SynthesisPloS one2015
Carotid intima-media thickness, a marker of subclinical atherosclerosis, and particulate air pollution exposure: the meta-analytical evidence.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Ambient air pollution and cardiovascular diseases: An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.Journal of internal medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Senolytics Reverse PMCardiovascular toxicology · 2026Article
- Imperative for a health-centred focus on climate change in radiology.Journal of medical imaging and radiation oncology · 2026Review
- Framingham risk score in predicting increased carotid intima-media thickness on ultrasound: identifying patients with subclinical atherosclerosis at high risk.BMC neurology · 2026Article
- Lifetime air pollution exposure from prenatal to 18 years and cardiovascular health in young adulthood: findings from a UK birth cohort.Environment international · 2025Article
- Household air pollution exposure in adult women is associated with increased carotid intima-media thickness: A cross-sectional study of the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network trial.International journal of hygiene and environmental health · 2025Article
- The Dark Triad of Particulate Matter, Oxidative Stress and Coronary Artery Disease: What About the Antioxidant Therapeutic Potential.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Air pollution and cardiovascular diseases: mechanisms, evidence, and mitigation strategies.Journal of medicine and life · 2025Review
- Therapeutic Potential of Herbal Medicines in Combating Particulate Matter (PM)-Induced Health Effects: Insights from Recent Studies.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Bibliometric analysis of global research on air pollution and cardiovascular diseases: 2012-2022.Heliyon · 2024Article
- Pathogenesis of PMEpigenomes · 2024Review
- Effect of air pollution on the global burden of cardiovascular diseases and forecasting future trends of the related metrics: a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Article
- Non-Conventional Risk Factors: "Fact" or "Fake" in Cardiovascular Disease Prevention?Biomedicines · 2023Review
- Subclinical atherosclerosis burden in non-diabetic hypertensives treated in primary care center: the IMTABI study.BMC primary care · 2023Article
- The Impact of Fine Particulate Matter 2.5 on the Cardiovascular System: A Review of the Invisible Killer.Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Recent Insights into Particulate Matter (PMInternational journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Review
- Evaluation of Intima-Media Thickness and Arterial Stiffness as Early Ultrasound Biomarkers of Carotid Artery Atherosclerosis.Cardiology and therapy · 2022Review
- The cardiovascular effects of air pollution: Prevention and reversal by pharmacological agents.Pharmacology & therapeutics · 2022Review
- Impacts of Environmental Insults on Cardiovascular Aging.Current environmental health reports · 2022Review
- Heart Failure and PAHs, OHPAHs, and Trace Elements Levels in Human Serum: Results from a Preliminary Pilot Study in Greek Population and the Possible Impact of Air Pollution.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionStudies on the association between atherosclerosis and long-term exposure to ambient air pollution suggest that carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), a marker of subclinical atherosclerosis, is positively associated with particulate matter (PM) exposure. However, there is heterogeneity between the different studies concerning the magnitude of this association. We performed a meta-analysis to determine the strength of the association between CIMT and particulate air pollution.
methodsWe queried PubMed citation database and Web of Knowledge up to March 2015 in order to identify studies on CIMT and particulate air pollution. Two investigators selected and computerized all relevant information, independently. Eight of the reviewed epidemiological publications provided sufficient details and met our inclusion criteria. Descriptive and quantitative information was extracted from each selected study. The meta-analysis included 18,349 participants from eight cohorts for the cross-sectional association between CIMT and PM and 7,268 participants from three cohorts for the longitudinal analysis on CIMT progression and PM exposure.
resultsThe average exposure to PM2.5 in the different study populations ranged from 4.1 to 20.8 µg/m3 and CIMT averaged (SD) 0.73 (0.14) mm. We computed a pooled estimate from a random-effects model. In the combined cross-sectional studies, an increase of 5 µg/m3 PM2.5 was associated with a 1.66% (95% CI: 0.86 to 2.46; P<0.0001) thicker CIMT, which corresponds to an average increase of 12.1 µm. None of the studies moved the combined estimate outside the confidence interval of the overall estimate. A funnel plot suggested absence of publication bias. The combined longitudinal estimate showed for each 5 µg/m3 higher PM2.5 exposure, a 1.04 µm per year (95% CI: 0.01 to 2.07; P=0.048) greater CIMT progression.
conclusionOur meta-analysis supports the evidence of a positive association between CIMT, a marker of subclinical atherosclerosis, and long-term exposure to particulate air pollution.
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