Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health & Engineering, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Maryland Institute of Applied Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
Environ Int. 2021 Sep;154:106655. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2021.106655. Epub 2021 Jun 3.
Hairdressers are exposed to volatile organic compounds (VOCs), many of which have been linked to acute and chronic health effects. Those hairdressers serving an ethnic clientele may potentially experience disproportionate exposures from frequent use of products containing VOCs or different VOC concentrations contained in products which are marketed to the specific needs of their clientele. However, no biomonitoring studies have investigated occupational exposures in this population. In the present pilot study, we sought to characterize concentrations and exposure determinants for 28 VOC biomarkers in post-shift urine samples among 23 hairdressers primarily serving an ethnic clientele. VOC biomarker concentrations among hairdressers of color were compared to concentrations among a comparison group of 17 office workers and a representative sample of women participating in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. VOC biomarkers were detected in all hairdressers with higher concentrations observed among hairdressers serving a predominantly Black versus Latino clientele, and among hairdressers overall versus office workers and women in the U.S. general population. Median biomarker concentrations for acrolein,1,3-butadiene, and xylene in hairdressers were more than twice as high as those observed among office workers. Median concentrations for 1-bromopropane, acrolein and 1,3-butadiene were more than four times higher among all hairdressers compared to those reported among women in the U.S. general population. Select salon services (e.g., sister locs, flat ironing, permanent hair coloring, permanent waves or texturizing, Brazilian blowout or keratin treatment, etc.) were also associated with higher VOC biomarker concentrations among hairdressers. This pilot study represents the first biomonitoring analysis to characterize VOC exposures among women hairdressers of color and to provide evidence that this occupational population may experience elevated VOC exposures compared to women in the U.S. general population. Results from our study represent an important first step in elucidating occupational VOC exposures in this understudied occupational group. Larger studies among a racially and ethnically diverse cohort of hairdressers are warranted to confirm our findings and inform future exposure interventions in this understudied occupational population.
发型师会接触到挥发性有机化合物（VOC），其中许多已被证明与急性和慢性健康影响有关。那些为特定族裔顾客服务的发型师可能会因频繁使用含有 VOC 的产品或因满足特定顾客需求而销售的产品中含有不同浓度的 VOC 而面临不成比例的暴露。然而，目前还没有研究职业暴露的生物监测研究针对这一人群。在本研究中，我们试图描述 23 名主要为族裔顾客服务的发型师在轮班后尿液样本中 28 种 VOC 生物标志物的浓度和暴露决定因素。有色人种发型师的 VOC 生物标志物浓度与 17 名办公室工作人员的对照组和参与美国国家健康和营养检查调查的女性代表性样本进行了比较。所有发型师的 VOC 生物标志物均有检出，其中为主要黑人或拉丁裔顾客服务的发型师浓度较高，总体而言，发型师的浓度高于办公室工作人员和美国一般人群中的女性。发型师中丙烯醛、1,3-丁二烯和二甲苯的生物标志物中位数浓度是办公室工作人员的两倍多。与美国一般人群中女性相比，所有发型师中 1-溴丙烷、丙烯醛和 1,3-丁二烯的中位数浓度高 4 倍以上。选择沙龙服务（例如，姐妹 locs、拉直头发、永久性染发、永久性卷发或烫发、巴西 Blowout 或角蛋白处理等）也与发型师中更高的 VOC 生物标志物浓度有关。这项初步研究代表了首次对有色人种女性发型师进行 VOC 暴露特征分析，并提供了证据表明，与美国一般人群中的女性相比，这一职业人群可能面临更高的 VOC 暴露。我们的研究结果代表了在这一研究不足的职业群体中阐明职业 VOC 暴露的重要第一步。需要在更多不同种族和族裔的发型师队列中开展更大规模的研究，以证实我们的研究结果并为这一研究不足的职业人群提供未来的暴露干预措施。
