Abstract
This study aimed to assess the relationships between exposure to individual organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and their mixture and arterial stiffness and explore whether adherence to an ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) could mitigate these associations. The cross-sectional study enrolled 1437 Chinese adults between March and May 2019 in Wuhan, China. OCPs and PCBs concentrations were measured using solid phase extraction coupled with gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Arterial stiffness was evaluated by brachial–ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). CVH was determined by three behavioral and four biological metrics and categorized as ideal, intermediate, and poor CVH. We applied generalized linear model and weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression to evaluate the associations of exposure to individual OCPs or PCBs and their mixture with baPWV, respectively. We found that participants with detectable levels of heptachlor epoxide, PCB-153, and PCB-180 had higher baPWV (β: 34.25, 95% CI 14.28–54.22; β: 27.64, 95% CI 7.90–47.38; and β: 30.51, 95% CI 10.68–50.35) than those with undetectable levels. In WQS regression, the mixture of OCPs and PCBs was related to a higher baPWV (β: 24.93, 95% CI 2.70–47.15). Compared with participants with ideal CVH and undetectable OCPs or PCBs levels, those with poor CVH and detectable OCPs or PCBs levels had the highest increase in baPWV (heptachlor epoxide: β: 147.94, 95% CI 112.52–183.55; PCB-153: β: 150.22, 95% CI 115.40–185.04; PCB-180: β: 147.02, 95% CI 111.66–182.38). Our findings suggested that individual OCPs, PCBs, and their mixture exposure were positively associated with arterial stiffness, and adherence to an ideal CVH may mitigate the adverse effect.
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Acknowledgements
We thank all the study participants in this study and the staff of the Health Management Center of Tongji Hospital; this study would not be possible without their valuable contributions.
Funding
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82003479 and 82073660), Hubei Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (2023AFB663), and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2019M662646, 2020T130220).
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by JB, QLGF, QF, XZ, XQ, MW, ZW, and YL. YW, and LS contributed to writing—review and editing. The first draft of the manuscript was written by JB, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Bi, J., Liu, Q., Fan, G. et al. Exposure to organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls, adherence to an ideal cardiovascular health, and arterial stiffness among Chinese adults. Environ Geochem Health 46, 10 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-023-01791-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-023-01791-6