Cardio-oncology & otherCohort study
Associations Between PM2.5 Components and Cardiovascular Diseases
- Prospective cohort study
- time-varying Cox models
- substitution models
Authors' conclusion
Long-term exposure to PM2.5 chemical components was positively associated with CVD risk. Critically, CVD risk was influence by compositional shifts, with a particularly hazardous profile characterized by higher proportions of Cl-, BC, or SO42-.
Study context
- Population
- Adults free of cardiovascular disease (CVD) or cancer at baseline, China Kadoorie Biobank
- Participants
- 487,037 adults
- Exposure
- Long-term exposure to PM2.5 components
- Outcome
- Incident CVD
- Follow-up
- median 15.1-year follow-up
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Total CVD, HR per IQR increase
Hazard ratio (95% CI)
BC
1.15(1.13–1.17)
Organic matter
1.17(1.15–1.18)
Cl-
1.28(1.25–1.32)
NO3-
1.29(1.24–1.33)
SO42-
1.23(1.20–1.25)
Per IQR increase, as printed
- CVD events: total
- 196,224
- Ischemic heart disease
- 72,747
- Ischemic stroke
- 74,594
- Hemorrhagic stroke
- 17,553
- Other cerebrovascular diseases
- 54,306
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Component proportions and CVD subtypes
- Higher proportions of Cl-, SO42- and BC associated with increased ischemic stroke risk; these inorganic ions also positively associated with ischemic heart disease
Substitution of 1% of other PM2.5 components (total PM2.5 constant)
- With Cl-: higher total CVD risk
- 3% to 8%
- With BC: higher ischemic stroke risk
- 1% to 8%
- With SO42-: higher ischemic heart disease risk
- 2% to 5%
Original publication
Associations Between PM2.5 Components and Cardiovascular Diseases. J Am Coll Cardiol. Published 24 June 2026. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2026.04.040
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it