VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Boeretang 200, 2400, Mol, Belgium; Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium.
VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Boeretang 200, 2400, Mol, Belgium; Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium.
Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2022 May;242:113972. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2022.113972. Epub 2022 Apr 19.
The Flemish Environment and Health Study (FLEHS) collects information on internal exposure to a broad range of environmental chemicals in the general population in Flanders, the Northern region of Belgium. The aim is to establish biomonitoring exposure distributions for the general population in support of public health and environmental policy, environmental risk assessment and risk management decisions. In 2017-2018, urine and blood samples were collected from 428 teenagers by a stratified clustered two stage randomized design. Samples were analyzed for a broad range of biomarkers related to exposure to chlorinated and newer pesticides, brominated and organophosphate flame retardants (BFR/OPFR), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), bisphenols, phthalates and alternative plasticizers, per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), benzene, metals and trace elements. The geometric mean levels and percentiles of the distribution were estimated for each biomarker, for the whole study population and following stratification for sex, the household educational attainment and the residence area's urbanicity. Geometric means of biomarkers of lead, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), PCBs, PAHs, regulated phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA) were lower than in the previous FLEHS cycles. Most biomarker levels were below health-based guidance values (HB-GVs). However, HB-GVs of urinary arsenic, blood lead, blood cadmium, sum of serum perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluoro-1-hexanesulfonate (PFHxS) and the urinary pyrethroid metabolite (3-PBA) were exceeded in respectively 25%, 12%, 39.5%, 10% and 22% of the teenagers. These results suggest that the levels of exposure in the Flemish population to some environmental chemicals might be of concern. At the same time, we noticed that biomarkers for BPA substitutes, metabolites of OPFRs, an expanded list of PFAS, glyphosate and its metabolite could be measured in substantial proportions of participants. Interpretation of these levels in a health-risk context remains uncertain as HB-GVs are lacking. Household educational attainment and residential urbanicity were significant exposure determinants for many biomarkers and could influence specific biomarker levels up to 70% as shown by multiple regression analysis. The research consortium also took care of the broader external communication of results with participants, policy makers, professional groups and civil society organizations. Our study demonstrated that teenagers are exposed to a wide range of chemicals, it demonstrates the success of public policies to reduce exposure but also points to concern and further priorities and needs for follow up.
弗拉芒环境与健康研究（FLEHS）在比利时北部弗拉芒地区的普通人群中收集了广泛的环境化学物质内部暴露的信息。其目的是为普通人群建立生物监测暴露分布情况，以支持公共卫生和环境政策、环境风险评估和风险管理决策。2017-2018 年，通过分层聚类两阶段随机设计，从 428 名青少年中采集了尿液和血液样本。样本分析了与氯化和新型杀虫剂、溴化和有机磷阻燃剂（BFR/OPFR）、多氯联苯（PCBs）、双酚、邻苯二甲酸盐和替代增塑剂、全氟和多氟烷基物质（PFAS）、多环芳烃（PAHs）、苯、金属和微量元素暴露有关的一系列广泛的生物标志物。为每个生物标志物、整个研究人群以及按性别、家庭受教育程度和居住区域城市化程度进行分层，估计了生物标志物的几何平均值和分布百分位数。与前几个 FLEHS 周期相比，铅、滴滴涕（DDT）、PCBs、PAHs、受管制邻苯二甲酸盐和双酚 A（BPA）的生物标志物几何平均值较低。大多数生物标志物水平均低于基于健康的指导值（HB-GVs）。然而，尿液中砷、血液中铅、血液中镉、血清全氟辛烷磺酸（PFOS）和全氟-1-己烷磺酸（PFHxS）总和以及尿液中拟除虫菊酯代谢物（3-PBA）的 HB-GVs 分别在 25%、12%、39.5%、10%和 22%的青少年中超标。这些结果表明，弗拉芒人群接触某些环境化学物质的水平可能令人担忧。与此同时，我们注意到，BPA 替代品、OPFR 代谢物、扩大的 PFAS 清单、草甘膦及其代谢物的生物标志物可以在大量参与者中测量到。由于缺乏 HB-GVs，这些水平在健康风险背景下的解释仍然不确定。家庭受教育程度和居住城市化程度是许多生物标志物的重要暴露决定因素，通过多元回归分析，这些因素可以影响特定生物标志物水平高达 70%。研究联盟还负责与参与者、政策制定者、专业团体和民间社会组织更广泛地进行外部沟通。我们的研究表明，青少年接触了广泛的化学物质，这表明减少接触的公共政策取得了成功，但也表明了关注和进一步的优先事项和后续需求。
