Association of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and asthma among children 6–19 years: NHANES 2001–2008 and NHANES 2011–2012

Hui Liu1， Cheng Xu1， Zhao-Yan Jiange， Aihua Gue

1The first two authors have contributed equally to this study, and they should be regarded as joint first authors.

Background

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of chemicals that can induce oxidative stress and related cytotoxicity. Whether environmental exposure of PAHs has effects on asthma in the general population is still unclear. This study investigated the association of urinary PAHs with asthma in U.S. children.

Methods

15 447 children who participated in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001–2008 and 2011–2012 were studied. Ten urinary PAHs were analyzed for their association with asthma or asthma related symptoms. Multivariate logistic regression was applied to assess associations between urinary PAHs and asthma adjusted for age, gender, ethnicity, body mass index and the poverty income ratio.

Results

When stratified by age and sex, we found a remarkable association between urinary 2-phenanthrene and diagnosed asthma in boys (OR: 2.353, 95% CI: 1.156–4.792; P = 0.021) aged 13–19 years old. Positive association was observed between ever wheeze and 4-phenanthrene among girls aged 13–19 years (OR: 4.086, 95% CI: 1.326–12.584, P = 0.043). Moreover, an overall positive association between 1-pyrene and diagnosed asthma was observed. However, no association existed between levels of 1-napthol, 2-napthol, 3-fluorene, 2-fluorene, 3-phenanthrene, 1-phenanthrene or 9-fluorene with asthma or asthma symptom in this population.

Conclusions

This data provide epidemiological evidences that urinary PAHs are positively associated with asthma in children aged 6–19 years. However, the underlying mechanisms still need further exploration.

respiratory medicine

January 2016Volume 110, Pages 20–27

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rmed.2015.11.003 |