Background and purpose: Many studies unequivocally indicate that air pollution is directly linked to the adverse cardiovascular outcomes in the general population. No data are currently available on cardiovascular effects of exposure to trafficked roads in healthy children. Distance of the residence to a major road has been shown to be a useful proxy for long-term traffic exposure and seem to be more consistently associated with atherosclerosis than particulate matter_2.5. The aim of this study was to investigate a possible association between the distance to a major road and carotid arterial subclinical markers of atherosclerosis in a group of children in Italy.Methods: The participants consisted of 52 healthy children living in a small town of the Amalphitan Coast with only one highly trafficked road. All children underwent an ultrasound carotid arterial examination.Results: A statistically significant difference was found in carotid arterial stiffness between children living closer to the main street and other children, both those living between 330 and 730 metres from the main street and those living more than 750 metres from the main street. No significant differences were detectable in carotid arterial thickness and arterial blood pressure among the three groups of children.Conclusion: This study provides evidence in support of an association of exposure to air pollution with early atherosclerotic markers in healthy children. Impaired vascular health in childhood and adolescence gives further substance to the hypothesis that traffic exhausts are relevant to cardiovascular diseases even early in life.

Atherogenic lipoproteins (particularly, very low-density lipoproteins, VLDL) are associated with subclinical atherosclerosis. The present study aims at evaluating whether routinely analysed lipid parameters are associated with carotid intima–media thickness, a proxy for subclinical atherosclerosis. Lipid parameters from 220 post-menopausal women undergoing ultrasound investigation of the carotid arteries were analysed. Forty-five percent of women showed subclinical atherosclerosis on carotid ultrasound. The mean carotid intima–media thickness was 1.26 ± 0.38 mm. The mean value of the non-HDL-C/HDL-C ratio was 3.1 ± 1.2. Univariate analysis showed a significant association between non-HDL-C/HDL-C ratio and intima–media thickness (r = 0.21, p = 0.001). After adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors (age, systolic blood pressure, smoking, body mass index Homeostasis model assessment: insulin resistance and high-sensitivity C-Reactive-Protein), multivariate analysis showed a significant association between non-HDL-C/HDL-C ratio and intima–media thickness (β = 0.039, p = 0.04). Logistic regression analysis showed that the highest tertile of the non-HDL-C/HDL-C ratio was associated with the presence of carotid plaques (OR = 3.47, p = 0.003). Finally, a strong correlation between non-HDL-C/HDL-C ratio and cholesterol bound to VLDL (r = 0.77, p < 0.001) has been found. Non-HDL-C/HDL-C ratio is associated with the presence of carotid atherosclerosis in post-menopausal women and is strongly correlated to VLDL-C levels.