In recent days, the prestigious journal The Lancet Regional Health – Europe (IF 20.9) published a study conducted as part of the EP-PARTICLES project, led by Dr. Łukasz Kuźma, who works at the Department of Invasive Cardiology. This project involves a team of researchers from the Medical University of Białystok (Emil Julian Dąbrowski, Anna Kurasz, Michał Święczkowski, Piotr Jemielita, Paweł Kralisz, Anna Tomaszuk-Kazberuk, Hanna Bachórzewska-Gajewska, Sławomir Dobrzycki), in collaboration with scientists from other universities, investigating the impact of air pollution and weather on health. The published article "Effect of air pollution exposure on risk of acute coronary syndromes in Poland: a nationwide population-based study (EP-PARTICLES study)" is the result of an analysis covering a population of 8,000,000 residents of five voivodeships in eastern Poland over a ten-year observation period (2011-2020). The study analyzed the impact of individual components of air pollution (PM2.5, NO2, SO2, benzo[a]pyrene) on the occurrence of myocardial infarction in both short- and medium-term periods.
The analysis also aimed to identify the most vulnerable subgroups based on demographic and socioeconomic data obtained in cooperation with the National Health Fund (NFZ) and the Central Statistical Office (GUS). Using the innovative GEM-AQ model, it was possible to conduct a high-resolution time-space analysis (community resolution grids with hourly outputs from the surface layer aggregated to annual averages). Moreover, the study was among the first to assess the harmful impact of benzo[a]pyrene on the occurrence of acute coronary syndromes.
The main findings of this study reveal the negative impact of both short- and medium-term exposure to air pollution on the risk of hospitalization due to myocardial infarction. Subgroup analysis showed that women are the most vulnerable to the adverse effects of short- and medium-term exposure, although these effects vary by age groups and type of infarction (STEMI and NSTEMI). The risk of myocardial infarction associated with increased concentrations of air pollution was greater in rural areas compared to urban ones, and in communities with lower average per capita income. However, it is noteworthy that different pollutants showed varied effects, and in some cases, no significant impact was observed.
The studies were supported by funds from the National Science Centre (grant number UMO-2021/41/B/NZ7/03716) and the Medical University of Białystok (contract numbers: UMB-B.SUB.23.509, UMB- B.SUB.23.290, UMB- B.SUB.23.102).
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