Selected environmental influencing hypertension in selected regions of Poland
Issue: 1/2026
Recevied: June 19, 2025
Accepted: January 18, 2026
Published: January 22, 2026
Authors:
A. Charkiewicz, P. Karabowicz
Categories: Pollution and environment
DOI: 10.5601/jelem.2025.30.2.3598
Abstract:
Heavy metals are major pollutants in urban environments, affecting the health of their inhabitants due to their adverse effects on human health, including many diseases of civilization, such as cardiovascular disease. The main aim of the study was to analyze selected dust particles from environmental pollution potentially affecting hypertension in selected regions of Poland. Data on mortality, morbidity, and hospitalization rates by city, sex, age, and ICD-10 classification were obtained from ProfiBaza. Data from air quality monitoring stations were sourced from the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection. We analyzed the annual mean values of 10 air pollutants from 2017 to 2019 in 30 Polish cities. Values from these datasets were combined, and Pearson correlation and Lasso regression analyses were performed. A positive correlation was observed between MR, SMR, HR, SHR, and levels of Benzo(a)pyrene, PM10, PM2.5, and SO2. Stronger positive correlations between Benzo(a)pyrene, PM10, PM2.5, and SO2 with MR and SMR were found in males compared to females, while correlations with HR and SHR were lower in males than in females. Lasso regression analysis revealed that HR (0.42) had the highest explanatory power, while SMR (0.05) had the lowest. MR was most positively influenced by PM2.5 (2.91), while HR was most affected by PM10 (139.78) and As (56.71). A comprehensive concerted regulatory plan and a program of health-promoting interventions should be developed and implemented to reduce urban residents' exposure to environmental factors affecting, among other things, cardiovascular disease, including hypertension. Public awareness of the above-mentioned compounds and their individual action strategies should be increased. The ubiquity of these factors is a serious public health problem and should be strictly controlled by all possible national and independent institutions, especially pro-health.
Citation:
JELEM / HARVARD
MDPI
AMA
CHICAGO
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