Freire C, Abril A, Fernández M F, Ramos R, Estarlich M, Manrique A, Aguirre A, Ibarluzea J, Olea N
Laboratory of Medical Investigations, San Cecilio University Hospital, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain.
Sci Total Environ. 2009 Feb 15;407(5):1562-9. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.10.068. Epub 2008 Dec 17.
Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), among the main compounds present in polluted urban air, is of concern for children's health. Childhood exposure to PAH was assessed by urinary monitoring of 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP), a pyrene metabolite, investigating its association with exposure to air pollution and other factors related to PAH in air.
A group of 174 4-year-old children were recruited and a questionnaire on their indoor and outdoor residential environment was completed by parents. At the same time, environmental measurements of traffic-related air pollution (NO2) were carried out. A urine sample was collected from each child in order to analyze 1-OHP using HPLC with fluorescence detection, correcting for creatinine concentrations. Non-parametric tests and regression analyses were used to identify environmental factors that influence 1-OHP excretion.
Mean urinary 1-OHP concentration was 0.061 micromol/mol creatinine, ranging from 0.004 to 0.314 micromol/mol. Non-parametric tests and regression analysis showed positive and significant associations (P<or=0.05) between 1-OHP and predicted residential exposure to NO2 (which was based on outdoor environmental measurements and geo-statistical analysis), self-reported residential vehicle traffic, passive smoking and cooking appliance. 1-OHP levels tended to be higher among children living in urban areas (0.062 micromol/mol vs. 0.058 micromol/mol for children living in rural areas) but differences were not significant (P=0.20).
In Southern Spain, concentrations of urinary 1-OHP were in the lower range of those generally reported for children living in non-polluted areas in Western Europe and the USA. Traffic-related air pollution, passive smoking and cooking appliance influenced urinary 1-OHP level in the children, which should be prevented due to the health consequences of the inadvertent exposure to PAH during development.
多环芳烃（PAH）是污染城市空气中的主要化合物之一，其暴露对儿童健康构成威胁。通过对芘代谢物1-羟基芘（1-OHP）进行尿液监测来评估儿童期PAH暴露情况，研究其与空气污染暴露以及空气中其他与PAH相关因素的关联。
招募了一组174名4岁儿童，家长完成了一份关于其室内和室外居住环境的问卷。同时，对与交通相关的空气污染（二氧化氮）进行了环境测量。从每个儿童收集一份尿液样本，以便使用带荧光检测的高效液相色谱法分析1-OHP，并对肌酐浓度进行校正。采用非参数检验和回归分析来确定影响1-OHP排泄的环境因素。
尿中1-OHP的平均浓度为0.061微摩尔/摩尔肌酐，范围为0.004至0.314微摩尔/摩尔。非参数检验和回归分析表明，1-OHP与预测的居住环境二氧化氮暴露量（基于室外环境测量和地理统计分析）、自我报告的居住车辆交通、被动吸烟和烹饪器具之间存在正相关且显著相关（P≤0.05）。城市地区儿童的1-OHP水平往往较高（城市地区儿童为0.062微摩尔/摩尔，农村地区儿童为0.058微摩尔/摩尔），但差异不显著（P = 0.20）。
在西班牙南部，尿中1-OHP的浓度处于西欧和美国未受污染地区儿童一般报告浓度的较低范围。与交通相关的空气污染、被动吸烟和烹饪器具影响了儿童尿中1-OHP水平，鉴于发育过程中无意接触PAH对健康的影响，应加以预防。
