Association between Air Pollution and the Development of Rheumatic Disease: A Systematic Review

Table 2

Association between air pollutant exposure and the development of rheumatoid arthritis.

Author	Study design	Association reported	Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)	Fine particulate matter < 2.5 microns (PM2.5)	Fine particulate matter < 10 microns (PM10)	Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
Chang et al., 2016 [17]	Cohort	per pollutant	Q2, 1.12 (95% CI: 0.83 to 1.52); Q3, 1.53 (95% CI: 1.12 to 2.90); Q4, 1.52 (95% CI: 1.11 to 2.08)	Q2, 1.22 (95% CI: 0.85 to 1.74); Q3, 1.15 (95% CI: 0.82 to 1.62); Q4, 0.79 (95% CI: 0.53 to 1.16)	Not reported	Not reported
De Roos et al., 2014 [18]	Nested case-control	OR per IQR	0.90 (95% CI: 0.85 to 0.96)	0.92 (95% CI: 0.87 to 0.98)	0.91 (95% CI: 0.86–0.96)	0.88 (95% CI: 0.82–0.93)
Hart et al., 2013 [19]	Case-control	OR per IQR increase over average	0.98 (95% CI: 0.90 to 1.07)	Not reported	0.96 (95% CI: 0.88 to 1.04)	1.01 (95% CI: 0.93 to 1.09)
Hart et al., 2013 [20]	Cohort	HR per IQR range	0.92 (95% CI: 0.85 to 1.00)	0.94 (95% CI: 0.86 to 1.04)	0.92 (95% CI: 0.85 to 0.99)	0.99 (95% CI: 0.90 to 1.09)

HR: hazard ratio; IQR: interquartile range; OR: odds ratio.
djusted for age, sex, urbanization level of residence, monthly income, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
O₂: Quartile 1, <66,213 ppm (referent); Quartile 2, 66,213 to 86,908 ppm; Quartile 3, 86,099 to 99,882 ppm; Quartile 4, >99,992 ppm.
PM_2.5: Quartile 1, <10,760 μm/m³ (referent); Quartile 2, 10,760 to 12,161 μm/m³; Quartile 3, 12,162 to 15,056 μm/m³; Quartile 4, >15,056 μm/m³.
djusted for age, sex, and neighborhood socioeconomic status.
djusted for age, sex, smoking status, and educational attainment.
djusted for age, race, smoking status and pack-years of smoking, age at menarche, parity, duration of lactation, menopause, hormone replacement therapy or oral contraceptive use, physical activity, body mass index, parental occupations, education, marital status, husband’s education, family income, and house value.