| Title: | National secular trends in ambient air volatile organic compound levels and biomarkers of exposure in the United States |
| Author(s): | Konkle SL; Zierold KM; Taylor KC; Riggs DW; Bhatnagar A; |
| Address: | "Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, United States; Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences, Louisville, KY, United States. Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health, Birmingham, AL, United States. Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences, Louisville, KY, United States. Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, United States; Department of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences, Louisville, KY, United States. Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, United States. Electronic address: aruni@louisville.edu" |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.envres.2019.108991 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1096-0953 (Electronic) 0013-9351 (Print) 0013-9351 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "BACKGROUND: Exposure to air pollution is a leading cause of global mortality. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are constituents of ambient air that could exert adverse health effects. OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between VOC levels in ambient air and individual-level exposure to VOCs, as assessed by urinary VOC metabolites. METHODS: Secular trends in 11 ambient air VOCs (2005-2013) and individual-level metabolites of 14 VOCs (2005-2014) were assessed using National Monitoring Programs (NMP) and National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data, respectively. To isolate environmental exposure, individuals reporting exposure to tobacco smoke were excluded. Quantile regression models were used to assess secular trends in VOC exposure, and survey-weighted regression models were built to identify factors associated with VOC exposure. RESULTS: All annual levels of ambient VOCs decreased from 2005 to 2013 (Range: 12.5%-77.2%). However, 11 of the corresponding VOC metabolites increased during the same time (Range: 0.3%-53.6%). There was a proportional change in patterns of VOC exposure across NHANES waves, with the middle quantiles of exposure showing the largest increase. VOC exposures were significantly associated with age, sex, race, education, and physical inactivity, but not with secular VOC trends. DISCUSSION: In the United States, individual-level exposure to several VOCs increased between 2005 and 2014 despite a decline in ambient air VOC levels. This inverse relationship suggests that ambient VOCs are not the primary source of VOC exposure, therefore, decreasing ambient VOCs alone may not be sufficient to protect against the adverse health effects associated with VOC exposure" |
| Keywords: | *Air Pollutants/analysis *Biomarkers Environmental Exposure Environmental Monitoring Female Humans Male Nutrition Surveys United States *Volatile Organic Compounds Air pollution Biomarkers of exposure Environmental health Nhanes Secular trends VOCs Volati; |
| Notes: | "MedlineKonkle, Stacey L Zierold, Kristina M Taylor, Kira C Riggs, Daniel W Bhatnagar, Aruni eng P42 ES023716/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ R01 ES029846/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Netherlands 2019/12/14 Environ Res. 2020 Mar; 182:108991. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2019.108991. Epub 2019 Dec 2" |
