Bioaerosol exposure and circulating biomarkers in a panel of elderly subjects and healthy young adults

• Published in: The Science of the total environment 2017-09, Vol.593-594, p.380-389
• Main Authors: Faridi, Sasan, Naddafi, Kazem, Kashani, Homa, Nabizadeh, Ramin, Alimohammadi, Mahmood, Momeniha, Fatemeh, Faridi, Sholeh, Niazi, Sadegh, Zare, Ahad, Gholampour, Akbar, Hoseini, Mohammad, Pourpak, Zahra, Hassanvand, Mohammad Sadegh, Yunesian, Masud
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Aerosols; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Air Microbiology; Bacteria; Bioaerosols; Biomarkers - blood; C-Reactive Protein - analysis; Circulating biomarkers; Cities; Environmental Exposure; Female; Fungi; Humans; Inflammation - blood; Interleukin-6 - blood; Iran; Leukocyte Count; Male; Nursing home; Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type II - blood; School dormitory; Tehran; von Willebrand Factor - analysis
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.03.186

Numerous studies have found that risk of cardiovascular diseases is associated with increased blood levels of circulating markers of systemic inflammation. We investigated associations of acute exposure to bioaerosols (bacteria and fungi) with blood markers of inflammation and coagulation using panels of elderly subjects and healthy young adults. We conducted a panel study of 44 nonsmoker elderly subjects in a retirement communities and a panel study of 40 healthy young adults living in a school dormitory within Tehran city, Iran. Blood sample biomarkers were measured weekly over 6weeks and including high sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP), tumor necrosis factor-soluble receptor-II (sTNF-RII), von Willebrand factor (vWF), white blood cells (WBC) count and interleukin-6 (IL-6). We found significant positive associations for IL-6 and WBC with exposure to Aspergillus spp. (As), Cladosporium spp. (Cl), Penicillium spp. (Pe), total fungi (TF) and Micrococcus spp. (MI); vWF with Cl and MI; sTNF-RII with Staphylococcus spp. (ST) in healthy young adults from the current-day and multiday averages. For elderly subjects, we observed significant positive associations for hsCRP, sTNF-RII and WBC with exposure to MI, but not with ST and total bacteria (TB). Our results showed the strongest significant positive associations for IL-6 with MI, ST and TB in elderly people. In addition, IL-6 was also positively associated with As, Cl and Pe in elderly. Also, the results showed that increase of vWF was significantly associated with bacterial and fungal aerosols, except Bacillus spp. (BA) at some lags in elderly subjects. Pooled results support the pivotal role of bioaerosols in increasing the level of some of inflammatory biomarkers, especially IL-6 and WBC in healthy young adults but possibly also in elderly people. [Display omitted] •Exposure to bioaerosols increases the level of biomarkers both in elderly and healthy young subjects.•Associations were stronger in the healthy young adults.•Pooled results confirm the hypothesis that bioaerosols induced blood markers.