Urinary biomarkers of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their associations with liver function in adolescents

• Published in: Environmental pollution (1987) Vol. 278; p. 116842
• Main Authors: Xu, Cheng, Liu, Qian, Liang, Jingjia, Weng, Zhenkun, Xu, Jin, Jiang, Zhaoyan, Gu, Aihua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2021
• Subjects: Adolescent; Aspartate Aminotransferases; Biomarkers; Blood lipids; Female; Humans; Inflammation; Liver; Liver function; Nutrition Surveys; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; Weighted quantile sum; Liver function; Inflammation; Blood lipids; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon; Weighted quantile sum
• ISSN: 0269-7491; 1873-6424
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.116842

Associations between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and respiratory diseases have been widely studied, but the effects of PAH on liver toxicity in adolescents are unclear. Here, 3194 adolescents with NHANES data from 2003 to 2016 were selected. PAH exposure was assessed by measuring PAH metabolites in urine. The outcome variables were the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate amino transferase (AST) and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT). The association between PAH exposure and liver function was evaluated by the weighted quantile sum (WQS) and logistic regression, and the associations between PAHs and inflammation and blood lipids were evaluated by linear regression. Covariates were adjusted for age, ethnicity, BMI, physical activity, family income, cotinine, and urinary creatinine. The results showed that for females, mixed PAH exposure was related to an increased ALT level (OR = 2.33, 95% CI 1.15, 4.72), and 2-fluorene contributed the most (38.6%). Urinary 2-fluorene was positively associated with an elevated ALT level (OR = 2.19 95% 1.12, 4.27, p for trend = 0.004). Mechanistically, 2-fluorene can cause a 3.56% increase in the white blood cell count, a 6.99% increase in the triglyceride level, and 1.70% increase in the total cholesterol level. PAHs may have toxic effects, possibly mediated by inflammation and blood lipids, on the adolescent female liver. Additional confirmatory studies are needed. [Display omitted] •Urinary PAHs mixtures may be risk factors for hepatotoxicity.•Urinary 2-fluorene positively associated with increased risk of ALT.•Each increment of one unit (ng/L) in the 2-fluorene was associated with a 3.56% increase in white blood cells count. Exposure to a mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is positively related to elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level.