Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds among recently pregnant rural Guatemalan women cooking and heating with solid fuels.
Household air pollution is a major contributor to death and disability worldwide. Over 95% of rural Guatemalan households use woodstoves for cooking or heating. Woodsmoke contains carcinogenic or fetotoxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Increased PAHs and VOCs have been shown to increase levels of oxidative stress.



We examined PAH and VOC exposures among recently pregnant rural Guatemalan women exposed to woodsmoke and compared exposures to levels seen occupationally or among smokers.



Urine was collected from 23 women who were 3 months post-partum three times over 72h: morning (fasting), after lunch, and following dinner or use of wood-fired traditional sauna baths (samples=68). Creatinine-adjusted urinary concentrations of metabolites of four PAHs and eight VOCs were analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Creatinine-adjusted urinary biomarkers of oxidative stress, 8-isoprostane and 8-OHdG, were analyzed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Long-term (pregnancy through 3 months prenatal) exposure to particulate matter and airborne PAHs were measured.



Women using wood-fueled chimney stoves are exposed to high levels of particulate matter (median 48h PM2.5105.7μg/m3; inter-quartile range (IQR): 77.6-130.4). Urinary PAH and VOC metabolites were significantly associated with woodsmoke exposures: 2-naphthol (median (IQR) in ng/mg creatinine: 295.9 (74.4-430.9) after sauna versus 23.9 (17.1-49.5) fasting; and acrolein: 571.7 (429.3-1040.7) after sauna versus 268.0 (178.3-398.6) fasting. Urinary PAH (total PAH: ρ=0.89, p<0.001) and VOC metabolites of benzene (ρ=0.80, p<0.001) and acrylonitrile (ρ=0.59, p<0.05) were strongly correlated with long-term exposure to particulate matter. However urinary biomarkers of oxidative stress were not correlated with particulate matter (ρ=0.01 to 0.05, p>0.85) or PAH and VOC biomarkers (ρ=-0.20 to 0.38, p>0.07). Urinary metabolite concentrations were significantly greater than those of heavy smokers (mean cigarettes/day=18) across all PAHs. In 15 (65%) women, maximum 1-hydroxypyrene concentrations exceeded the occupational exposure limit of coke-oven workers.



The high concentrations of urinary PAH and VOC metabolites among recently pregnant women is alarming given the detrimental fetal and neonatal effects of prenatal PAH exposure. As most women used chimney woodstoves, cleaner fuels are critically needed to reduce smoke exposure.
School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, 2 Koret Way, Box 0606, CA 94143-0606, USA.
John R
JR
Weinstein
School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, 2 Koret Way, Box 0606, CA 94143-0606, USA.
Renée
R
Asteria-Peñaloza
Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle, Guatemala City, Guatemala.
Anaité
A
Diaz-Artiga
Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle, Guatemala City, Guatemala.
Gilberto
G
Davila
Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA.
S Katharine
SK
Hammond
Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Ian T
IT
Ryde
Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Joel N
JN
Meyer
Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Departments of Medicine and Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Neal
N
Benowitz
School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, 2 Koret Way, Box 0606, CA 94143-0606, USA. Electronic address: lisa.thompson@ucsf.edu.
Lisa M
LM
Thompson
D000328:Adult; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis / Q000652:urine*; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis; D003296:Cooking; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D006166:Guatemala; D006361:Heating; D006801:Humans; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis / Q000652:urine*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011721:Pyrenes / Q000652:urine; D012424:Rural Population; D012906:Smoke; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000652:urine*; D014934:Wood; D055815:Young Adult
D000393:Air Pollutants; D052638:Particulate Matter; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D011721:Pyrenes; D012906:Smoke; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds; C033146:1-hydroxypyrene
Household air pollution; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Solid fuel use; Urinary biomarkers; Volatile organic compounds