Particulate Matter Exposure and Cardiopulmonary Differences in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Background:Particulate matter (PM) exposure may directly affect the pulmonary vasculature. Although the pulmonary vasculature is not easily measurable, differential associations for right ventricular (RV) and left ventricular (LV) mass may provide an indirect assessment of pulmonary vascular damage.Objectives:We tested whether long-term exposure to PM < 2.5 μm (PM2.5) is associated with greater RV mass and RV mass/end-diastolic volume ratio relative to the LV.Methods:The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis performed cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging among participants 45–84 years old without clinical cardiovascular disease in 2000–2002 in six U.S. cities. A fine-scale spatiotemporal model estimated ambient PM2.5 exposure in the year before CMR; individually weighted estimates accounted for indoor exposure to ambient PM2.5. Linear regression models were adjusted for demographics, anthropometrics, smoking status, cardiac risk factors, and LV parameters, with additional adjustment for city.Results:T...