School of Public Health, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China.
Key Laboratory of Environmental Factors and Chronic Disease Control, Yinchuan, China.
Front Public Health. 2024 Sep 25;12:1447290. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1447290. eCollection 2024.
Exposure to occupational metallic mixtures has a potential impact on olfactory function. However, research evidence is limited on the potential impact of exposure to metallic mixtures and olfactory dysfunction. Furthermore, the coal dust generated contains multiple various metals during coal mining, and no study yet has focus on the olfactory dysfunction of coal miners.
In this study, we evaluate the association between urinary metallic mixtures and olfactory function in coal miners, while also exploring the potential applicability of plasma olfactory marker protein (OMP) as a biomarker for assessing olfaction.
From July to October 2023, coal workers from seven different coal mining enterprises were recruited for the survey when they come for the employee health checkup. Ultimately, 376 participants were met the inclusion criteria and, respectively, determined with the concentrations of urine (16 metals) and plasma (OMP). Meanwhile, applying UPSIT to access their olfactory function. Binary logistic regression and restricted cubic spline (RCS) model were used to estimate the association of individual metals with olfactory function. Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) and Quantile g-computation (QG-C) regression were employed to assess the overall association between metal mixtures and olfactory function and identify the major contributing elements.
In a single-metal model, two metals in urine were found to be significantly associated with olfactory function. RCS analysis further revealed that the association between Iron (Fe) and olfactory function was linear, while Lead (Pb) exhibited a non-linear. The BKMR model demonstrated a significant positive association between metal mixture concentration and olfactory function. Combined QG-C regression analysis suggested that metals Cr, Fe, Se, Sb, and Pb could impact the performance of the olfactory test (UPSIT), with Pb being identified as the most influential contributor. The correlation between plasma OMP protein levels and urinary metal concentrations was weak.
Multiple metals are associated with olfactory function in the coal miners. A significant positive association was observed between metal mixture concentrations and olfactory function, with Pb being the most important contributor. In this study, plasma OMP has not been demonstrated to serve as a biomarker for olfactory function.
职业性金属混合物暴露可能对嗅觉功能产生影响。然而，目前关于金属混合物暴露与嗅觉功能障碍的潜在影响的研究证据有限。此外，在采煤过程中产生的煤尘中含有多种不同的金属，目前还没有研究关注煤矿工人的嗅觉功能障碍。
本研究评估了矿工尿液中金属混合物与嗅觉功能之间的关联，并探讨了血浆嗅觉标记蛋白（OMP）作为评估嗅觉的生物标志物的潜在适用性。
2023 年 7 月至 10 月，当矿工进行员工健康检查时，我们从七个不同的煤矿企业招募了矿工进行调查。最终，有 376 名符合纳入标准的参与者，分别测定其尿液（16 种金属）和血浆（OMP）浓度，并采用 UPSIT 评估他们的嗅觉功能。采用二元逻辑回归和受限立方样条（RCS）模型估计个体金属与嗅觉功能的关联。采用贝叶斯核机器回归（BKMR）和分位数广义计算（QG-C）回归评估金属混合物与嗅觉功能的整体关联，并识别主要贡献元素。
在单金属模型中，发现尿液中有两种金属与嗅觉功能显著相关。RCS 分析进一步表明，铁（Fe）与嗅觉功能之间的关系是线性的，而铅（Pb）则呈非线性。BKMR 模型显示金属混合物浓度与嗅觉功能之间存在显著正相关。综合 QG-C 回归分析表明，Cr、Fe、Se、Sb 和 Pb 等金属可能会影响嗅觉测试（UPSIT）的表现，其中 Pb 的影响最大。血浆 OMP 蛋白水平与尿液中金属浓度之间的相关性较弱。
多种金属与矿工的嗅觉功能有关。金属混合物浓度与嗅觉功能之间存在显著正相关，其中 Pb 的影响最大。在本研究中，血浆 OMP 尚未被证明可作为嗅觉功能的生物标志物。
