Human Biomonitoring Of Environmental Chemicals Research Articles

Associations of environmental chemical exposures measured in personal silicone wristbands with sociodemographic factors, COVID-19 restrictions, and child respiratory health

BackgroundAlthough human biomonitoring of environmental chemicals has been considered a gold standard, these methods can be costly, burdensome, and prone to unwanted sources of variability that may cause confounding. Silicone wristbands have recently emerged as innovative passive samplers for measuring personal exposures. MethodsIn a pilot study from 2019 to 2021 involving 55 children aged 5–9 years in Seattle and Yakima, Washington, we utilized silicone wristbands to explore associations of sociodemographic variables and COVID-19-related restrictions, including school closures, with exposures to numerous chemicals including brominated and organophosphate ester (OPE) flame retardants, polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phthalates, and pesticides. We additionally conducted the first analysis testing silicone wristband chemicals as predictors of child wheeze, individually and in mixtures via logistic weighted quantile sum regression (WQS). ResultsAmong 109 semi-volatile organic compounds measured, we detected 40 in >60% of wristbands worn by children continuously for an average of 5 days. Chemicals were generally positively correlated, especially within the same class. Male sex and increasing age were linked with higher exposures across several chemical classes; Hispanic/Latino ethnicity was linked with higher exposures to some phthalates and OPEs. COVID-19 restrictions were associated with lower wristband concentrations of brominated and triaryl OPE flame retardants. Each one-decile higher WQS exposure index was suggestively associated with 2.11-fold [95% CI: 0.93–4.80] higher odds of child wheeze. Risk of child wheeze was higher per 10-fold increase in the PAH chrysene (RR = 1.93[1.07–3.49]), the pesticide cis-permethrin (3.31[1.23–8.91]), and di-isononyl phthalate (DINP) (5.40[1.22–24.0]) ConclusionsOur identification of demographic factors including sex, age, and ethnicity associated with chemical exposures may aid efforts to mitigate exposure disparities. Lower exposures to flame retardants during pandemic restrictions corroborates prior evidence of higher levels of these chemicals in school versus home environments. Future research in larger cohorts is needed to validate these findings.

Human Biomonitoring of Environmental Chemicals among Elderly in Wuhan, China: Prioritizing Risks Using EPA's ToxCast Database.

In line with the "healthy aging" principle, we aim to assess the exposure map and health risks of environmental chemicals in the elderly. Blood samples from 918 elderly individuals in Wuhan, China, were analyzed using the combined gas/liquid-mass spectrometry technology to detect levels of 118 environmental chemicals. Cluster analysis identified exposure profiles, while risk indexes and bioanalytical equivalence percentages were calculated using EPA's ToxCast database. The detection rates for 87 compounds exceeded 70%. DEHP, DiBP, naphthalene, phenanthrene, DnBP, pyrene, anthracene, permethrin, fluoranthene, and PFOS showed the highest concentrations. Fat-soluble pollutants varied across lifestyles. In cluster 2, which was characterized by higher concentrations of fat-soluble substances, the proportion of smokers or drinkers was higher than that of nonsmokers or nondrinkers. Pesticides emerged as the most active environmental chemicals in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma antagonist, thyroid hormone receptor (TR) antagonist, TR agonist, and androgen receptor (AR) agonist activity assays. Additionally, PAEs and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons played significant roles as active contaminants for the corresponding targets of AR antagonists and estrogen receptor alpha. We proposed a list of priority pollutants linked to endocrine-disrupting toxic effects in the elderly, which may provide the groundwork for further research into environmental etiology.

Solid-phase microextraction for the human biomonitoring of environmental chemicals: Current applications and future perspectives.

Sample preparation is one of the crucial steps in the analytical chemistry including human biomonitoring studies. Although there are several traditional approaches available, solid-phase microextraction is emerged as one of the pioneering techniques due to its simplicity, rapidness, wide applicability, and miniaturization of traditional sample preparation (e.g., use of less or no organic solvents). There are few earlier review articles available on the advancements in solid-phase microextraction and its use for the measurement of environmental chemicals in various types of environmental samples. However, a collective information on applicability and current usage of solid-phase microextraction for the human biomonitoring of environmental chemicals are scarce, nonetheless, rising demands on innovative analytical approaches for human biomonitoring studies. Hence, in this review article, we covered the application of solid-phase microextraction as extraction/purification methods for more than 15 classes of environmental chemicals to assess their respective exposure levels and associated health outcomes in various human population reported across the globe. Further, a detailed discussion on various types of matrix used, nature of coupled analytical instrumentations, and limitations and future perspectives of solid-phase microextraction for human biomonitoring studies is presented in this review.

