| Title: | The impact of prolonged air pollution exposure on urinary tract and male reproductive system infections: insights from a large-scale prospective cohort study |
| Journal: | BMC Public Health |
| Published: | 8 Oct 2025 |
| Pubmed: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41063039/ |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-24660-6 |
| URL: | https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s12889-025-24660-6 |
Publication 19260
WARNING: the interactive features of this website use CSS3, which your browser does not support. To use the full features of this website, please update your browser.
Abstract
ObjectiveTo assess the link between long-term air pollution exposure and the risk of urinary tract infections (UTIs) and male reproductive system infections (MRSIs), which significantly impact incidence and quality of life.MethodsThis prospective cohort study included 375,833 participants from the UK Biobank. We used a Cox proportional hazards model, adjusting for covariates, to evaluate the association between exposure to air pollutants (PM2.5, PMcoarse, PM10, NO2, and NOx) and the risk of UTIs and MRSIs. Nonlinear exposure-response relationships were assessed with restricted cubic splines, and subgroup analyses were conducted to examine potential effect modifiers.ResultsOver a median follow-up of 12.4 years, 26,279 new UTIs and 3,545 MRSI cases were detected. It was found that there were significant connections between the likelihood of developing UTIs and being exposed to PM2.5 (hazard ratios (HRs): 1.43, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.34-1.53), PMcoarse (HR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.08-1.27), PM10 (HR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.15-1.34), NO2 (HR: 1.10, 95% CI: 1.08-1.12), and NOx (HR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.07-1.11). Similar associations were found for MRSIs. Restricted cubic spline analyses revealed non-linear exposure-response relationships for all pollutants. The strength of these connections was validated through sensitivity analyses.ConclusionsLong-term exposure to air pollutants is associated with a higher risk of UTIs and MRSIs, emphasizing the urgent need to improve air quality to mitigate these health risks.</p>
9 Authors
- Luyao Chen
- Lewei Guan
- Fuchun Zheng
- Yuyang Yuan
- Sheng Li
- Situ Xiong
- Yue Gao
- Bin Fu
- Lizhi Zhou
1 Application
| Application ID | Title |
|---|---|
| 532564 | Investigation of Lifestyle, Environmental, and Clinical Determinants on Urological Cancer and Nephrology-related Diseases |
Enabling scientific discoveries that improve human health