Environmental and Dietary Factors Associated with Urinary Oh-Pahs in Mid-Pregnancy in a Large Multi-Site Study
48 Pages Posted: 12 Sep 2024
Abstract
BACKGROUNDPAH exposure is associated with adverse health outcomes, but exposure sources in pregnancy are not well-understood. OBJECTIVESWe examined associations between urinary OH-PAHs during pregnancy and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and short-term ambient air pollution exposure. Participants included 1,603 pregnant non-smokers in three cohorts from 7 sites across the USA. We also examined associations with intake of foods typically high in PAHs in one cohort with dietary assessment data (n=801). METHODSUrinary OH-PAHs were measured using LC-MS/MS; urinary cotinine was measured using SPE/UPLC-MS/MS. ETS exposure was represented by modified cotinine quartiles (combining levels below the highest detection limit in the same category: 0-0.017 ng/mL, 0.0171–0.2 ng/mL, 0.21–1.191 ng/mL, 1.192–1,465 ng/mL) and air pollution exposure by quartiles of same-day ambient PM2.5 in residential census tracts estimated from EPA’s Downscaler Model. We fitted separate Tobit regression models for log-OH-PAH concentrations in association with cotinine or ambient PM2.5 quartile adjusted for specific gravity, site, batch, household income, education, employment status, neighborhood deprivation index, season, and year. For the food model, PAH dietary intakes were estimated using food frequency questionnaire data and standard portion weights from a national database. RESULTSIn adjusted models, the highest modified cotinine quartile vs. the lowest was associated with 48% (95% CI: 13%, 94%) higher urinary 1-hydroxynaphthalene, 36% (15%, 61%) higher 2-hydroxynaphthalene, 41% (23%, 63%) higher 3-hydroxyphenanthrene, and 70% (28%, 127%) higher 1-hydroxypyrene. Second and third quartile cotinine concentrations were associated with higher OH-PAHs, although not consistently. Same-day ambient PM2.5 was not associated with any OH-PAH, nor was self-reported dietary intake.CONCLUSIONSETS is a major source of PAH exposure for pregnant people in the USA while ambient PM2.5 and diet measured via usual intakes appear less influential. Our findings underscore the importance of policies/actions to reduce environmental tobacco smoke exposure among pregnant people.
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Funding Information: The ECHO PATHWAYS Consortium is funded by NIH UG3/UH3OD023271 (CK) (nih.gov). The Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early Childhood (CANDLE) study was funded by the Urban Child Institute and NIH (R01 HL109977) (AM). The Infant Development and the Environment Study (TIDES) was funded by NIH (R01ES016863, R01 ES25169) (SS). This research was also supported by the University of Washington EDGE Center of the National Institutes of Health under award number: P30ES007033 (CK), and NIH P30ES005022 (EB). This research was also conducted using specimens and data collected and stored on behalf of the Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth (GAPPS) Repository. Dr. Kannan analyzed OH-PAHs in TIDES with support from the NYU ECHO Cohort Center (UG3/UH3OD023305 (LT) and HHEAT program (U2CES026542), and for CANDLE and GAPPS with support of the ECHO PATHWAYS Consortium. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Conflict of Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Ethical Approval: University of Washington Human Subjects Division (#STUDY00000638)
Keywords: OH-PAH, urine, pregnancy, cotinine, PM2.5, diet
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