Environmental Health Research Division, National Institute of Environmental Research, Ministry of Environment, Incheon 22689, Korea.
Graduate School of Urban Public Health, University of Seoul, Seoul 02504, Korea.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jan 6;19(2):626. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19020626.
The Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS) program provides useful information on chemical exposure, serves as the basis for environmental health policies, and suggests appropriate measures to protect public health. Initiated on a three-year cycle in 2009, it reports the concentrations of major environmental chemicals among the representative Korean population. KoNEHS Cycle 3 introduced children and adolescents into the analysis, where the blood and urine samples of 6167 participants were measured for major metals, phthalates, phenolics, and other organic compounds. Lead, mercury, cadmium, metabolites of DEHP and DnBP, and 3-phenoxybenzoic acid levels of the Korean adult population tended to decrease compared to previous survey cycles but remained higher than those observed in the US or Canada. Both bisphenol A (BPA) and -muconic acid concentrations have increased over time. Heavy metal concentrations (blood lead, and cadmium) in children and adolescents were approximately half that of adults, while some organic substances (e.g., phthalates and BPA) were high. BPA showed higher levels than in the US or Canada, whereas BPF and BPS showed lower detection rates in this cycle; however, as these are increasingly used as a substitute for BPA, further research is necessary. As environmental chemicals may affect childhood health and development, additional analyses should assess exposure sources and routes through continuous observations.
韩国国家环境健康调查（KoNEHS）计划提供了有关化学暴露的有用信息，是环境健康政策的基础，并提出了保护公众健康的适当措施。该计划于 2009 年以三年为一个周期启动，报告了代表性韩国人群中主要环境化学物质的浓度。KoNEHS 第 3 周期将儿童和青少年纳入了分析范围，对 6167 名参与者的血液和尿液样本进行了主要金属、邻苯二甲酸酯、酚类和其他有机化合物的测量。与之前的调查周期相比，韩国成年人的血液中铅、汞、镉、DEHP 和 DnBP 的代谢物以及 3-苯氧基苯甲酸的水平呈下降趋势，但仍高于美国或加拿大的水平。双酚 A（BPA）和 - 粘康酸的浓度随时间呈上升趋势。儿童和青少年的重金属浓度（血铅和镉）约为成年人的一半，而一些有机物质（如邻苯二甲酸酯和 BPA）含量较高。BPA 的水平高于美国或加拿大，而 BPF 和 BPS 在本周期的检出率较低；然而，由于这些物质越来越多地被用作 BPA 的替代品，因此需要进一步研究。由于环境化学物质可能会影响儿童的健康和发育，因此应通过持续观察来评估接触源和途径。
