Investigating unmetabolized polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in adolescents' urine as biomarkers of environmental exposure.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are of interest to human biomonitoring studies due to their carcinogenic potential. Traditionally metabolites of these compounds, like 1-hydroxypyrene, are monitored in urine, but recent methods allow the determination of the parent compounds in urine, which give additional information regarding sources and toxicity of PAHs. In order to assess the feasibility of incorporating these methods in a human biomonitoring study, the 16 USEPA parent PAHs were determined in 20 urine samples. These samples were obtained from 10 boys and 10 girls aged 14-16 years, participating in the third Flemish Environment and Health Study (Flanders, Belgium). Of these 16 parent PAHs, nine could be determined in more than 95% of the samples and three (including benzo(a)pyrene) in more than 50%. Several correlations were found between different PAHs, but not between pyrene and its metabolite 1-hydroxypyrene. Diagnostic PAH ratios in urine and air samples pointed towards combustion sources and are in line with the ratios in environmental samples. Benzo(a)pyrene, naphthalene and fluorene have the highest carcinogenic potential in our cohort, when using toxic equivalency factors. Some associations between PAH congeners and determinants of exposure were found, while fluorene and acenaphthylene were positively associated with thyroid hormone levels and benzo(a)pyrene showed a positive correlation with DNA damage by comet assay. These results confirm that parent PAHs in urine are useful as biomarkers of exposure in biomonitoring studies.
Department of Analytical, Environmental and Geochemistry (AMGC), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Elsene, Belgium. Electronic address: sam.de.craemer@vub.ac.be.
Sam
S
De Craemer
Department of Analytical, Environmental and Geochemistry (AMGC), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Elsene, Belgium.
Kim
K
Croes
Department of Analytical, Environmental and Geochemistry (AMGC), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Elsene, Belgium; Study Centre for Carcinogenesis and Primary Prevention of Cancer, Department of Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine, Ghent University, Belgium.
Nicolas
N
van Larebeke
Department of Public Health, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Isabelle
I
Sioen
Environmental Risk and Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium.
Greet
G
Schoeters
Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Ilse
I
Loots
Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium; Department of Public Health & Primary Care, Occupational & Environmental Medicine, Leuven University (KU Leuven), Leuven, Belgium.
Tim
T
Nawrot
Provincial Institute of Hygiene, Antwerp, Belgium.
Vera
V
Nelen
Department of Prevention, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy.
Laura
L
Campo
Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy; Department of Prevention, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy.
Silvia
S
Fustinoni
Department of Analytical, Environmental and Geochemistry (AMGC), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Elsene, Belgium.
Willy
W
Baeyens
D000293:Adolescent; D001530:Belgium; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000652:urine; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000652:urine*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000652:urine*
D015415:Biomarkers; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Benzo(a)pyrene; Carcinogenic; Determinants; FLEHS; Health; Human biomonitoring