Combined effects of chronic PM2.5 exposure and habitual exercise on cancer mortality: A longitudinal cohort study

Yacong Bo; Tsung Yu; Ly Yun Chang; Cui Guo; Changqing Lin; Yiqian Zeng; Bo Huang; Tony Tam; Alexis KH Lau; Samuel YS Wong; Xiang Qian Lao

doi:10.1093/ije/dyab209

Combined effects of chronic PM_2.5exposure and habitual exercise on cancer mortality: A longitudinal cohort study

Yacong Bo
, Tsung Yu
, Ly Yun Chang
, Cui Guo
, Changqing Lin
, Yiqian Zeng
, Bo Huang
, Tony Tam
, Alexis KH Lau
, Samuel YS Wong
, Xiang Qian Lao^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

20 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: Exercise may increase the inhalation and deposition of air pollutants, which may counteract its beneficial effects. We thus examined the combined effects of chronic exposure to fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) and habitual exercise on the risk of death from cancer in Taiwan.

Patients and methods: A total of 384 128 adults (≥18 years of age) were recruited for a medical screening programme between 2001 and 2016, yielding 842 384 medical-examination records. All participants were followed up until 31 May 2019. Vital data were obtained from the National Death Registry of Taiwan and the ambient PM_2.5 exposure was estimated using a satellite-based spatiotemporal model. Information on habitual exercise was collected using a standard self-administered questionnaire. The time-dependent Cox-regression model was used to evaluate the combined effects.

Results: A greater amount of habitual exercise was associated with lower risk of death from cancer, whilst a higher level of PM_2.5exposure was associated with a higher risk of death from cancer. The inverse associations of habitual exercise with death from cancer were not modified by chronic exposure to PM_2.5. The participants in the group with a high level of exercise and a low level of PM_2.5 exposure exhibited a 35% lower risk of death from cancer than those in the group with a low level of exercise and a high level of PM_2.5 exposure (95% confidence interval: 28%, 42%).

Conclusions: Increased levels of exercise and reduced exposure levels of PM_2.5are associated with a lower risk of death from cancer. Habitual exercise reduces the risk of death from cancer regardless of the levels of chronic PM_2.5 exposure. Our results indicate that habitual exercise is a suitable health-promotion strategy even for people who reside in moderately polluted regions.

© 2021 The Author(s) 2021; all rights reserved. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	225-236
Number of pages	12
Journal	International Journal of Epidemiology
Volume	51
Issue number	1
Online published	11 Oct 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyab209
Publication status	Published - Feb 2022
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s) 2021; all rights reserved. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.

Funding

X.Q.L. and T.Y. conceived of and designed the study. T.Y., L.Y.C., C.Q.L., A.K.H.L., T.T. and X.Q.L. acquired the data. C.G., Y.Q.Z. and Y.C.B. searched the literature. Y.C.B. conducted the data analysis. X.Q.L. and Y.C.B. interpreted the data and drafted the manuscript. All authors critically revised the manuscript. X.Q.L. obtained the funding. T.Y., L.Y.C., B.H., T.T., A.K.H.L., S.W. and X.Q.L. supervised this study.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Research Keywords

Ambient PM
cancer mortality
habitual exercise
longitudinal cohort
Taiwan

RGC Funding Information

RGC-funded

Access Output

10.1093/ije/dyab209

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Cite this

@article{da04a433cd7d44ea81b75988fc86de1c,

title = "Combined effects of chronic PM2.5 exposure and habitual exercise on cancer mortality: A longitudinal cohort study",

abstract = "Background: Exercise may increase the inhalation and deposition of air pollutants, which may counteract its beneficial effects. We thus examined the combined effects of chronic exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and habitual exercise on the risk of death from cancer in Taiwan. Patients and methods: A total of 384 128 adults (≥18 years of age) were recruited for a medical screening programme between 2001 and 2016, yielding 842 384 medical-examination records. All participants were followed up until 31 May 2019. Vital data were obtained from the National Death Registry of Taiwan and the ambient PM2.5 exposure was estimated using a satellite-based spatiotemporal model. Information on habitual exercise was collected using a standard self-administered questionnaire. The time-dependent Cox-regression model was used to evaluate the combined effects. Results: A greater amount of habitual exercise was associated with lower risk of death from cancer, whilst a higher level of PM2.5 exposure was associated with a higher risk of death from cancer. The inverse associations of habitual exercise with death from cancer were not modified by chronic exposure to PM2.5. The participants in the group with a high level of exercise and a low level of PM2.5 exposure exhibited a 35\% lower risk of death from cancer than those in the group with a low level of exercise and a high level of PM2.5 exposure (95\% confidence interval: 28\%, 42\%). Conclusions: Increased levels of exercise and reduced exposure levels of PM2.5 are associated with a lower risk of death from cancer. Habitual exercise reduces the risk of death from cancer regardless of the levels of chronic PM2.5 exposure. Our results indicate that habitual exercise is a suitable health-promotion strategy even for people who reside in moderately polluted regions. {\textcopyright} 2021 The Author(s) 2021; all rights reserved. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association. ",

