Environmental Pollutants Ups Autoimmune Disease Risk Save

An Italian environmental study shows that air pollution increases the risk of autoimmune diseases, in particular rheumatoid arthritis, connective tissue diseases (CTDs) and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).

Previously environmental pollutants have been linked to an increased risk of RA onset and also, flares of RA or lupus.

Environmental data on particulate matter (PM)10 and PM2.5 concentrations were retrieved from the Italian Institute of Environmental Protection and Research and linked to the population prevalence of autoimmune diseases.

The population included 81363 subjects were included in the study. Nearly 12% (9723) developed an autoimmune disease. Air quality data were obtained from 617 air quality stations across 110 Italian provinces.  Between 2013-2019, the average long-term exposure was 16.0 µg/m3 for PM2.5 and 25.0 µg/m3 for PM10 (higher in certain regions - northern Italy, Po Valley and other near-city areas)

. We found a positive, yet small, association between exposure to PM10 and the risk of being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease (ρ 0.007, p 0.014; fitting of the fully adjusted model was good with deviance/df of 0.788). This finding translates into a 7% higher risk of having any autoimmune disease every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM10 concentration

We found a positive association between PM10 exposure and the risk of autoimmune diseases (ρ+0.007, p 0.014).  For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM10 concentration, there was a 7% increased risk of having autoimmune disease. This was especially so for higher levels of PM10 (>30 µg/m3) and PM2.5 (>20 µg/m3) with a 12% and 13% higher risk of autoimmune disease, respectively (adjusted OR (aOR) 1.12 and aOR 1.13).

Whereas exposure to PM10 was linked to an increased RA risk; exposure to PM2.5 was associated with an increased risk of RA, CTDs and IBD.

Environmental exposure to air pollutants appears to lead to immune system perturbation that, with time, manifests as autoimmune disease in some.