Predictors of blood volatile organic compound levels in Gulf coast residents

Werder, Emily J.; Gam, Kaitlyn B.; Lawrence, Kaitlyn G.; Kwok, Richard K.; Ekenga, Christine C.; Curry, Matthew D.; Chambers, David M.; Blair, Aaron; Miller, Aubrey; Birnbaum, Linda S.; Sandler, Dale P.

doi:10.1038/s41370-017-0010-0

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…To address community concerns about exposure to potentially harmful oil spill-related chemicals among Gulf coast residents, we measured blood volatile organic compound (VOC) levels in a subset of Gulf Long-Term Follow-up Study (GuLF STUDY) participants 2–3 years after the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill. We previously reported that blood levels of specific oil-related VOCs such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes were similar to those found in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) (1). Among the VOCs included in the CDC-based test panel, only styrene was substantially elevated.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 52%

Determinants of environmental styrene exposure in Gulf coast residents

Werder

Sandler

Richardson

et al. 2018

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

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Background: In a previous study of exposure to oil-related chemicals in Gulf coast residents, we measured blood levels of volatile organic compounds. Levels of styrene were substantially elevated compared to a nationally representative sample. We sought to identify factors contributing to these levels, given the opportunities for styrene exposure in this community. Methods: We measured blood styrene levels in 667 Gulf coast residents and compared participants’ levels of blood styrene to a nationally representative sample. We assessed personal and environmental predictors of blood styrene levels using linear regression and predicted the risk of elevated blood styrene (defined as above the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 95th percentile) using modified Poisson regression. We assessed exposure to styrene using questionnaire data on recent exposure opportunities and leveraged existing databases to assign ambient styrene exposure based on geocoded residential location. Results: These Gulf coast residents were 4–6 times as likely as the nationally representative sample to have elevated blood styrene levels. The change in styrene (log ng/mL) was 0.42 (95% CI: 0.34, 0.51) for smoking, 0.34 (0.09, 0.59) for time spent in vehicles and 1.10 (0.31, 1.89) for boats, and −0.41 (−0.73, −0.10) for fall/winter blood draws. Residential proximity to industrial styrene emissions did not predict blood styrene levels. Ambient styrene predicted elevated blood styrene in subgroups. Conclusions: Personal predictors of increasing blood styrene levels included smoking, vehicle emissions, and housing characteristics. There was a suggestive association between ambient and blood styrene. Our measures of increased regional exposure opportunity do not fully explain the observed elevated blood styrene levels in this population.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 52%

Determinants of environmental styrene exposure in Gulf coast residents

Werder

Sandler

Richardson

et al. 2018

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

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“…The 2,5-dimethylfuran acted as a smoking biomarker with good sensitivity and specificity. The cutoff point for differentiating between current daily smokers and less than daily smokers (< 1 CPD), which includes nonsmokers, was set at a blood 2,5-dimethylfuran concentration of 0.014 ng/mL [ 22 , 23 ]. We used this criteria to distinguish between daily smokers an non-daily smokers.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association of the blood levels of specific volatile organic compounds with nonfatal cardio-cerebrovascular events in US adults

