Lifetime air pollution exposure from prenatal to 18 years and cardiovascular health in young adulthood: Findings from a UK birth cohort
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Abstract
Abstract Aims We assessed the association between air pollution from pregnancy (in utero) to 18 years and cardiovascular health markers in early adulthood. Methods Data from 3,767 individuals from a UK birth cohort were used. We explored the associations between modelled fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and black carbon (BC) across an 18-year period and eight cardiovascular health markers measured at 18 year of age. Long-term exposure to air pollution was assessed by averaging the air pollutants over time and by creating air pollutant trajectories. Linear regressions were used to assess the associations between air pollutants and cardiovascular health markers. Possible sensitive periods of exposure and sex differences in these associations were also explored. Results Higher average levels of PM 2.5 and NO 2 were associated with higher peripheral (pDBP) and central diastolic blood pressure (cDBP); e.g., an interquartile range increase in PM 2.5 was associated with 0.46 mmHg (95%CI 0.14, 0.78) higher pDBP and 0.50 mmHg (95%CI 0.17, 0.83) higher cDBP. Higher average PM 2.5 levels were also associated with lower carotid intima-media thickness and higher BC levels were associated with higher heart rate (HR). Latent classes showed the same overall patterns of association, with the trajectory classes with the highest levels of air pollution exposure tending to have higher pDBP, cDBP and HR. There was little evidence of sensitive periods of exposure and sex differences in the associations. Conclusions Higher lifetime exposure to air pollution up to 18 years was associated with markers of poorer cardiovascular health in early adulthood.
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Exposure-associated differences in blood pressure persist at the transition to adult care.
“this design strengthens the adult-health narrative by demonstrating that exposure-associated differences in BP persist at the transition to adult care [84].”
From Placental Pathophysiology and Developmental Programming of Adult Cardiometabolic Risk: A Narrative Review of Pregnancy Exposures (2026) · cites this paper as [84]
The Abstract Results report associations between higher lifetime air-pollution exposure and higher diastolic blood pressure, and Methods > Cardiovascular health markers says blood pressure was measured at age 18 (no page numbers provided). The paper supports exposure-associated differences at that age, but a single age-18 assessment does not establish that blood-pressure differences persisted from earlier ages or assess a transition to adult care. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredHigher average PM2.5 and NO2 exposure from pregnancy through age 18 is associated with higher peripheral and central diastolic blood pressure at age 18.
“Direct adult-adjacent evidence is now available from a UK birth cohort that characterised air pollution exposure from pregnancy through age 18 and assessed cardiovascular markers at age 18, reporting that higher average PM2.5 and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) across this period were associated with higher peripheral and central diastolic BP.”
From Placental Pathophysiology and Developmental Programming of Adult Cardiometabolic Risk: A Narrative Review of Pregnancy Exposures (2026) · cites this paper as [84]
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- Authors
- Goncalves Soares, A., Tilling, K., Makanvand, M., Kerckhoffs, J., Hansell, A. L., Timpson, N. J., & Elhakeem, A.
- Affiliations
- University of Bristol (GB)
- Utrecht University (NL)
- University of Leicester (GB)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Environment International
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2025-09
- Volume
- 203
- Pages
- 109754
- ISSN
- 0160-4120 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7618702
- OpenAlex
- W4413771002
- Cited by
- 3
- References
- 55
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3
- FWCI
- 1.28
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Environment International (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- medRxiv (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Explore Bristol Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Bristol Research (University of Bristol) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Health and Safety Executive
- National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit (NIHR200901)
- Horizon 2020 (874724, 874739)
- Medical Research Council (MC_UU_00011/1, MC_UU_00032/2)
- National Institute for Health and Care Research
- Wellcome
- Horizon 2020 Framework Programme
- NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre
- Department of Health and Social Care
- NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre
- University of Leicester
- Wellcome Trust (217065/Z/19/Z)
- University of Bristol
- British Heart Foundation (RE/24/130031)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Air Quality and Health Impacts
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Environmental Justice and Health Disparities
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Indoor Air Quality and Microbial Exposure
- Keywords
- air pollution exposure, prenatal exposure, children's exposure, PM2.5, nitrogen dioxide, black carbon, cardiovascular health, blood pressure, carotid intima-media thickness, heart rate, sex differences, birth cohort
- MeSH terms
- Birth Cohort, Adolescent, Air Pollutants, Air Pollution, Blood Pressure, Cardiovascular Diseases, Environmental Exposure, Female, United Kingdom, Humans, Male, Nitrogen Dioxide, Pregnancy, Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects, Cohort Studies, Particulate Matter, Soot
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