Urinary Biomarkers of Exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study Wave 1 (2013–2014)

Abstract

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are ubiquitous in the environment. In the United States (U.S.), tobacco smoke is the major non-occupational source of exposure to many harmful VOCs. Exposure to VOCs can be assessed by measuring their urinary metabolites (VOCMs). The Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study is a U.S. national longitudinal study of tobacco use in the adult and youth civilian non-institutionalized population. We measured 20 VOCMs in urine specimens from a subsample of adults in Wave 1 (W1) (2013–2014) to characterize VOC exposures among tobacco product users and non-users. We calculated weighted geometric means (GMs) and percentiles of each VOCM for exclusive combustible product users (smokers), exclusive electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) users, exclusive smokeless product users, and tobacco product never users. We produced linear regression models for six VOCMs with sex, age, race, and tobacco user group as predictor variables. Creatinine-ratioed levels of VOCMs from exposure to acrolein, crotonaldehyde, isoprene, acrylonitrile, and 1,3-butadiene were significantly higher in smokers than in never users. Small differences of VOCM levels among exclusive e-cigarette users and smokeless users were observed when compared to never users. Smokers showed higher VOCM concentrations than e-cigarette, smokeless, and never users. Urinary VOC metabolites are useful biomarkers of exposure to harmful VOCs.

Environmental Exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds is Associated with Endothelial Injury

“…The potential cardiovascular effects of VOCs derived from tobacco smoke have been extensively studied (De Jesús et al, 2020;Keith et al, 2020;Lorkiewicz et al, 2019); however, in contrast, the cardiovascular effects of VOCs not derived from tobacco smoke have received scant attention. Nonetheless, in addition to tobacco smoke, automobile emissions, industrial facilities, hazardous waste sites, and household products are major sources of VOC emissions, and therefore, VOC exposures are common and frequent (Li et al, 2021).…”

“…Most studies on VOC have focused on tobacco smoke (De Jesús et al, 2020;Keith et al, 2020;Lorkiewicz et al, 2019) which represents a major source of human exposures. However, non-tobacco derived VOCs are ubiquitous in urban environments.…”

1,3-Butadiene: a ubiquitous environmental mutagen and its associations with diseases

“…It can clearly distinguish non-smokers from smokers. In fact, all population-based studies consistently show that there are statistically significant differences in the MHBMA3 concentrations between smokers and non-smokers [ 63 , 64 , 139 – 142 , 149 , 151 ]. Quitting smoking can be reflected in the change in the MHBMA3 level; in a study on over 1,100 adult exclusive daily cigarette smokers, a dramatic reduction in the MHBMA3 level was observed among those quitted tobacco use entirely [ 147 ].…”

“…Besides smokers and non-smokers, significant differences in the MHBMA3 levels have also been observed among different subpopulations, including those with different gender, ethnic/racial group, and age, although the results are not always consistent. For example, it has been discovered that the MHBMA3 levels in female smokers were significantly high than those in male smokers [ 64 , 142 , 149 ]. When comparing differences among different ethnic/racial groups, the MHBMA3 levels in non-Hispanic white smokers were observed to be higher than those in non-Hispanic black ones [ 149 ].…”

“…When comparing differences among different ethnic/racial groups, the MHBMA3 levels in non-Hispanic white smokers were observed to be higher than those in non-Hispanic black ones [ 149 ]. Another study also found that the MHBMA3 levels in non-Hispanic white were significantly higher than those in non-Hispanic black and Hispanic [ 142 ]. However, the differences failed to be observed in a recently published study [ 64 ].…”