Online Program

288483
Using an environmental justice framework to examine cumulative effects of particulate matter and access to antioxidant rich foods on blood pressure


Tuesday, November 5, 2013 : 1:10 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Amy J. Schulz, PhD, Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI
J. Timothy Dvonch, PhD, Environmental Health Science, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI
Graciela B. Mentz, PhD, Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI
Natalie Sampson, PhD, MPH, Department of Heath Behavior Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI
Angela G. Reyes, MPH, Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation, Detroit, MI
Residents of predominantly African American and Latino communities and those with lower socioeconomic status are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards. Air pollution exposure results in increased oxidative stress, linked to poor cardiovascular outcomes. Antioxidant supplements may play a modulating role on the acute effect of air pollutants. The majority of studies have been conducted with dietary supplements, rather than examining variations in total dietary intake. We used an environmental justice framework to assess the role of dietary antioxidants in modifying the adverse effects of exposure to PM2.5 on blood pressure (BP) and to consider implications for health inequities.

Methods We used data from the Healthy Environments Partnership (HEP), approved by the University of Michigan's Institutional Review Board. We use Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) to test simultaneously for the effect of ambient exposure PM2.5 and dietary antioxidant intake. Models adjusted for demographics, medication use, and related health conditions.

Results Dietary antioxidant intake was negatively associated with systolic BP (beta=-1.6, p-value=0.02) and pulse pressure (beta=-0.7, p-value=0.08), after accounting for the effect of ambient exposure of PM2.5. We did not identify a significant modulating effect of dietary antioxidant on ambient exposure.

Conclusions Our findings are consistent with results reported elsewhere (Marchioli 2003, Jenkins et al. 2008), indicating that dietary antioxidants are associated with decreased blood pressure. These effects may help to mitigate negative effects of PM2.5 on cardiovascular health. Neighborhoods with excess exposure to PM2.5 and reduced access to antioxidant rich foods may be particularly vulnerable to the negative health effects of PM2.5.

Learning Areas:

Chronic disease management and prevention
Environmental health sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe patterns of PM2.5 air pollution exposure, high blood pressure and dietary antioxidant intake in relation to racial, ethnic and socioeconomic characteristics of neighborhoods, in Detroit, MI. Assess the role of dietary antioxidants in modifying the adverse effects of exposure to PM2.5 on blood pressure Describe cumulative risks for residents communities exposed to excess PM2.5 and with limited availability of foods rich in dietary antioxidants

Keyword(s): Air Pollutants, Environmental Justice

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the PI for this study as well as multiple other federally funded grants. I am a professor of public health, with training in public health and social sciences. I conceptualized the research questions for the larger study of which this analysis is a component, as well as the research questions for this particular analysis, oversaw the data analysis, and drafted the results.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.