Abstract 10212: Exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds - Acrolein, Crotonaldehyde, and Styrene - is Associated with Blood Pressure in the Jackson Heart Study

Abstract

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death from environmental exposures. Although exposure to particulate matter ≤2.5μm (PM 2.5 ) is an established risk factor for CVD, the contribution of other hazardous pollutant exposure to CVD risk is less clear. Hypothesis: We assessed the hypothesis that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are associated with blood pressure in 778 nonsmokers from the Jackson Heart Study (JHS), a large, community based observational study of CVD in African Americans from the tri-county Jackson, MS area. Methods: We measured urinary metabolites of 17 parent VOCs in spot urine samples collected at baseline using UPLC/MS. We tested the association between VOC metabolites and blood pressure in nonsmokers using generalized linear models adjusted for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), estimated glomerular filtration rate, cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein ratio, triglycerides, blood pressure medications, diabetes, and PM 2.5 . Two measurements of systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP) in the resting state were averaged using a Hawksley random zero sphygmomanometer. Results: Included participants had a BMI of 31.3 ± 7.1 kg/m 2 (mean ± SD), had triglycerides of 99.9 ± 57.9 mg/dL, and a less than 10% prevalence of CVD events. More than one-third were affluent (37.8%) and almost half used blood pressure medications (46%). We found that metabolites of acrolein (CEMA) and crotonaldehyde (HPMMA) were associated with a 1.5mmHg (CI: 0.5, 2.7; p=0.01), and a 1.1mmHg higher (CI: 0.1, 2.0; p=0.02) SBP per interquartile range (IQR) of VOC metabolite, respectively. Additionally, we found a 0.5mmHg higher (CI: 0.1, 0.8; p= 0.01) DBP per IQR of styrene metabolite, MA. In subgroup analysis, the association between CEMA and MA and blood pressure persisted only in men. Conclusions: In conclusion, these findings suggest that exposure to VOCs (acrolein, crotonaldehyde, and styrene) may be a significant contributor to risk of hypertension among African American nonsmokers.