Associations of Ambient Air Pollution and Road-Related Environmental Characteristics with Cardiometabolic Health: The Role of Walking.
9 affiliations
- 1Mary Mackillop Institute for Health Research, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia.
- 2School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, 7 Sassoon Rd., Sandy Bay, Hong Kong.
- 3Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia.
- 4Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia.
- 5School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia.
- 6School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3086, Australia.
- 7Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2050, Australia.
- 8Public Health Research Analytics and Methods for Evidence, Public Health Unit, Sydney Local Health District, Camperdown, NSW 2050, Australia.
- 9School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia.
Abstract
Ambient air pollution and road environments may have contrasting associations with walking and cardiometabolic health. We examined these relationships in 4141 middle-aged and older adults from the third wave of the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study. Generalized additive mixed models estimated associations of residential PM2.5, NO₂, total and major road density, and distance to the nearest busy road with cardiometabolic indicators and walking behaviors. Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate adjustment was applied within defined test families. Cross-sectional patterns involving walking were evaluated using an FDR-adjusted joint-significance criterion. PM2.5 was positively associated with diastolic blood pressure and non-linearly associated with systolic blood pressure; NO₂ was non-linearly associated with systolic blood pressure. Total road density was associated with lower HDL cholesterol and higher triglycerides; major road density was associated with higher triglycerides and non-linearly with HbA1c. Distance to the nearest busy road was non-linearly associated with HbA1c. Higher road densities were associated with less total walking time among walkers, whereas higher PM2.5 and NO₂ were associated with greater participation in walking for transport. Joint-significance patterns involved waist circumference and lipids. These findings highlight the importance of considering environmental exposures and walking together but do not establish temporal ordering or causal mediation.
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BibTeX
@article{cerin2026associations,
title = {{Associations of Ambient Air Pollution and Road-Related Environmental Characteristics with Cardiometabolic Health: The Role of Walking.}},
author = {Ester Cerin and Miguel Alvarado-Molina and Muhammad Akram and Yih-Kai Chan and Jonathan E Shaw and Luke D Knibbs and Anthony Barnett},
journal = {Toxics},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/toxics14100920},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42931706},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Associations of Ambient Air Pollution and Road-Related Environmental Characteristics with Cardiometabolic Health: The Role of Walking.
AU - Ester Cerin
AU - Miguel Alvarado-Molina
AU - Muhammad Akram
AU - Yih-Kai Chan
AU - Jonathan E Shaw
AU - Luke D Knibbs
AU - Anthony Barnett
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/17
JO - Toxics
DO - 10.3390/toxics14100920
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42931706
AB - Ambient air pollution and road environments may have contrasting associations with walking and cardiometabolic health. We examined these relationships in 4141 middle-aged and older adults from the third wave of the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study. Generalized additive mixed models estimated associations of residential PM2.5, NO₂, total and major road density, and distance to the nearest busy road with cardiometabolic indicators and walking behaviors. Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate adjustment was applied within defined test families. Cross-sectional patterns involving walking were evaluated using an FDR-adjusted joint-significance criterion. PM2.5 was positively associated with diastolic blood pressure and non-linearly associated with systolic blood pressure; NO₂ was non-linearly associated with systolic blood pressure. Total road density was associated with lower HDL cholesterol and higher triglycerides; major road density was associated with higher triglycerides and non-linearly with HbA1c. Distance to the nearest busy road was non-linearly associated with HbA1c. Higher road densities were associated with less total walking time among walkers, whereas higher PM2.5 and NO₂ were associated with greater participation in walking for transport. Joint-significance patterns involved waist circumference and lipids. These findings highlight the importance of considering environmental exposures and walking together but do not establish temporal ordering or causal mediation.
SN - 2305-6304
ER -