Urinary monohydroxylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the general population from 26 provincial capital cities in China: Levels, influencing factors, and health risks

Senyuan Huang; Qin Li; Hao Liu; Shengtao Ma; Chaoyang Long; Guiying Li; Yingxin Yu

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2021.107074

Urinary monohydroxylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the general population from 26 provincial capital cities in China: Levels, influencing factors, and health risks

Environ Int. 2022 Feb:160:107074. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2021.107074. Epub 2022 Jan 4.

Authors

Senyuan Huang¹, Qin Li², Hao Liu³, Shengtao Ma⁴, Chaoyang Long⁵, Guiying Li¹, Yingxin Yu⁶

Affiliations

¹ Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory for Contaminants Exposure and Health, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Health Risk Control, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China; Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Pollution Control, Key Laboratory of City Cluster Environmental Safety and Green Development, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China.
² Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou 510440, PR China.
³ Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory for Contaminants Exposure and Health, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Health Risk Control, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China; School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, PR China.
⁴ Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory for Contaminants Exposure and Health, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Health Risk Control, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China.
⁵ Center for Disease Prevention and Control of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou 510430, PR China.
⁶ Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory for Contaminants Exposure and Health, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Health Risk Control, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China; Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Pollution Control, Key Laboratory of City Cluster Environmental Safety and Green Development, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China. Electronic address: yuyingxin@gdut.edu.cn.

PMID: 34995968
DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2021.107074

Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) derived from the incomplete combustion of organic materials are associated with adverse health effects. However, little is known about PAH exposure levels and their influencing factors on a large scale in developing countries. In this study, urinary monohydroxylated metabolites of PAHs (OH-PAHs), including the metabolites of naphthalene, fluorene, phenanthrene, pyrene, chrysene, and benzo[a]pyrene, were measured in 1154 samples in the general population nationwide from 26 provincial capitals in China. Concentrations of OH-PAHs ranged from 1.39 to 228 μg/L. OH-Nap, metabolite of naphthalene, was the predominant compound, accounting for 65.1% of totals. People in eastern, southwest and northeast China, such as Shanghai, Kunming, Nanning, and Changchun, suffered more PAH exposure than other regions which might associate with sampling time, living habits of the subjects, and the imbalance of economic development and energy consumption across regions. Urinary OH-PAH concentrations were associated with body mass index, gender, and age, and smoking was the main correlating factor. Inhalation and diet might be the main exposure route of human exposure to PAHs, especially for smokers by inhalation. Hazard indices showed that no subject was exposed to PAHs with potential non-carcinogenic risk. Furthermore, the carcinogenic risk was the most significant health effects, with almost all subjects having carcinogenic risk values higher than the acceptable level of 10^-6. Naphthalene and phenanthrene were the main contributors. The results also suggested a possible relationship between PAH exposure and lung cancer in the Chinese population. This first nationwide study on human internal exposure to PAHs provides a large body of scientific information for governmental decision-making about associated human health and the prevention of human exposure to PAHs.

Keywords: Biomonitoring; Carcinogenic risk; Monohydroxylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; National scale.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Benzo(a)pyrene / analysis
Biomarkers / urine
China
Cities
Environmental Monitoring / methods
Humans
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons* / analysis

Substances

Biomarkers
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Benzo(a)pyrene