Association between Cough and Ambient Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Patients with Chronic Cough: An Observational Study in Two Regions of Japan

Abstract

Ambient polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons’ (PAHs) specific components are likely involved in respiratory disease development and exacerbation in children and adults. Airborne PAH exposure’s effects on cough symptoms in children and adults with chronic coughs in Kanazawa and Fukuoka, Japan, were investigated in this longitudinal study. A total of 98 patients with chronic coughs were enrolled and followed up between 1 April and 31 May 2020. The enrolled patients were non-smoking adults and children aged 3–83 years. Cough diaries were used to record and collect daily cough symptoms. High-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a fluorescence detector was used to determine the particulate PAH content in daily total suspended particles collected on quartz fiber filters. Ambient concentrations of fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide were obtained from local monitoring sites. Generalized estimated equations were used to estimate the association between daily PAHs and cough symptoms. Among nine PAHs measured, benz[a]anthracene (BaA) was significantly associated with cough symptoms for both lag4 and lag5 PAH exposure. These findings suggest that airborne specific PAHs, especially BaA, affect cough symptoms in children and adults with chronic cough. Further studies are needed to develop effective measures to prevent respiratory diseases against specific PAHs.

Infectious Diseases Associated with Exposure to Pollutants in a Local Population from Mexico

“…This is related to the fact that continuous exposure to petroleum products such as PAH has been documented to increase biomarkers such as resistin, IgE, and interleukin-10 associated with adverse respiratory problems such as asthma and pathogenesis [40][41][42]. The work of Hara et al [43] has demonstrated the association between exposure to PAHs (as benz[a]anthracene] in the air and respiratory symptoms, such as the prevalence of chronic cough in children and adults. As well as its association with chronic bronchitis (1-hydroxynaphthalene OR: 1.559, 95% CI: 1.271-1.912; 2-hydroxynaphthalene OR: 2.498, 95% CI: 1.524-4.095; 3-hydroxyfluorene OR: 2.752, 95% CI: 2.100-3.608; 2-hydroxyfluorene OR: 3.461, 95% CI: 2.438-4.914; 1-hydroxyphenanthrene OR: 2.442, 95% CI: 1.515-3.937; 1-hydroxypyrene OR: 2.828, 95% CI: 1.728-4.629; 2 and 3-hydroxyphenanthrene OR: 3.690, 95% CI: 2.309-5.896) [44].…”