Impaired lung function related to microenvironmental exposure to PAHs mixture in PM2.5: A repeated measurement study

Abstract

Personal exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5)-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can cause serious adverse health effects. However, limited information is available on the impact of a mixture of PAHs in air-borne PM2.5 on lung function. We conducted a repeated-measures pilot study for four seasons during the period of 2014–2015, monitored the concentrations of 13 PAHs in PM2.5 samples from the outdoor and indoor microenvironments using a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry, estimated inhaled dose of PM2.5-bound PAHs based on the outdoor and indoor PM2.5-bound PAHs concentrations as well as individual time-activity diary, and analyzed independent and joint effects of PM2.5-bound 13 PAHs on lung function by linear mixed effect (LME) and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) models, respectively. LME models indicated the negative association of phenanthrene or benzo[a]pyrene with forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) or forced vital capacity (FVC) in warm season. BKMR models revealed that an overall negative association of the mixture of 13 PAHs in PM2.5 with FVC, FEV1, PEF or MVV values in warm season but only overall negative association of the mixture of 13 PAHs in PM2.5 with MVV values in cold season. In warm season, young adults with higher exposure to certain PAHs or the mixture of 13 PAHs in PM2.5 showed significant impairment in lung function, implying that health risk assessment of the mixture of PAHs in PM2.5 attributed to PM2.5 from traffic emission.