ARYA Atherosclerosis Journal

Association between ambient air pollution and hospitalization caused by atrial fibrillation

Document Type : Original Article(s)

Authors

Amir Saifipour 1
Amirhossein Azhari 2
Ali Pourmoghaddas 3
Sayed Mohsen Hosseini 4
Tohid Jafari-Koshki 5
Mojtaba Rahimi 6
Ali Nasri 7
Mansour Shishehforoush 8
Ahmadreza Lahijanzadeh 9
Babak Sadeghian 10
Elham Moazam 11
Mohammad Bagher Mohebi 12
Victoria Ezatian 13
Katayoun Rabiei 14
Nizal Sarrafzadegan 15

1 Cardiology Resident, Cardiac Rehabilitation Research Center, Cardiovascular Research Institute, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Heart Failure Research Center, Cardiovascular Research Institute, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

3 Professor, Hypertension Research Center, Cardiovascular Research Institute, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

4 Professor, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

5 Assistant Professor, Road Traffic Injury Research Center AND Department of Statistics and Epidemiology, School of Health, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

6 Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

7 Assistant Professor, Interventional Cardiology Research Center, Cardiovascular Research Institute, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

8 Isfahan Disaster Management Office, Isfahan Governor’s Office, Isfahan, Iran

9 Khuzestan Department of Environment, Ahvaz, Iran

10 Central Laboratory and Air Pollution Monitoring, Isfahan Province Environmental Monitoring Center, Isfahan Department of Environment, Isfahan, Iran

11 Cancer Prevention Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

12 Information Technology Office, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

13 Isfahan Meteorological Office, Isfahan, Iran

14 PhD Candidate, Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Center, Cardiovascular Research Institute, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

15 Professor, Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Center, Cardiovascular Research Institute, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22122/arya.v15i3.1843
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Many studies have shown the worst effects of air pollution on cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Present study focused on the relationship between atrial fibrillation (AF), as one of the common arrhythmias, and air pollutants in Isfahan, Iran, an industrial city in the Middle East.METHODS: A case-crossover design was used to explore the associations between air pollution and AF hospitalized patients with ventricular response (VR) > 90 beats per minute (bpm) (fast response) and those with VR ≤ 90 bpm. All patients' records were extracted from their hospital files. Air pollutants data including particulate matter less than 10 µ (PM10), PM2.5, carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and ozone (O3) were obtained from the Correlation of Air Pollution with Hospitalization and Mortality of Cardiovascular and Respiratory Diseases (CAPACITY) study. Conditional logistic regression test was used to measure the relationship between pollutants and hospitalization due to AF.RESULTS: Records of 369 patients, including 173 men (46.9%) who were hospitalized for AF during the study period and had complete data were extracted. Although a positive but not statistically significant relationship was shown between 10-unit increases in all pollutants (except PM10) and the hospitalization due to AF in patients with rapid VR (RVR), the only significant relationship was observed in case of NO2 [odds ratio (OR) = 1.26, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.0-2.1, P = 0.031].CONCLUSION: This study showed positive significant relationships between NO2 and the hospitalization due to AF in patients with RVR. NO2 is a greenhouse gas whose levels are expected to increase due to global environmental changes. Therefore, relevant strategies should be adopted to decrease its levels, especially in industrial cities like Isfahan.

Keywords

Air Pollution
Atrial Fibrillation
Nitrogen Dioxide
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ARYA Atherosclerosis Journal
Volume 15, Issue 3 - Serial Number 3
May and June 2019
Pages 106-112

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