A new study suggests that the cardiac structure and function of Hispanic/Latino adults are affected by various forms of pollution in a number of occupations.
“Prior studies have focused on the effects of exposures where people live. And in those studies, people with Hispanic or Latinx backgrounds have been underrepresented,” co-lead author Jean Claude Uwamungu, MD, a cardiology fellow in training at Montefiore Health System/Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York, in a press release. “We looked specifically at a population of Hispanic/Latinx adults to assess the relationship between exposures at work and their heart health.”
The study included employed participants (n=782; 52% women, mean age, 52.9 years). The authors looked at occupational exposures such as burning wood, vehicle exhaust, solvents, pesticides, and metals using a questionnaire. The authors then conducted multivariable linear regression analyses to evaluate relationships between self-reported exposure and ecocardiographic measures of cardiac structure and function.
According to the results, burning wood at the current occupation was associated with increased left ventricular (LV) diastolic volume (P=0.002), and when the analysis was restricted to longest-held job, occupational exposure to burning wood was associated with decreased LV ejection fraction (P<0.0001), worsened LV global longitudinal strain (P=0.0009), and decreased right ventricular fractional area change (P<0.001). Additionally, exposure to pesticides was linked with worse average global longitudinal strain (P=0.04), increased stroke volume (P=0.03) and increased LV mass indexed to BSA (P=0.01) or height (P=0.02).
“These findings support the notion that where people live and work affects cardiovascular health. Policies and interventions to protect the environment and safeguard workers’ health could reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease such as heart failure especially among low income occupations that have higher exposure to these harmful pollutants,” Uwamungu said. “Health care professionals should routinely ask patients about exposure to pollutants at work to guide prevention, diagnosis and treatment of early stages of heart disease.”
The study was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
