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Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites and mortality risk in an adult population

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Abstract

Occupational polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exposure has been shown to increase the risk of various cancers and may be associated with carcinogenic mortality. However, no study has explored the relationship between environmental PAH exposure and mortality in general population. The aim of our study was to explore the association between PAH exposure and all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality in a general US adult population. We analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2001–2006) based on the information in this dataset on 692 males and 717 females. PAH exposure was detected using biomarkers from urine samples. Follow-up data on mortality were derived from initial examination of the subjects until death or 31 December 2006 in the NHANES database. We calculated hazard ratios (HRs) of PAH metabolites among all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality using the multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression model after adjusting for covariates. Among males, 3-phenanthrene was positively associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality (HR 1.043, 95%CI 1.019–1.066). Female participants with higher 2-napthol (HR 1.043, 95%CI 1.014–1.072), 3-fluorene (HR 2.159, 95%CI 1.233–3.779), and 1-phenanthrene (HR = 1.259, 95%CI 1.070–1.481) levels had increased all-cause mortality. In addition, high 3-phenanthrene (HR 1.333, 95%CI 1.008–1.763) and 1-phenanthrene (HR 1.463, 95%CI 1.126–1.900) levels increased the risk of cardiovascular mortality. However, there were no significant findings for cancer mortality in both genders. Environmental PAH exposure among the adult population is associated with non-carcinogenic but not cancer mortality. Future studies are warranted to determine the underlying mechanisms related to these findings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Tri-Service General Hospital, School of Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Yuan-Yuei Chen

  2. Department of Pathology, Tri-Service General Hospital Songshan Branch, School of Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Yuan-Yuei Chen

  3. Division of Family Medicine, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, School of Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Tung-Wei Kao, Chung-Ching Wang, Chen-Jung Wu & Wei-Liang Chen

  4. Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, School of Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Number 325, Section 2, Chang-gong Rd, Nei-Hu District, Taipei, 114, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Tung-Wei Kao & Wei-Liang Chen

  5. Department of Ophthalmology, Tri-Service General Hospital, School of Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan

    Ying-Jen Chen

  6. Division of Family Medicine, Department of Community Medicine, Taoyuan Armed Forces General Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Chen-Jung Wu

  7. School of Public Health, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Republic of China

    Ching-Huang Lai

  8. Department of Biochemistry, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Wei-Liang Chen

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  1. Yuan-Yuei Chen
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Contributions

YYC contributed to the design of the study, was responsible for the management and retrieval of data, contributed to initial data analysis and interpretation, drafted the initial manuscript. YYC, TWK, CCW, YJC, CJW, CHL, and WLC decided upon the data collection methods. YYC and WLC were also responsible for the data analysis decisions. WLC conceptualized and designed the study, supervised all aspects of the study, critically reviewed and revised the manuscript, and approved the final manuscript as submitted. All authors meet the ICMJE criteria for authorship.

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Correspondence to Wei-Liang Chen.

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Chen, YY., Kao, TW., Wang, CC. et al. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites and mortality risk in an adult population. Environ Geochem Health 43, 37–45 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-020-00663-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-020-00663-7

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