Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2025 May 24;15(5):e098106.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-098106.

Impact of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure on thyroid hormone sensitivity: a cross-sectional study of urinary metabolites in 2356 adults from NHANES

Qingqing Yang  1 , Hui Li  2 , Chenchen Wu  1 , Min Li  1 , Weihua Sun  1 , Xiaolei Hu  1 , Zhaoming Shi  1 , Guoxi Jin  3
Affiliations
Observational Study

Impact of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure on thyroid hormone sensitivity: a cross-sectional study of urinary metabolites in 2356 adults from NHANES

Qingqing Yang et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objective: The current study aimed to compare the relationship between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exposure and thyroid hormone (TH) sensitivity markers in individuals with normal thyroid function in the USA population during 2007-2008 and 2009-2012.

Design: Observational cross-sectional study.

Setting: US population data from 2007 to 2008 and 2009 to 2012.

Main outcome measures: Associations between PAH exposure and TH sensitivity were examined, stratified by sex and age, along with dose-response relationships between PAH metabolites and TH sensitivity indices.

Results: In women, after adjusting for confounding variables, 1-hydroxynaphthalene was positively associated with thyroid feedback quantile index of FT4 (TFQIFT4) (β=0.0072, 95% CI 0.0018 to 0.0127, p=0.022), thyrotropin thyroxine resistance index (TT4RI) (β=0.0099, 95% CI 0.0024 to 0.0173, p=0.021) and thyroid-stimulating hormone index (TSHI) (β=0.0107, 95% CI 0.0038 to 0.0176, p=0.012). Among individuals aged 60 years and older, 1-hydroxyphenanthrene was negatively associated with free triiodothyronine/free thyroxine (FT3/FT4) (β = -0.9328, 95% CI -1.5055 to -0.3602, p=0.014). Dose-response analysis revealed no nonlinear relationships between PAH metabolites and TH sensitivity indices in women or individuals aged 60 years and older. Weighted quantile regression analysis demonstrated that OH-PAHs exerted a statistically significant effect (p<0.05) on TH sensitivity indices, including TFQIFT4, thyroid feedback quantile index of FT3, TT4RI, hyrotropin triiodothyronine resistance index and TSHI.

Conclusions: In the US population with normal thyroid function, PAH exposure may interfere with TH sensitivity, with effects varying by population characteristics.

Keywords: Cross-Sectional Studies; Public health; Thyroid disease.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Flowchart of study participants. FT3, free triiodothyronine; FT4, free thyroxine; NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; PAHs, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; TSH, thyroid-stimulating hormone.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Dose–response connections between TH sensitivity indices and urinary PAH metabolites in females. (A) TFQIFT4 and 1-NAP. (B) TT4RI and 1-NAP. (C) Thyrotropin index (TSHI) and 1-NAP. 1-NAP, 1-hydroxynaphthalene; PAH, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon; TFQIFT4, thyroid feedback quantile index of FT4; TH, thyroid hormone; TSHI, thyroid-stimulating hormone index.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Dose–response connections between TH sensitivity indices and urinary PAH metabolites in adults aged 60 or older. FT3/FT4, free triiodothyronine/free thyroxine; PAH, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon; 1-PHE, 1-hydroxyphenanthrene; TH, thyroid hormone.
Figure 4
Figure 4. WQSR weights in the WQSR model for the association between TH sensitivity indices and WQSR index of seven PAH metabolites mixtures. (A) WQSR index weights for models of TFQIFT4 negative. (B) WQSR index weights for models of TFQIFT3 positive. (C) WQSR index weights for models of TFQIFT3 negative. (D) WQSR index weights for models of TT4RI positive. (E) WQSR index weights for models of TT3RI positive. (F) WQSR index weights for models of TSHI positive. (G) WQSR index weights for models of TSHI negative. 2-FLU, 2-hydroxyfluorene; 3-FLU, 3-hydroxyfluorene; 9-FLU, 9-hydroxyfluorene; 1-NAP, 1-hydroxynaphthalene; 2-NAP, 2-hydroxynaphthalene; PAH, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon; 1-PHE, 1-hydroxyphenanthrene; 1-PYR, 1-hydroxypyrene; TFQIFT3, thyroid feedback quantile index of FT3; TFQIFT4, thyroid feedback quantile index of FT4; TH, thyroid hormone; TSHI, thyroid-stimulating hormone index; TT3RI; thyrotropin triiodothyronine resistance index; TT4RI, thyrotropin thyroxine resistance index; WQSR, weighted quantile sum regression.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Mallah MA, Changxing L, Mallah MA, et al. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and its effects on human health: An overeview. Chemosphere. 2022;296:S0045-6535(22)00441-6. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.133948. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Zhang A, Zhang H, Mi L, et al. Diabetes: a potential mediator of associations between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure and stroke. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2024 doi: 10.1007/s11356-024-32324-y. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chen HH, Lin CH, Hsieh TY, et al. Factors associated with incident severe pulmonary arterial hypertension in systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases: a nationwide study. Rheumatology (Sunnyvale) 2021;60:5351–61. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keab118. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Zhang L, Sun J, Zhang D. The relationship between urine polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and depressive symptoms in American adults. J Affect Disord. 2021;292:227–33. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.05.097. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Shi J, Zhao Y, Xue L, et al. Urinary metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons after short-term fine particulate matter exposure: A randomized crossover trial of air filtration. Environ Pollut. 2021;285:117258. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117258. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources