Particulate matter exposure may increase the risk of irritable bowel syndrome: a large-scale prospective study based on the UK Biobank

• Published in: Environmental science. Nano Vol. 11; no. 3; pp. 846 - 854
• Main Authors: Ran, Yan, Lei, Jian, Li, Laifu, Wang, Lianli, Sun, Yating, Mei, Lin, Ye, Fangchen, Dai, Fei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 14.03.2024
• Subjects: Air pollution; Biobanks; Cohorts; Exposure; Gastrointestinal diseases; Intestine; Irritable bowel syndrome; Land use; Particulate emissions; Particulate matter; Regression models; Risk factors; Statistical analysis; Statistical models; Suspended particulate matter; United Kingdom > UK
• ISSN: 2051-8153; 2051-8161
• DOI: 10.1039/d3en00650f

Background : irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common functional gastrointestinal disorders and considerably contributes to the global disease burden. Ambient air pollution, especially particulate matter (PM), could be a risk factor for IBS. However, limited evidence has linked PM exposure to IBS. Methods : we conducted a large-scale prospective cohort study based on the UK Biobank. The annual average concentrations of PM 10 , PM 2.5-10 , and PM 2.5 were obtained from the ESCAPE study using the land-use regression (LUR) model. The Cox proportional hazard model was used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) at 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) of PM with IBS incidence. We further explored the exposure-response relationship curve and performed several stratified analyses based on sex, age, BMI, and other factors. Results : during a follow-up period of 13.7 years, 5796 individuals diagnosed with IBS were identified. We estimated that the HRs of IBS associated with a 10 μg m −3 increase in PM 10 , PM 2.5-10 , and PM 2.5 were 1.14 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.29), 1.16 (95% CI: 0.90, 1.50), and 1.33 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.68), respectively. We estimated an almost linear exposure-response relationship between PM 10 and PM 2.5 exposure and IBS. Individuals under 60 years old were more vulnerable to PM exposure. Conclusions : our study provided robust evidence on the association between long-term PM 10 and PM 2.5 exposure and IBS; and the impact of PM 2.5 was higher than that of PM 10 . We further suggest restricting the ambient PM standards to reduce the impact of PM exposure on IBS. Long-term exposure to PM 10 and PM 2.5 increases the risk of IBS, especially PM 2.5 .