Skip to main content
. 2009 Jan 8;179(7):572–578. doi: 10.1164/rccm.200807-1097OC

TABLE 4.

EFFECTS OF AMBIENT LEVELS OF BLACK CARBON, PM2.5, AND SULFATE ON LINE-1 AND Alu METHYLATION

Moving Average Effects on LINE-1 Methylation
Effect on Alu Methylation*
Coeff* (95% CI) P Value Coeff* (95% CI) P Value
Black carbon
 4-h mean −0.07 (−0.13 to −0.01) 0.03 −0.02 (−0.08 to 0.04) 0.50
 1-d mean −0.09 (−0.15 to −0.02) 0.007 −0.02 (−0.08 to 0.05) 0.58
 2-d mean −0.10 (−0.16 to −0.03) 0.004 −0.02 (−0.09 to 0.05) 0.56
 3-d mean −0.10 (−0.16 to −0.03) 0.005 −0.02 (−0.09 to 0.05) 0.62
 4-d mean −0.09 (−0.15 to −0.02) 0.01 −0.01 (−0.08 to 0.06) 0.80
 5-d mean −0.09 (−0.15 to −0.02) 0.0089 0.01 (−0.05 to 0.08) 0.73
 6-d mean −0.10 (−0.17 to −0.04) 0.002 0.01 (−0.06 to 0.07) 0.87
 7-d mean −0.11 (−0.18 to −0.04) 0.002 0.01 (−0.06 to 0.08) 0.75
PM2.5
 4-h mean −0.07 (−0.13 to −0.01) 0.03 0.03 (−0.03 to 0.09) 0.28
 1-d mean −0.09 (−0.16 to −0.02) 0.008 −0.01 (−0.07 to 0.05) 0.74
 2-d mean −0.10 (−0.17 to −0.03) 0.003 −0.01 (−0.07 to 0.05) 0.82
 3-d mean −0.10 (−0.17 to −0.04) 0.003 −0.01 (−0.07 to 0.05) 0.78
 4-d mean −0.10 (−0.16 to −0.03) 0.004 −0.01 (−0.07 to 0.05) 0.75
 5-d mean −0.10 (−0.16 to −0.03) 0.004 −0.01 (−0.07 to 0.05) 0.84
 6-d mean −0.11 (−0.17 to −0.04) 0.001 −0.01 (−0.07 to 0.05) 0.74
 7-d mean −0.13 (−0.19 to −0.06) <0.001 −0.01 (−0.07 to 0.05) 0.71
Sulfate
 4-h mean NA NA NA NA
 1-d mean −0.08 (−0.16 to 0.01) 0.07 0.02 (−0.06 to 0.10) 0.66
 2-d mean −0.07 (−0.15 to 0.02) 0.12 0.07 (−0.02 to 0.15) 0.13
 3-d mean −0.07 (−0.15 to 0.02) 0.11 0.06 (−0.02 to 0.15) 0.16
 4-d mean −0.06 (−0.15 to 0.03) 0.19 0.07 (−0.02 to 0.15) 0.14
 5-d mean −0.06 (−0.15 to 0.02) 0.14 0.07 (−0.02 to 0.15) 0.12
 6-d mean −0.04 (−0.12 to 0.04) 0.33 0.06 (−0.02 to 0.14) 0.16
 7-d mean −0.04 (−0.12 to 0.04) 0.36 0.05 (−0.03 to 0.13) 0.25

Definition of abbreviations: CI = confidence interval; LINE-1= long interspersed nucleotide elements; PM2.5=particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 μm.

*

Standardized correlation coefficients expressing the fraction of a standard deviation change in DNA methylation associated with a standard deviation change in pollutant level adjusted for age, body mass index, cigarette smoking (never, former, current), pack-years, statin use, fasting blood glucose, diabetes mellitus, percent lymphocytes, and neutrophils in differential blood count, day of the week, season, and outdoor temperature.

Sulfate ambient measurements were not available between October 1, 2004 and December 31, 2006. The total number of observations with available sulfate data was 671 (61.1%)

Sulfate data were taken as 24-h integrated measurements before October 1, 2004. Consequently, 4-h moving averages were were not computed.