Abstract
Although emerging researches have linked ambient fine particulate matter (PM(2.5)) to obesity, evidence from high-polluted regions is still lacking. We thus assessed the long-term impacts of PM(2.5) on body mass index (BMI) and the risk of the prevalence of overweight/obesity (BMI≥25 kg/m(2)), by incorporating the well-established Prediction for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk in China (China-PAR) project comprising 77,609 participants with satellite-based PM(2.5) estimates at 1-km spatial resolution. The average of long-term PM(2.5) level was 70.4 μg/m(3), with the range of 32.1-94.2 μg/m(3). Each 10 μg/m(3) increment of PM(2.5) was associated with 0.421 kg/m(2) (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.402, 0.439) and 13.5% (95% CI: 12.8%, 14.3%) increased BMI and overweight/obesity risk, respectively. Moreover, compared with the lowest quartile of PM(2.5) (≤57.5 μg/m(3)), the relative risk of the prevalence of overweight/obesity from the highest quartile (>85.9 μg/m(3)) was 1.611 (95% CI: 1.566, 1.657). The exposure-response curve suggested a non-linear relationship between PM(2.5) exposure and overweight/obesity. Besides, the association was modified by age, diabetes mellitus, hypertension and dyslipidemia status. Our study provides the evidence for the adverse impacts of long-term PM(2.5) on BMI and overweight/obesity in China, and the findings are important for policy development on air quality, especially in severely polluted areas.