Association between ambient air pollutant interaction with kidney function in a large Taiwanese population study

The associations and interactions between kidney function and other air pollutants remain poorly defined. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate associations among air pollutants, including particulate matter (PM) with a diameter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM 2.5 ), PM 10 (PM with a diameter ≤ 10 μm), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NO), nitrogen oxides (NO x ), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), and ozone (O 3 ) with kidney function, and explore interactions among these air pollutants on kidney function. We used the Taiwan Air Quality Monitoring and Taiwan Biobank databases to derive data on community-dwelling individuals in Taiwan and daily air pollution levels, respectively. We enrolled 26,032 participants. Multivariable analysis showed that high levels of PM 2.5 , PM 10 , O 3 (all p < 0.001), and SO 2 ( p = 0.001) and low levels of CO, NO (both p < 0.001), and NO x ( p = 0.047) were significantly correlated with low estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). With regard to negative effects, the interactions between PM 2.5 and PM 10 ( p < 0.001), PM 2.5 and PM 10 ( p < 0.001), PM 2.5 and SO 2 , PM 10 and O 3 (both p = 0.025), PM 10 and SO 2 ( p = 0.001), and O 3 and SO 2 ( p < 0.001) on eGFR were significantly negatively. High PM 10 , PM 2.5 , O 3 , and SO 2 were associated with a low eGFR, whereas high CO, NO, and NO x were associated with a high eGFR. Furthermore, negative interactions between PM 2.5 and PM 10 , O 3 and SO 2 , PM 10 and O 3 , PM 2.5 and SO 2 , and PM 10 and SO 2 on eGFR were observed. The findings of this study have important implications for public health and environmental policy. Specifically, the results of this study may be useful in individuals and organizations to take action to reduce air pollution and promote public health.