International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · 10 authors, 6 centres
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This observational study of 11,035 men in Beijing found that short-term (0-3 day) exposure to various air pollutants was significantly associated with changes in the distribution of specific white blood cell types, suggesting an inflammatory response.
This study analyzed data from 11,035 adult men in Beijing to examine associations between short-term (0-3 day lag) exposure to air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, SO2, CO, NO2, O3) and peripheral blood leukocyte counts and classification. After adjusting for confounders like age and weather, significant correlations were found: PM2.5 exposure was positively correlated with lymphocyte counts, while PM10 was positively correlated with neutrophil counts. Conversely, most pollutants showed a negative correlation with eosinophil and basophil counts. The authors interpret these findings as evidence of an inflammatory response induced by air pollution, involving leukocyte redistribution. The study is limited by using city-average pollution data instead of individual exposure metrics and only assessing leukocyte counts as inflammatory markers.
