Nitrogen dioxide exposure and urinary excretion of hydroxyproline and desmosine.

The relationship between average and peak personal exposure to nitrogen dioxide and urinary excretion of hydroxyproline and desmosine was investigated in a population of preschool children and their mothers. Weekly average personal nitrogen dioxide exposures for subjects who resided in homes with one or more potential nitrogen dioxide source (e.g., a kerosene space heater, gas stove, or tobacco smoke) ranged between 16.3 and 50.6 ppb (30.6 and 95.1 micrograms/m3) for children and between 16.9 and 44.1 ppb (12.8 and 82.9 micrograms/m3) for mothers. In these individuals, the hydroxyproline-to-creatinine and desmosine-to-creatinine ratios were unrelated to personal nitrogen dioxide exposure--even though continuous monitoring documented home nitrogen dioxide concentration peaks of 100-475 ppb lasting up to 100 h in duration. Significantly higher hydroxyproline-to-creatinine and desmosine-to-creatinine ratios were observed in children, compared with mothers (p < .001 and .003, respectively).