TY - JOUR
T1 - Higher PM2.5 exposure increases the risk of incident systemic lupus erythematosus
T2 - a prospective cohort study in Taiwan
AU - Lai, Yun-Ju
AU - Chen, Li-Jung
AU - Lin, Yu-Kai
AU - Wang, Su-Fen
AU - Chen, Mei-Ju
AU - Lee, Jason Jiunshiou
AU - Chen, Chu-Chieh
AU - Chen, Yi-Tui
AU - Chung, Ping-Yen
AU - Hsu, Li-Fei
AU - Lai, Kuei-Zuo
AU - Ahmadi, Matthew N.
AU - Inan-Eroglu, Elif
AU - Koemel, Nicholas A.
AU - Ku, Po-Wen
A2 - Yen, Yung-Feng
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025.
PY - 2025/7/20
Y1 - 2025/7/20
N2 - Background The interaction between fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and genetic factors can lead to epigenetic modifications, potentially increasing the risk of SLE development. However, the impact of PM2.5 on incident SLE development remains unelucidated. This study investigated the effects of year-to-year variations in PM2.5 exposure on incident SLE risk in Taiwanese adults. Methods In this longitudinal study, we followed up 268 254 adults from the Taiwan MJ cohort (2005-2017) for 9.8 years to identify incident SLE cases, ascertained from patients' clinical and laboratory reports. Residential address-specific annual PM2.5 concentrations were obtained from Taiwan Air Quality-Monitoring sites. We employed a time-dependent Cox regression model, considering death as a competing risk, to assess the impact of year-to-year variations of PM2.5 exposure on SLE development. Results During 2 628 889 person-years of follow-up, 151 (0.1%) individuals developed new-onset SLE. Participants with higher levels of PM2.5 exposure (per 5 μg/m 3 increase) had significantly higher risk of incident SLE (adjusted HR 3.35; 95% CI 2.94 to 3.82). We observed a significant positive linear relation between increasing level of PM2.5 exposure and higher risk of incident SLE in all individual subgroups after stratifying study subjects by age and sex (p<0.001). Conclusion PM2.5 exposure emerged as a risk factor for incident SLE. Air pollution mitigation strategies should be considered as a preventive measure for SLE.
AB - Background The interaction between fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and genetic factors can lead to epigenetic modifications, potentially increasing the risk of SLE development. However, the impact of PM2.5 on incident SLE development remains unelucidated. This study investigated the effects of year-to-year variations in PM2.5 exposure on incident SLE risk in Taiwanese adults. Methods In this longitudinal study, we followed up 268 254 adults from the Taiwan MJ cohort (2005-2017) for 9.8 years to identify incident SLE cases, ascertained from patients' clinical and laboratory reports. Residential address-specific annual PM2.5 concentrations were obtained from Taiwan Air Quality-Monitoring sites. We employed a time-dependent Cox regression model, considering death as a competing risk, to assess the impact of year-to-year variations of PM2.5 exposure on SLE development. Results During 2 628 889 person-years of follow-up, 151 (0.1%) individuals developed new-onset SLE. Participants with higher levels of PM2.5 exposure (per 5 μg/m 3 increase) had significantly higher risk of incident SLE (adjusted HR 3.35; 95% CI 2.94 to 3.82). We observed a significant positive linear relation between increasing level of PM2.5 exposure and higher risk of incident SLE in all individual subgroups after stratifying study subjects by age and sex (p<0.001). Conclusion PM2.5 exposure emerged as a risk factor for incident SLE. Air pollution mitigation strategies should be considered as a preventive measure for SLE.
KW - Epidemiology
KW - Risk Factors
KW - Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105011299300
U2 - 10.1136/lupus-2024-001385
DO - 10.1136/lupus-2024-001385
M3 - Article
C2 - 40685228
AN - SCOPUS:105011299300
SN - 2053-8790
VL - 12
JO - Lupus Science & Medicine
JF - Lupus Science & Medicine
IS - 2
M1 - e001385
ER -