ZHANG Ting, ZHOU Xiao-lin, MENG Qian-qian, ZHANG Chao, XUE Zhen-wei, GUO Yu-feng, KONG Xiao-na, AN Quan. Associations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons exposure with growth and immune function of children: A study in a coking contaminated area in northern China[J]. Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, 2020, 37(6): 586-593. DOI: 10.13213/j.cnki.jeom.2020.19867
Citation: ZHANG Ting, ZHOU Xiao-lin, MENG Qian-qian, ZHANG Chao, XUE Zhen-wei, GUO Yu-feng, KONG Xiao-na, AN Quan. Associations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons exposure with growth and immune function of children: A study in a coking contaminated area in northern China[J]. Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, 2020, 37(6): 586-593. DOI: 10.13213/j.cnki.jeom.2020.19867

Associations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons exposure with growth and immune function of children: A study in a coking contaminated area in northern China

  • Background Many epidemiological findings suggest that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can cause changes in peripheral blood and immune function in coking plant workers, but their effects on the health of non-occupational people living in such polluted environments, especially children, have been rarely reported.
    Objective This study investigates the relationship between PAHs metabolites and the growth and immune function of children living in the vicinity of a coking plant.
    Methods A total of 176 children were selected from a village 1-2 km downwind from a coking plant in northern China in July 2018. The basic information about the children was collected through questionnaires and their blood and urine samples were collected at the same time. Their height and weight were measured on site. Immunoglobulin contents (IgA, IgG, and IgM) were detected using on automatic biochemical analyzer. The levels of eight hydroxyl metabolites of PAHs in urine (including 1-hydroxyl naphthalene, 2-hydroxyl naphthalene, 1-hydroxyl phenanthrene, 2-hydroxyl phenanthrene, 2-hydroxyl fluorene, 9-hydroxyl fluorene, 1-hydroxyl pyrene, and 3-hydroxyl benzoapyrene) were determined by high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection method. The children were divided into low-exposure groups and highexposure groups with P66.67 as cut-off point. Multiple linear regression was used to analyze the relationships of PAHs hydroxyl metabolites with growth and immune indicators.
    Results The average age of the children was (10.40±2.25) years. The abnormal rates of IgA, IgG, and IgM were 7.95%, 11.93%, and 2.27%, respectively. No gender differences were found in age, years of local residence, body weight, body mass index, IgA, IgG, and IgM (all P>0.05), but the girls were taller than the boys (P=0.041). The creatinine adjusted median levels (positive rates) of 1-hydroxyl naphthalene, 2-hydroxyl naphthalene, 1-hydroxyl phenanthrene, 2-hydroxyl phenanthrene, 2-hydroxyl fluorene, 9-hydroxyl fluorene, 1-hydroxyl pyrene, and 3-hydroxyl benzoapyrene were 1 856.23 ng·g-1 (93.75%), 604.00 ng·g-1 (100.00%), 94.88 ng·g-1 (100.00%), 118.16 ng·g-1 (100.00%), 317.89 ng·g-1 (100.00%), 10 779.32 ng·g-1 (100.00%), 151.13 ng·g-1 (99.43%), and 168.42 ng·g-1 (100.00%), respectively, and the level of total PAHs hydroxyl metabolites was 15 450.13 ng·g-1. The multiple linear regression analysis results showed that, after adjusting for selected confounding factors, the metabolite level of 9-hydroxyfluorene in urine was negatively correlated with the weight of children (P=0.014, b=-0.17), the level of 1-hydroxyl naphthalene was positively correlated with IgA, IgG, and IgM (P < 0.01, < 0.01, and 0.032, b=0.273, 0.314, and 0.192, respectively), and the level of total PAHs metabolites in urine was positively correlated with IgG (P=0.035, b=0.159).
    Conclusion Long-term low-dose exposure to PAHs might result in reduced body weight, though still in normal range, of children living in a coking contaminated area, and the level of 1-hydroxyl naphthalene is positively correlated with immunoglobulin.
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