Alexeeff, Stacey E.Coull, BrentGryparis, AlexandrosSuh, HelenSparrow, DavidVokonas, PantelSchwartz, Joel2012-06-052011Alexeeff, Stacey E., Brent Andrew Coull, Alexandros Gryparis, Helen Suh, David Sparrow, Pantel S. Vokonas, and Joel David Schwartz. 2011. Medium-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution and markers of inflammation and endothelial function. Environmental Health Perspectives 119(4): 481-486.0091-67651552-9924http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:8830769Background: Exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) contributes to increased cardiovascular risk. Land-use regression models can improve exposure assessment for TRAP. Objectives: We examined the association between medium-term concentrations of black carbon (BC) estimated by land-use regression and levels of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), both markers of inflammatory and endothelial response. Methods: We studied 642 elderly men participating in the Veterans Administration (VA) Normative Aging Study with repeated measurements of sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 during 1999–2008. Daily estimates of BC exposure at each geocoded participant address were derived using a validated spatiotemporal model and averaged to form 4-, 8-, and 12-week exposures. We used linear mixed models to estimate associations, controlling for confounders. We examined effect modification by statin use, obesity, and diabetes. Results: We found statistically significant positive associations between BC and sICAM-1 for averages of 4, 8, and 12 weeks. An interquartile-range increase in 8-week BC exposure \((0.30 μg/m^3)\) was associated with a 1.58% increase in sICAM-1 (95% confidence interval, 0.18–3.00%). Overall associations between sVCAM-1 and BC exposures were suggestive but not statistically significant. We found a significant interaction with diabetes—where diabetics were more susceptible to the effect of BC—for both sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1. We also observed an interaction with statin use, which was statistically significant for sVCAM-1 and suggestive for sICAM-1. We found no evidence of an interaction with obesity. Conclusion: Our results suggest that medium-term exposure to TRAP may induce an increased inflammatory/endothelial response, especially among diabetics and those not using statins.en-USadhesion moleculesaircardiovascularenvironmentaloutdoor airroadway proximityJournal Article2012-06-0510.1289/ehp.1002560