Abstract 3611: Association of ambient air pollution with hypertension among cancer survivors
Authors: Da-eun Lee, Juyeon Hwang, Seohyun Ahn, Kyounghyeon Kim, Kyeezu Kim, Hyun-Jin Kim
Journal: Cancer Research (2025)

Abstract Introduction: Hypertension is one of the leading risk factors for cardiovascular disease and premature death worldwide. Ambient air pollutants such as particulate matter (PM) and toxic gases have been linked to an increased risk of hypertension. Cancer survivors are more susceptible to the adverse effects of air pollution and tend to have a higher prevalence of hypertension compared to cancer-free individuals, potentially due to shared intrinsic and extrinsic factors that contribute to both oncogenesis and elevated blood pressure. This study aimed to investigate the association between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and blood pressure in cancer survivors. Methods: This study utilized data of 2, 492 cancer survivors obtained from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2007 and 2021. Five air pollutants, PM2.5 (μg/m3), PM10 (μg/m3), SO2 (ppb), NO2 (ppb), and CO (ppb), were included, and moving average concentrations over 1 to 3 years prior to the survey date were calculated using air quality models and satellite data. We adopted multivariable regression models adjusting for socio-demographic and lifestyle factors to assess the association of air pollution with hypertension status and high blood pressure. We further conducted age- and sex-stratified analyses to examine the potential differences in hypertension. Results: Greater exposure to air pollution was associated with high blood pressure in cancer survivors, particularly among females and individuals older than 65 years. In male cancer survivors, higher 1-year exposure to SO2 was associated with greater odds of hypertension (OR= 1.08, P= 0.05). In female cancer survivors, higher exposure to PM2.5, PM10, NO2, and CO over 1- to 3-year periods was associated with elevated diastolic blood pressure (β ranged 0.47ￚ1.09, all P &amp;lt; 0.05). Cancer survivors aged 65 or older had greater odds of hypertension (PM2.5: OR= 1.27, P= 0.01; PM10: OR= 1.14, P= 0.04) and elevated systolic/diastolic blood pressure (β ranged 0.68ￚ1.56, all P&amp;lt; 0.05) per 1-unit increase in PM exposure over 3-years. In cancer survivors aged under 65, 3-year exposures to PM10, NO2, and CO were associated with higher diastolic blood pressure (β ranged 0.64ￚ0.98, all P&amp;lt; 0.05). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that long-term exposure to air pollution may impact high blood pressure among cancer survivors, across diverse air pollutants. These results underscore the potential health risk posed by air pollution particularly for female cancer survivors and those aged 65 or older. Citation Format: Da-eun Lee, Juyeon Hwang, Seohyun Ahn, Kyounghyeon Kim, Kyeezu Kim, Hyun-Jin Kim. Association of ambient air pollution with hypertension among cancer survivors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2025; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2025 Apr 25-30; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2025;85(8_Suppl_1):Abstract nr 3611.