Paris Cité; Gerard Hoek, Universiteit Utrecht; Norun H Krog, Norwegian Institute of Public Health; Rosemary McEachan, Bradford Institute for Health Research; Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona; Theano Roumeliotaki, University of Crete; Rémy Slama, Universite Grenoble Alpes; Jose Urquiza, Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona; Marina Vafeiadi, University of Crete; Miriam Vos, Emory University; John Wright, Bradford Institute for Health Research; David V Conti, University of Southern California; Kiros Berhane, Columbia University; Martine Vrijheid, Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona; Rob McConnell, University of Southern California; Lida Chatzi, University of Southern California
• Language: English
• Date: 2021-06-11
• Publisher: Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2021 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of The Environmental Epidemiology. All rights reserved.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/EE9.0000000000000153
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Environmental Epidemiology
• Volume: 5
• Issue: 3
• Start Page: e153
• End Page: e153
• Keywords: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; NAFLD
• Research Categories: Biology, Biostatistics; Environmental Sciences

Abstract

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is the most prevalent pediatric chronic liver disease. Experimental studies suggest effects of air pollution and traffic exposure on liver injury. We present the first large-scale human study to evaluate associations of prenatal and childhood air pollution and traffic exposure with liver injury. Methods: Study population included 1,102 children from the Human Early Life Exposome project. Established liver injury biomarkers, including alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, and cytokeratin-18, were measured in serum between ages 6-10 years. Air pollutant exposures included nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter <10 μm (PM10), and <2.5 μm. Traffic measures included traffic density on nearest road, traffic load in 100-m buffer, and inverse distance to nearest road. Exposure assignments were made to residential address during pregnancy (prenatal) and residential and school addresses in year preceding follow-up (childhood). Childhood indoor air pollutant exposures were also examined. Generalized additive models were fitted adjusting for confounders. Interactions by sex and overweight/obese status were examined. Results: Prenatal and childhood exposures to air pollution and traffic were not associated with child liver injury biomarkers. There was a significant interaction between prenatal ambient PM10 and overweight/obese status for alanine aminotransferase, with stronger associations among children who were overweight/obese. There was no evidence of interaction with sex. Conclusion: This study found no evidence for associations between prenatal or childhood air pollution or traffic exposure with liver injury biomarkers in children. Findings suggest PM10 associations maybe higher in children who are overweight/obese, consistent with the multiple-hits hypothesis for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease pathogenesis.