Cardiology in the Young (2010), 20, 186–190 doi:10.1017/S1047951109992010 r Cambridge University Press, 2010 Original Article Air pollution and carotid arterial stiffness in children Arcangelo Iannuzzi, 1 Maria Carmela Verga, 2 Maurizio Renis, 3 Alfonso Schiavo, 3 Vittorio Salvatore, 3 Carlo Santoriello, 3 Dario Pazzano, 1 Maria Rosaria Licenziati, 4 Mario Polverino 3 1 Division of Internal Medicine, A Cardarelli Hospital, Napoli, Italy; 2 Ambulatory Pediatrician; 3 Department of Medicine and Medical Specialities, Azienda Sanitaria Locale (ASL) Salerno, Italy; 4 Department of Pediatrics, A Cardarelli Hospital, Napoli, Italy Abstract Background and purpose: Many studies unequivocally indicate that air pollution is directly linked to the adverse cardiovascular outcomes in the general population. No data are currently available on cardiovascular effects of exposure to trafficked roads in healthy children. Distance of the residence to a major road has been shown to be a useful proxy for long-term traffic exposure and seem to be more consistently associated with atherosclerosis than particulate matter 2.5 . The aim of this study was to investigate a possible association between the distance to a major road and carotid arterial subclinical markers of atherosclerosis in a group of children in Italy. Methods: The participants consisted of 52 healthy children living in a small town of the Amalphitan Coast with only one highly trafficked road. All children underwent an ultrasound carotid arterial examination. Results: A statistically significant difference was found in carotid arterial stiffness between children living closer to the main street and other children, both those living between 330 and 730 metres from the main street and those living more than 750 metres from the main street. No significant differences were detectable in carotid arterial thickness and arterial blood pressure among the three groups of children. Conclusion: This study provides evidence in support of an association of exposure to air pollution with early atherosclerotic markers in healthy children. Impaired vascular health in childhood and adolescence gives further substance to the hypothesis that traffic exhausts are relevant to cardiovascular diseases even early in life. Keywords: Childhood; arteries; atherosclerosis; environment Received: 7 June 2009; Accepted: 11 October 2009; First published online: 11 March 2010 M ANY EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES HAVE SHOWN A consistent increased risk for cardiovascular events in relation to both short- and long- term exposure to concentrations of ambient particulate matter. 1 Ambient particles include coarse particles with aerodynamic diameter 2.5–10 microns (particu- late matter 10 ), fine particles (aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 microns; particulate matter 2.5 ), and ultrafine particles (aerodynamic diameter less than 0.1 microns). Principal sources of particulate matter 10 are wind- blown dust and wildfires. Fine particles are principally generated by gas to particle conversions and during fuel combustion and industrial activities, such as oil refinery, tailpipe and brake emissions from mobile sources, and residential fuel combustion. Ultrafine particles are mainly generated by tailpipe emissions from mobile sources, principally, motor vehicles. In a population-based study, residential exposure to highly trafficked roads was associated with coronary athero- sclerosis and there was a more consistent association with traffic exposure than with particulate matter 2.5 . 2 Other epidemiological and toxicological studies also showed stronger cardiopulmonary health effects of combustion and traffic-related particles compared with other particles. 3–6 Moreover, a recent epidemiological study showed that long-term residential exposure to fine particulate matter was associated with the thickness of the intimal and medial layers in adults. 7 Many individual cardiovascular risk factors could influence the thickness of the intimal and medial Correspondence to: Arcangelo Iannuzzi, MD, Division of Internal Medicine, A. Cardarelli Hospital, Via A Cardarelli, 9 – 80131, Napoli, Italy. Tel: 139 0818845386; Fax: 139 0817472121; E-mail: lelliann@libero.it https://doi.org/10.1017/S1047951109992010 Published online by Cambridge University Press