| Title: | Traffic noise, air pollution, and greenness in relation to age-related macular degeneration: Evidence from a cross-national cohort study |
| Journal: | Environmental Pollution |
| Published: | 1 Apr 2026 |
| Pubmed: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41932376/ |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2026.128042 |
Publication 18144
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Abstract
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is influenced not only by biological factors but also by the broader urban environment, yet evidence integrating multiple environmental exposures remains limited. We examined the associations of residential road traffic noise, fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5), and green space with AMD risk using data from the UK Biobank (207,859 controls and 5571 incident AMD cases) and an independent hospital-based cohort from Tianjin, China (286 controls and 233 cases). Environmental exposures were assessed using harmonized metrics, and associations were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models in the UK Biobank and multivariable logistic regression in the Tianjin cohort. Restricted cubic splines were applied to evaluate non-linear exposure-response relationships, and joint exposure analyses assessed combined environmental effects. Higher levels of Lden, Lnight, and PM2.5 were consistently associated with increased AMD risk, whereas greater residential green space was associated with lower risk across both cohorts. Non-linear analyses revealed steep risk increases at moderate-to-high noise and PM2.5 levels and a J-shaped association for green space. Individuals exposed to both high noise and high PM2.5 exhibited the greatest risk. Feature selection using Boruta and LASSO identified environmental exposures alongside age, C-reactive protein, and HbA1c as key predictors. Machine-learning models integrating environmental exposures with inflammatory and metabolic biomarkers achieved good discrimination (XGBoost AUC = 0.81). Quantile g-computation further indicated that the combined burden of urban environmental exposures was strongly associated with AMD risk, with traffic noise contributing the largest share of the mixture effect. These findings suggest that traffic noise and air pollution are important, potentially modifiable environmental risk factors for AMD, while residential green space may help mitigate risk.</p>
13 Keywords
- Aged
- Air Pollutants
- Air Pollution
- China
- Cohort Studies
- Environmental Exposure
- Female
- Humans
- Macular Degeneration
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Noise, Transportation
- Particulate Matter
3 Authors
- Xuehao Cui
- Jingwen Hui
- Quanhong Han
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