Background: The relationship between traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) and risk factors for cardiovascular disease needs to be better understood in order to address the adverse impact of air pollution on human health.

Objective: We examined associations between roadway proximity and traffic exposure zones, as markers of TRAP exposure, and metabolic biomarkers for cardiovascular disease risk in a cohort of patients undergoing cardiac catheterization.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of 2,124 individuals residing in North Carolina (USA). Roadway proximity was assessed via distance to primary and secondary roadways, and we used residence in traffic exposure zones (TEZs) as a proxy for TRAP. Two categories of metabolic outcomes were studied: measures associated with glucose control, and measures associated with lipid metabolism. Statistical models were adjusted for race, sex, smoking, body mass index, and socioeconomic status (SES).

Results: An interquartile-range (990 m) decrease in distance to roadways was associated with higher fasting plasma glucose (β = 2.17 mg/dL; 95% CI: –0.24, 4.59), and the association appeared to be limited to women (β = 5.16 mg/dL; 95% CI: 1.48, 8.84 compared with β = 0.14 mg/dL; 95% CI: –3.04, 3.33 in men). Residence in TEZ 5 (high-speed traffic) and TEZ 6 (stop-and-go traffic), the two traffic zones assumed to have the highest levels of TRAP, was positively associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C; β = 8.36; 95% CI: –0.15, 16.9 and β = 5.98; 95% CI: –3.96, 15.9, for TEZ 5 and 6, respectively).

Conclusion: Proxy measures of TRAP exposure were associated with intermediate metabolic traits associated with cardiovascular disease, including fasting plasma glucose and possibly HDL-C.

Citation: Ward-Caviness CK, Kraus WE, Blach C, Haynes CS, Dowdy E, Miranda ML, Devlin RB, Diaz-Sanchez D, Cascio WE, Mukerjee S, Stallings C, Smith LA, Gregory SG, Shah SH, Hauser ER, Neas LM. 2015. Association of roadway proximity with fasting plasma glucose and metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular disease in a cross-sectional study of cardiac catheterization patients. Environ Health Perspect 123:1007–1014;  http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1306980

*These authors are co-senior authors.

Address correspondence to C.K. Ward-Caviness, DUMC Box 3382, Durham, NC 27710 USA. Telephone: (919) 684-0630. E-mail: cavin.wardcaviness@gmail.com

We thank all of the participants in the CATHGEN study, and we acknowledge the essential contributions of the faculty and staff of the Duke Cardiac Catheterization Lab, the Duke Databank for Cardiovascular Disease, and the Duke Center for Human Genetics for their contributions to this manuscript.

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grants HL73042, HL36587, and HL095987 and by an award from the Neurosciences Education and Research Foundation (Encinitas, CA). This research was supported by an appointment to the ORISE Research Participation Program for the U.S. EPA, Office of Research and Development. C.S. and L.A.S. are employed by Alion Science and Technology Inc.

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. EPA. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.

The authors declare they have no actual or potential competing financial interests.

Received: 19 April 2013 Accepted: 19 March 2015 Advance Publication: 24 March 2015 Final Publication: 1 October 2015

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