U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Exposure Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.
J Toxicol Environ Health B Crit Rev. 2012;15(1):22-38. doi: 10.1080/10937404.2012.632360.
Biomonitoring is the process by which biomarkers are measured in human tissues and specimens to evaluate exposures. Given the growing number of population-based biomonitoring surveys, there is now an escalated interest in using biomarker data to reconstruct exposures for supporting risk assessment and risk management. While detection of biomarkers is de facto evidence of exposure and absorption, biomarker data cannot be used to reconstruct exposure unless other information is available to establish the external exposure-biomarker concentration relationship. In this review, the process of using biomarker data and other information to reconstruct human exposures is examined. Information that is essential to the exposure reconstruction process includes (1) the type of biomarker based on its origin (e.g., endogenous vs. exogenous), (2) the purpose/design of the biomonitoring study (e.g., occupational monitoring), (3) exposure information (including product/chemical use scenarios and reasons for expected contact, the physicochemical properties of the chemical and nature of the residues, and likely exposure scenarios), and (4) an understanding of the biological system and mechanisms of clearance. This review also presents the use of exposure modeling, pharmacokinetic modeling, and molecular modeling to assist in integrating these various types of information.
生物监测是通过测量人体组织和样本中的生物标志物来评估暴露情况的过程。鉴于基于人群的生物监测调查数量不断增加，现在人们越来越有兴趣利用生物标志物数据来重建暴露情况，以支持风险评估和风险管理。虽然生物标志物的检测实际上是暴露和吸收的证据，但除非有其他信息可用于建立外部暴露-生物标志物浓度关系，否则不能利用生物标志物数据来重建暴露情况。在这篇综述中，检查了利用生物标志物数据和其他信息来重建人体暴露的过程。对于暴露重建过程至关重要的信息包括：（1）基于其来源的生物标志物类型（例如，内源性与外源性）；（2）生物监测研究的目的/设计（例如，职业监测）；（3）暴露信息（包括产品/化学品使用情况和预期接触的原因、化学物质的物理化学性质和残留物的性质以及可能的暴露情况）；以及（4）对生物系统和清除机制的了解。本文还介绍了使用暴露建模、药代动力学建模和分子建模来协助整合这些不同类型的信息。
