Joint Impacts of Ambient Air Pollution and Temperature on Cardiovascular Disease in West Florida
- 1BayCare Health System
- 2St. Joseph's Hospital
Abstract
Background Ambient temperature and fine particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 μm (PM 2 . 5 ) are well‐established contributors of acute cardiovascular events, but their joint short‐term effects in subtropical coastal regions have not been well characterized. We evaluated their joint associations with major cardiovascular outcomes in West Florida. Methods We analyzed daily hospital admissions for myocardial infarction, heart failure, and stroke within the BayCare Health System from 2017 to 2024. Daily mean temperature and PM 2 . 5 were obtained from national monitoring networks. Joint exposure–response relationships were estimated using distributed‐lag generalized additive models with tensor‐product interactions across lags 0 to 7 days, adjusting for temporal trends, day of week, and copollutants. Effect modification by age, sex, and race was examined. Results Temperature showed stronger short‐term associations with cardiovascular risk than local PM 2 . 5 . Among adults aged ≥65 years, myocardial infarction risk was higher at lower temperatures, compared with higher temperatures (relative risk comparing the 75th versus the 25th percentile of the exposure distribution [RR 75 / 25 ], 0.92 [95% CI, 0.89–0.95]). Heart failure exhibited a U‐shaped temperature–risk relationship, with greater heat‐related risk observed among younger adults (RR 75 / 25 , 1.05 [95% CI, 1.02–1.09]) and Black patients (RR 75 / 25 , 1.05 [95% CI, 1.02–1.09]). In contrast, PM 2 . 5 showed weaker overall associations, with only a modest elevation in stroke risk among Black patients (RR 75 / 25 , 1.02 [95% CI, 0.96–1.08]). Joint exposure surfaces revealed outcome‐specific nonlinear patterns, particularly for heart failure at higher temperature and PM 2 . 5 . Conclusions Temperature and PM 2 . 5 jointly influence short‐term cardiovascular risk through nonlinear and subgroup‐specific pathways, highlighting the need for integrated climate and air‐quality strategies to reduce cardiovascular disparities.
Related
- The Impact of Ambient Temperature on the Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease Incidence during 2009-2023 in Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China
- Associations of short-term ambient temperature and directional temperature change with cardiovascular admissions among older adults: a time-stratified case-crossover study
- Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution mixtures and incident cardiovascular–liver–metabolic multimorbidity: a prospective cohort study
- Impacts of indoor high temperature on cardiovascular health among community-dwelling adults: a scoping review
- Ambient temperature and impacts on preterm birth: A storyline approach
BibTeX
@article{chen2026joint,
title = {{Joint Impacts of Ambient Air Pollution and Temperature on Cardiovascular Disease in West Florida}},
author = {Chen Chen and Adam Shehub and Sarp Orgul and Micah Davis and Anna Liza Valina‐Toth},
journal = {Journal of the American Heart Association},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1161/jaha.126.049988},
url = {https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.126.049988},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Joint Impacts of Ambient Air Pollution and Temperature on Cardiovascular Disease in West Florida
AU - Chen Chen
AU - Adam Shehub
AU - Sarp Orgul
AU - Micah Davis
AU - Anna Liza Valina‐Toth
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/20
JO - Journal of the American Heart Association
DO - 10.1161/jaha.126.049988
UR - https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.126.049988
AB - Background Ambient temperature and fine particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 μm (PM 2 . 5 ) are well‐established contributors of acute cardiovascular events, but their joint short‐term effects in subtropical coastal regions have not been well characterized. We evaluated their joint associations with major cardiovascular outcomes in West Florida. Methods We analyzed daily hospital admissions for myocardial infarction, heart failure, and stroke within the BayCare Health System from 2017 to 2024. Daily mean temperature and PM 2 . 5 were obtained from national monitoring networks. Joint exposure–response relationships were estimated using distributed‐lag generalized additive models with tensor‐product interactions across lags 0 to 7 days, adjusting for temporal trends, day of week, and copollutants. Effect modification by age, sex, and race was examined. Results Temperature showed stronger short‐term associations with cardiovascular risk than local PM 2 . 5 . Among adults aged ≥65 years, myocardial infarction risk was higher at lower temperatures, compared with higher temperatures (relative risk comparing the 75th versus the 25th percentile of the exposure distribution [RR 75 / 25 ], 0.92 [95% CI, 0.89–0.95]). Heart failure exhibited a U‐shaped temperature–risk relationship, with greater heat‐related risk observed among younger adults (RR 75 / 25 , 1.05 [95% CI, 1.02–1.09]) and Black patients (RR 75 / 25 , 1.05 [95% CI, 1.02–1.09]). In contrast, PM 2 . 5 showed weaker overall associations, with only a modest elevation in stroke risk among Black patients (RR 75 / 25 , 1.02 [95% CI, 0.96–1.08]). Joint exposure surfaces revealed outcome‐specific nonlinear patterns, particularly for heart failure at higher temperature and PM 2 . 5 . Conclusions Temperature and PM 2 . 5 jointly influence short‐term cardiovascular risk through nonlinear and subgroup‐specific pathways, highlighting the need for integrated climate and air‐quality strategies to reduce cardiovascular disparities.
SN - 2047-9980
ER -