Abstract
Although existing epidemiological studies have reported the relationship between single polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), little is known about the impact of PAH mixture exposure on COPD. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the associations of single and mixed exposures to PAHs with COPD in US adults using data from NHANES 2013–2016 by fitting three statistical methods, including multiple logistic regression, Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR), and quantile-based g-computation (qgcomp) models. This study included 1836 participants aged 40 and older. Multiple logistic regression showed that 2-FLU, 1-PHE, 1-PYR, and 2&3-PHE increased the risk of COPD after adjusting for all covariates. The BKMR model identified positive trends between PAH mixture and the risk of COPD in all adults and males when all PAHs were at or above their 55th percentile compared to all PAHs at their 50th percentile. The qgcomp model suggested that PAH co-exposure increased the risk of COPD (OR:1.44, 95%CI:1.09, 1.90) when each quartile increased in PAH mixture concentration, with 2-FLU having the highest weight. The combined impact also be observed in men. In conclusion, PAHs co-exposure was associated with a higher risk of COPD, especially in males, with the positive impact of 2-FLU being the most important.
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Data Availability
The data used in this study were obtained for free from NHANES.
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Acknowledgements
We acknowledged all participants involved in our analysis and the staff of the National Center for Health Statistics at the CDC who designed, collected, and managed the NHANES data.
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Lin Wen, Xiaosong Ben, and Zhiyu Yang: formal analysis, writing (original draft and reviewing and editing), conceptualization, and methodology
Yingying Wu and Yuxuan Tan: software, validation, and visualization
Qian Chen, Huanzhu Liang, and Yexin Li: data curation and validation
Xiaomei Wu, Shan Liu, Xueqiong Weng, and Dan Tian: software and investigation
Chunxia Jing: resources, validation, supervision, writing (reviewing and editing), and project administration
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Wen, L., Ben, X., Yang, Z. et al. Association between co-exposure of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among the US adults: results from the 2013–2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 62981–62992 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-26413-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-26413-7