Short-term exposure to high levels of air pollution may trigger myocardial infarction (MI), but this association remains unclear. This study was conducted to assess and quantify the association between short-term exposure to major air pollutants (ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter ≤10 μm [PM10] and ≤2.5 μm [PM2.5] in diameter) on MI risk. EMBASE, Ovid MEDLINE in-process, nonindexed citations, Ovid MEDLINE, EBM Reviews–Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and EBM Reviews–Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched for a combination of keywords related to the type of exposure and to the type of outcome. After a detailed screening of 117 studies, 34 studies were identified. All the main air pollutants, with the exception of ozone, were significantly associated with an increase in MI risk (carbon monoxide: 1.048; 95% CI 1.026-1.070; nitrogen dioxide: 1.011; 95% CI 1.006-1.016; sulfur dioxide: 1.010; 95% CI 1.003-1.017; PM10: 1.006; 95% CI 1.002-1.009; and PM2.5: 1.025; 95% CI 1.015-1.036). For ozone, the RR was 1.003 (95% CI 0.997-1.010; P = 0.36). Therefore, all of the main air pollutants, with the exception of ozone, were significantly associated with a near-term increase in MI risk. JAMA. 2012 Feb 15;307(7):713-21. PMID: 22337682
