Ab0665 long-term exposure to pm10 and systemic-lupus-erythematosus-related mortality in the korean population

Background The effect of air pollutants on the risk or progression of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has been evaluated in several studies. However, their results were inconsistent and large-scale investigations are lacking. Objectives We evaluated the effect of particulate matter (PM) 10 on the risk or prognosis of SLE in a cohort drawn from a very large number of SLE cases registered in a nationwide database. Methods A case-cohort study consisting of 23,511 SLE cases and 204,521 cohorts was conducted using NHIS customized data. The district-specific annual average PM10 concentration for the year 2004 was estimated using a land-use regression model. A mixed Cox proportional hazard regression with random intercepts for districts was performed to evaluate the association between PM10 and the SLE risk for the general population and between PM10 and mortality for SLE patients. Results There was no significant association between PM10 exposure and SLE risk. However, the plot of the association between PM10 exposure and mortality in male SLE patients followed an inverted U-shape. Compared to the first quintile, the hazard ratios of mortality for the second, third, fourth, and fifth quintiles were 1.541 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.049–2.185), 1.278 (95% CI: 0.893–1.829), 1.395 (95% CI: 0.972–2.002), and 1.266 (95% CI: 0.881–1.818). Those associations were not significant in females. Conclusion A past PM10 exposure was associated with high mortality in male SLE patients. Further studies of the risk associated with a higher than average PM exposure level are needed. Disclosure of Interests None declared