Link Between Cardiovascular Risks and ‘Ultrafine’ Particle Pollution.

Microscopic pollutants spewed from the tailpipes of vehicles traveling on highways are likely to harm the health of people who live nearby and who spend large amounts of time outdoors or with their windows open, according to a study co-authored by School of Public Health researchers.

The study, set for publication later this year in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, is among the first to link cardiovascular risks to prolonged exposure to so-called ultrafine particles, which include hydrocarbons and metals. Researchers at SPH and Tufts University School of Medicine used special mobile labs in 2009–2010 to examine the impact of such microscopic pollution on residents of Somerville.

The study of ultrafine particles is part of a growing body of research into the potential dangers of living near high-traffic roads. It suggests that those who live within 1,500 feet of a highway have a greater likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease than those living twice as far away. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that more than 45 million Americans live within 900 feet of a major road, railroad, or airport.

The researchers took blood samples and interviewed 140 people from Somerville, Massachusetts, who live as close as a few hundred feet, and more than a half a mile away, from Interstate 93 and Route 38. They adjusted for factors such as age, gender, body fat, and smoking status.

The researchers found that people who lived within 1,500 feet of the highway had a median of more than twice the amount of C-reactive protein in their blood than those who lived more than a half-mile away. Higher amounts of the protein indicate a higher likelihood of a stroke or heart attack.

The findings indicate a need for more research with a wider sample size, Kevin Lane, a former doctoral student at SPH who is now a researcher at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, told the Boston Globe.

“This is an important study, because we don’t have ultrafine particle standards, and if we want to get them, we need studies like this,” Lane said in the Globe article. “This is the first of what needs to be a growing body of literature to drive this conversation.”

The Somerville study was funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health. Researchers also are looking at exposures among residents of Dorchester and Chinatown.

SPH researchers on the study included Jonathan Levy, professor of environmental health, and Madeleine Scammell, assistant professor of environmental health.