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Association between combined exposure to dioxins and arthritis among US adults: a cross-sectional study

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Abstract

Dioxins and dioxin-like compounds (DLCs) are common pollutants hazardous to human health. We applied 12 dioxins and DLCs data of 1851 participants (including 484 arthritis patients) from National Health Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001–2004 and quadrupled them into rank variables. Multivariate logistic regression, weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression, and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) models were used to explore the relationship between individual or mixed exposure to the pollutants and arthritis after adjusting for multiple covariates. In multivariable logistic regression with an individual dioxin or DLC, almost every chemical was significantly positively associated with arthritis, except PCB66 (polychlorinated biphenyl 66) and 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-heptachlorodibenzofuran (hpcdf). The WQS model indicated that the combined exposure to the 12 dioxins and DLCs was positively linked to arthritis (OR: 1.884, 95% CI: 1.514–2.346), with PCB156 (weighted 0.281) making the greatest contribution. A positive trend between combined exposure and arthritis was observed in the BKMR model, with a posterior inclusion probability (PIP) of 0.987 for PCB156, which was also higher than the other contaminants.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all members of the NCHS of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for making such a great database available. We also thank the participants in the NHANES project for their support.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (nos. 82272485).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Joint Surgery, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, China

    Qi Meng, Tao Yuan, Yang Su, Jianxun Ge, Shankun Dong & Shui Sun

  2. Department of Joint Surgery, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, 250021, Shandong, China

    Yi Wang & Shui Sun

  3. Orthopaedic Research Laboratory, Medical Science and Technology Innovation Center, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, 250117, Shandong, China

    Yi Wang & Shui Sun

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  1. Qi Meng
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  2. Yi Wang
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  3. Tao Yuan
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  4. Yang Su
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  5. Jianxun Ge
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  6. Shankun Dong
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Contributions

QM designed the research and performed data analysis. YW and TY wrote and edited the manuscript. YS, SKD, and JXG helped in the literature selection and manuscript discussion. SS approved the direction of the topic and supervised the work. All authors contributed to the interpretation of the results, and all authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shui Sun.

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NHANES obtained written informed consent from all participants and was approved by the National Center for Health Statistics Institutional Review Board (IRB). Informed consent was obtained from all eligible subjects prior to initiation of data collection and NHANES health screening.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Responsible Editor: Lotfi Aleya

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Highlights

• Reported exacerbation of arthritis by multiple dioxins and DLCs.

• Synthesizing the effects of mixed exposures to multiple pollutants on disease.

• Using three statistical models with complementary strengths and weaknesses.

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Meng, Q., Wang, Y., Yuan, T. et al. Association between combined exposure to dioxins and arthritis among US adults: a cross-sectional study. Environ Sci Pollut Res 31, 5415–5428 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-31423-6

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