An overview of human biomonitoring of environmental chemicals in the Canadian Health Measures Survey: 2007-2019.

Human biomonitoring (HBM) is used to indicate and quantify exposure by measuring environmental chemicals, their metabolites or reaction products in biological specimens. The biomonitoring component of the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) is the most comprehensive initiative providing general population HBM data in Canada. The CHMS is an ongoing cross-sectional direct measures survey implemented in 2-year cycles. It provides nationally-representative data on health, nutritional status, environmental exposures, and related risks and protective characteristics. The survey follows a robust planning, design and sampling protocol as well as a comprehensive quality assurance and quality control regime implemented for all aspect of the survey to ensure the validity of the HBM results. HBM blood and urine data are available for CHMS cycles 1 (2007-2009), 2 (2009-2011) and 3 (2012-2013). Field collection has been completed for cycle 4 (2014-2015), with cycle 5 (2016-2017) in progress and cycle 6 planning (2018-2019) being finalized. Biomonitoring results for 279 chemicals are expected over the six cycles of the CHMS (220 in individual blood, urine or hair samples, and 59 in pooled serum samples). The chemicals include metals and trace elements, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorines, flame retardants, perfluoroalkyl substances, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and metabolites, environmental phenols, triclocarban, acrylamide, pesticides (e.g., triazines, carbamates, organophosphates, phenoxy, pyrethroids) and/or their metabolites, chlorophenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) metabolites, phthalates and alternate plasticizer metabolites, and tobacco biomarkers. Approximately one half of the chemicals measured in individual blood and urine samples over the first three cycles were detected in more than 60% of samples. CHMS biomonitoring data have been used to establish baseline HBM concentrations in Canadians; inform public health, regulatory risk assessment and management decisions; and fulfil national and international reporting requirements. Concurrent efforts are underway in Canada to develop statistically- and risk-based concepts and tools to interpret biomonitoring data.

Review of the state of the art of human biomonitoring for chemical substances and its application to human exposure assessment for food safety

Review of the state of the art of human biomonitoring for chemical substances and its application to human exposure assessment for food safety

Pooled biological specimens for human biomonitoring of environmental chemicals: Opportunities and limitations

Biomonitoring has become the "gold standard" in assessing chemical exposures, and has an important role in risk assessment. The pooling of biological specimens-combining multiple individual specimens into a single sample-can be used in biomonitoring studies to monitor levels of exposure and identify exposure trends or to identify susceptible populations in a cost-effective manner. Pooled samples provide an estimate of central tendency and may also reveal information about variation within the population. The development of a pooling strategy requires careful consideration of the type and number of samples collected, the number of pools required and the number of specimens to combine per pool in order to maximise the type and robustness of the data. Creative pooling strategies can be used to explore exposure-outcome associations, and extrapolation from other larger studies can be useful in identifying elevated exposures in specific individuals. The use of pooled specimens is advantageous as it saves significantly on analytical costs, may reduce the time and resources required for recruitment and, in certain circumstances, allows quantification of samples approaching the limit of detection. In addition, the use of pooled samples can provide population estimates while avoiding ethical difficulties that may be associated with reporting individual results.

Human biomonitoring of environmental chemicals in Canada—Overview of recent activities

Human biomonitoring of environmental chemicals in Canada—Overview of recent activities

Human Biomonitoring of Environmental Chemicals in the Canadian Health Measures Survey—First Results

Human Biomonitoring of Environmental Chemicals in the Canadian Health Measures Survey—First Results

Human Biomonitoring of Environmental Chemicals

Human Biomonitoring of Environmental Chemicals

Human Biomonitoring of Environmental Chemicals

be controlled most rigorously? One strategy is to go after the largest sources of pollution. This approach cer tainly makes sense when those pollu tants have obvious and widespread consequences, such as warming the globe, causing algal blooms, eroding the ozone layer or killing off wildlife. But for protecting human health, this strate gy does not serve so well, because the link between a given compound and its biological effects can be difficult to gauge. For epidemiologists to correlate environmental pollutants with health problems, they need to know who has been exposed and at what level. This knowledge is exceptionally dif ficult to gain when there is a lag be tween exposure and the manifestation of illness. In such cases, the data are seldom?if ever?sufficient to deter