Long-term joint exposure of outdoor air pollutants and impaired kidney function in Korean adults: A mixture analysis based on a nationwide sample (2007-2019)

Abstract

We explored the association between exposure to air pollutant mixture and renal function. A nationwide sample of 69,066 Korean adults was analyzed. The 1-year moving averages of the concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2, CO, and O3 were estimated using the air pollution modeling. The outcome was estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) value. Quantile-based G-computation analyses were performed to determine how a simultaneous increase in the air pollutant mixture by one quartile was associated with changes in eGFR levels. The mean of eGFR was 88.9 among the sample. In the quantile-based G-computation model, one-quartile increase in the levels of air pollutant mixture was linked to a decrease in eGFR by -0.85 (95 % CI: -1.14, -0.57), with CO and PM2.5 contributing 52.3 % and 37.3 %, respectively, to the negative association between the pollutant mixture and eGFR. Our results suggest that long-term exposure to air pollutant mixtures is linked to impaired renal function.