keywords = "Ambient PM, cancer mortality, habitual exercise, longitudinal cohort, Taiwan",

author = "Yacong Bo and Tsung Yu and Chang, \{Ly Yun\} and Cui Guo and Changqing Lin and Yiqian Zeng and Bo Huang and Tony Tam and Lau, \{Alexis KH\} and Wong, \{Samuel YS\} and Lao, \{Xiang Qian\}",

year = "2022",

month = feb,

doi = "10.1093/ije/dyab209",

language = "English",

volume = "51",

pages = "225--236",

journal = "International Journal of Epidemiology",

issn = "0300-5771",

publisher = "Oxford University Press",

number = "1",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Combined effects of chronic PM2.5 exposure and habitual exercise on cancer mortality

T2 - A longitudinal cohort study

AU - Bo, Yacong

AU - Yu, Tsung

AU - Chang, Ly Yun

AU - Guo, Cui

AU - Lin, Changqing

AU - Zeng, Yiqian

AU - Huang, Bo

AU - Tam, Tony

AU - Lau, Alexis KH

AU - Wong, Samuel YS

AU - Lao, Xiang Qian

PY - 2022/2

Y1 - 2022/2

N2 - Background: Exercise may increase the inhalation and deposition of air pollutants, which may counteract its beneficial effects. We thus examined the combined effects of chronic exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and habitual exercise on the risk of death from cancer in Taiwan. Patients and methods: A total of 384 128 adults (≥18 years of age) were recruited for a medical screening programme between 2001 and 2016, yielding 842 384 medical-examination records. All participants were followed up until 31 May 2019. Vital data were obtained from the National Death Registry of Taiwan and the ambient PM2.5 exposure was estimated using a satellite-based spatiotemporal model. Information on habitual exercise was collected using a standard self-administered questionnaire. The time-dependent Cox-regression model was used to evaluate the combined effects. Results: A greater amount of habitual exercise was associated with lower risk of death from cancer, whilst a higher level of PM2.5 exposure was associated with a higher risk of death from cancer. The inverse associations of habitual exercise with death from cancer were not modified by chronic exposure to PM2.5. The participants in the group with a high level of exercise and a low level of PM2.5 exposure exhibited a 35% lower risk of death from cancer than those in the group with a low level of exercise and a high level of PM2.5 exposure (95% confidence interval: 28%, 42%). Conclusions: Increased levels of exercise and reduced exposure levels of PM2.5 are associated with a lower risk of death from cancer. Habitual exercise reduces the risk of death from cancer regardless of the levels of chronic PM2.5 exposure. Our results indicate that habitual exercise is a suitable health-promotion strategy even for people who reside in moderately polluted regions. © 2021 The Author(s) 2021; all rights reserved. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.

AB - Background: Exercise may increase the inhalation and deposition of air pollutants, which may counteract its beneficial effects. We thus examined the combined effects of chronic exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and habitual exercise on the risk of death from cancer in Taiwan. Patients and methods: A total of 384 128 adults (≥18 years of age) were recruited for a medical screening programme between 2001 and 2016, yielding 842 384 medical-examination records. All participants were followed up until 31 May 2019. Vital data were obtained from the National Death Registry of Taiwan and the ambient PM2.5 exposure was estimated using a satellite-based spatiotemporal model. Information on habitual exercise was collected using a standard self-administered questionnaire. The time-dependent Cox-regression model was used to evaluate the combined effects. Results: A greater amount of habitual exercise was associated with lower risk of death from cancer, whilst a higher level of PM2.5 exposure was associated with a higher risk of death from cancer. The inverse associations of habitual exercise with death from cancer were not modified by chronic exposure to PM2.5. The participants in the group with a high level of exercise and a low level of PM2.5 exposure exhibited a 35% lower risk of death from cancer than those in the group with a low level of exercise and a high level of PM2.5 exposure (95% confidence interval: 28%, 42%). Conclusions: Increased levels of exercise and reduced exposure levels of PM2.5 are associated with a lower risk of death from cancer. Habitual exercise reduces the risk of death from cancer regardless of the levels of chronic PM2.5 exposure. Our results indicate that habitual exercise is a suitable health-promotion strategy even for people who reside in moderately polluted regions. © 2021 The Author(s) 2021; all rights reserved. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.

KW - Ambient PM

KW - cancer mortality

KW - habitual exercise

KW - longitudinal cohort

KW - Taiwan

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85125001375

UR - https://www.scopus.com/record/pubmetrics.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85125001375&origin=recordpage

U2 - 10.1093/ije/dyab209

DO - 10.1093/ije/dyab209

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

C2 - 34632511

AN - SCOPUS:85125001375

SN - 0300-5771

VL - 51

SP - 225

EP - 236

JO - International Journal of Epidemiology

JF - International Journal of Epidemiology

IS - 1

ER -