Long-term exposure to air pollution ups MAFLD risk
23 Feb 2022
In the first 10 days of May 2017 alone, air pollution reached ‘very high’ and ‘serious’ levels in six out of Hong Kong’s 13 monitoring stations.The risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) seems to be tied to prolonged exposure to ambient air pollutants, such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM) with aerodynamic diameters of ≤1, ≤2.5, and ≤10 µm, a recent study reports.
The cross-sectional study included 90,086 participants (mean age 51.66 years, 60.3 percent women), in whom MAFLD was defined as radiologically diagnosed hepatic steatosis and the presence of overweight/obesity, diabetes mellitus, or metabolic dysregulation. Validated spatiotemporal models were used to measure the residence-specific levels of air pollution.
Logistic regression analysis revealed that high 3-year exposure to all air pollutants correlated with greater odds of MAFLD.
For instance, a 10-µg/m3 increase in PM1 and PM10 boosted the odds of MAFLD by more than 10 percent (odds ratio [OR], 1.13, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.10–1.17 and OR, 1.11, 95 percent CI, 1.09–1.14, respectively). A similar effect was reported for each 10-µg/m3 increase in NO2 exposure (OR, 1.15, 95 percent CI, 1.12–1.17).
PM2.5 had a stronger effect, with each 10-µg/m3 increase in exposure being tied to a nearly 30-percent jump in the likelihood of MAFLD (OR, 1.29, 95 percent CI, 1.25–1.34).
“Our findings add to the growing evidence of ambient pollution’s damaging effects on metabolic function and related organs. We also found that unhealthy lifestyles and the presence of central obesity may exacerbate these harmful effects,” the researchers said.
“Therefore, multifaceted efforts to control air pollution and promote healthy lifestyles should be prioritized accordingly in public health initiatives and legislative measures,” they added.