Aim of study: This research aimed to estimate PAHs exposure in primary school students and determine its association with other PAHs-related factors.
Materials and methods: In total, 120 male primary school students (9-12 years old) were randomly selected from urban and suburban areas in Shiraz. The parents were required to complete a questionnaire including information about second-hand smoke exposure, residential traffic density, daily diet, and walking or being driven to school. High-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detector was also used to analyze urinary 1-OHP. t test, ANOVA (with Ducan's post hoc test), and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the relationship between quantitative and qualitative variables and urinary 1-OHP concentration.
Results: The range and geometric mean of the creatinine-corrected 1-OHP levels were 120-6950 and 1460 ng/g creatinine, respectively. Besides, 1-OHP levels were higher among the children with smoker parents compared to those having non-smoker parents. The results also revealed a correlation between the duration of exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke and 1-OHP concentration. This correlation was also observed for daily uptake of smoked or grilled foods. However, traffic congestion did not have any significant effects on 1-OHP levels. PAHs are commonly present in Iranian diet. As a result, the weekly intake of dietary PAHs was the most effective predictor of PAHs exposure in the study population.
Conclusion: Due to adverse health effects of PAHs on humans, especially children, more extensive studies are required to identify the sources that contribute to environmental PAHs exposure.
Keywords: 1-Hydroxypyrene; Biomonitoring; Children; PAHs exposure; Urine.