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. 2023 Jul 5:11:1210136.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1210136. eCollection 2023.

Assessing volatile organic compounds exposure and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases in US adults

Jia-Jie Lv  1   2 , Xin-Yu Li  1   3 , Yu-Chen Shen  1 , Jian-Xiong You  1 , Ming-Zhe Wen  1 , Jing-Bing Wang  1 , Xi-Tao Yang  1
Affiliations

Assessing volatile organic compounds exposure and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases in US adults

Jia-Jie Lv et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a large group of chemicals widely used in People's Daily life. There is increasing evidence of the cumulative toxicity of VOCs. However, the association between VOCs and the risk of COPD has not been reported.

Objective: We comprehensively evaluated the association between VOCs and COPD.

Methods: Our study included a total of 1,477 subjects from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, including VOCs, COPD, and other variables in the average US population. Multiple regression models and smooth-curve fitting (penalty splines) were constructed to examine potential associations, and stratified analyses were used to identify high-risk groups.

Results: We found a positive association between blood benzene and blood o-xylene concentrations and COPD risk and identified a concentration relationship between the two. That is, when the blood benzene and O-xylene concentrations reached 0.28 ng/mL and 0.08 ng/mL, respectively, the risk of COPD was the highest. In addition, we found that gender, age, and MET influence the relationship, especially in women, young people, and people with low MET.

Significance: This study revealed that blood benzene and blood o-xylene were independently and positively correlated with COPD risk, suggesting that long-term exposure to benzene and O-xylene may cause pulmonary diseases, and providing a new standard of related blood VOCs concentration for the prevention of COPD.

Keywords: US adults; chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD); cross-sectional study; the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES); volatile organic compounds (COV’s).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart for selecting analyzed participants.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The odds ratio of COPD with Blood Benzene, NHANES 2007–2012. OR: Odds ratio; CI: Confidence interval. (A) The non-linear relationship between Blood Benzene and COPD. (B) The odds ratio of COPD with Benzene by Gender. (C) The odds ratio of COPD with Benzene by Age; Age Q: Q1:20,39; Q2:39,59; Q3:59,80.Adjusted for age, gender, race, educational level, marital status, PIR, BMI, smoking status, alcohol intake, diabetes and hypertension. The shaded part represents the 95% confidence interval.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The odds ratio of COPD with Blood O-xylene, NHANES 2007–2012. OR: Odds ratio; CI: Confidence interval. (A) The non-linear relationship between Blood O-xylene and COPD. (B) The odds ratio of COPD with O-xylene by Gender. (C) The odds ratio of COPD with O-xylene by MET; METQ: Q1:40,600; Q2:600,3,000; Q3:3000,46,200. Adjusted for age, gender, race, educational level, marital status, PIR, BMI, smoking status, alcohol take, diabetes and hypertension. The shaded part represents the 95% confidence interval.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Forest plot of COPD across blood benzene with subgroup, NHANES 2007–2012. OR, Odds ratio; CI, Confidence interval.
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