Jing,

Chen,

Yang

et al. 2024

BMC Public Health

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Background Cardio-cerebrovascular diseases constitute a major global public health burden. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) exposure has become progressively severe, endangering human health and becoming one of the main concerns in environmental pollution. The associations of VOCs exposure with nonfatal cardio-cerebrovascular events have not been identified in observational study with a large sample size, so we aim to examine the association in US adult population. Methods Adults aged > 18 years with complete data regarding selected blood levels of VOCs (including benzene, ethylbenzene, o-xylene, and m-/p-xylene) and nonfatal cardio-cerebrovascular events were included in the analysis (n = 3,968, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, NHANES, 2013–2018 survey cycle). Participants were classified into low- and high-exposure based on whether above selected VOCs low limit detect concentration or median value. Weighted multivariate logistic analyses and subgroup analyses were used to detect the association between selected VOCs exposure and nonfatal cardio-cerebrovascular events in US adults. Results Weighted multivariate logistic analyses showed that the high-VOCs exposure group had an increased risk of nonfatal cardio-cerebrovascular events compared with the low-VOCs exposure group; the adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of nonfatal cardio-cerebrovascular events for the high-VOCs exposure group were 1.41 (0.91, 2.19), 1.37 (0.96, 1.95), 1.32 (0.96, 1.82), and 1.17 (0.82, 1.67) for benzene, ethylbenzene, o-xylene, and m-/p-xylene, respectively, which was not significant assuming statistical significance at a 0.05 significance level (95% CI) for a two-tailed test. Lastly, we found high-VOCs exposure was associated with increased incidence of nonfatal cardio-cerebrovascular events in both daily smokers an non-daily smokers (p-interaction > 0.01), but the association was not statistically significant in non-daily smokers. Conclusions This study found that VOCs (benzene, ethylbenzene, o-xylene, and m-/p-xylene) exposure was associated with increased incidence of nonfatal cardio-cerebrovascular events in US adults, and the results need to be confirmed by larger cohort studies.

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“…Ultimately, 11,193 home visits were completed between May 2011 and May 2013. A subset of home visit participants (n=1,055) enrolled in a Chemical Biomonitoring Study (CBS) between May 2012 and July 2013 (Werder et al. 2017).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Styrene Exposure and Sensory and Motor Function in Gulf Coast Residents

Werder

Sandler

Richardson

et al. 2019

Environ Health Perspect

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Background:Although styrene is an established neurotoxicant at occupational exposure levels, its neurotoxicity has not been characterized in relation to general population exposures. Further, occupational research to date has focused on central nervous system impairment.Objective:We assessed styrene-associated differences in sensory and motor function among Gulf coast residents.Methods:We used 2011 National Air Toxics Assessment estimates of ambient styrene to determine exposure levels for 2,956 nondiabetic Gulf state residents enrolled in the Gulf Long-term Follow-up Study, and additionally measured blood styrene concentration in a subset of participants 1 to 2 y after enrollment (n=310). Participants completed an enrollment telephone interview and a comprehensive test battery to assess sensory and motor function during a clinical follow-up exam 2 to 4 y later. Detailed covariate information was ascertained at enrollment via telephone interview. We used multivariate linear regression to estimate continuous differences in sensory and motor function, and log-binomial regression to estimate prevalence ratios for dichotomous outcomes. We estimated associations of both ambient and blood styrene exposures with sensory and motor function, independently for five unique tests.Results:Those participants in the highest 25% vs. lowest 75% of ambient exposure and those in the highest 10% vs. lowest 90% of blood styrene had slightly diminished visual contrast sensitivity. Mean vibrotactile thresholds were lower among those in the highest vs. lowest quartile of ambient styrene and the highest 10% vs. lowest 90% of blood styrene (−0.13 log microns; 95% CI: −0.23, −0.03 and −0.39 log microns; 95% CI: −0.72, −0.05, respectively). The highest vs. lowest quartile of ambient styrene was associated with significantly poorer postural stability, and (unexpectedly) with significantly greater grip strength.Discussion:We observed associations between higher styrene exposure and poorer visual, sensory, and vestibular function, though we did not detect associations with reduced voluntary motor system performance. Associations were more consistent for ambient exposures, but we also found notable associations with measured blood styrene. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP3954

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Predictors of blood volatile organic compound levels in Gulf coast residents

Cited by 10 publications

References 51 publications

Determinants of environmental styrene exposure in Gulf coast residents

Determinants of environmental styrene exposure in Gulf coast residents

Association of the blood levels of specific volatile organic compounds with nonfatal cardio-cerebrovascular events in US adults

Environmental Styrene Exposure and Sensory and Motor Function in Gulf Coast Residents

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