He Rujian, Zhong Hongjie, He Chang, Li Hailing, Wang Zhanxiang, Zheng Jing, Li Guiying, An Taicheng
Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory for Contaminants Exposure and Health, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Health Risk Control, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China; Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Pollution Control, Key Laboratory for City Cluster Environmental Safety and Green Development of the Ministry of Education, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China.
State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Health Risk Assessment, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou 510530, China.
J Environ Sci (China). 2025 Aug;154:163-173. doi: 10.1016/j.jes.2024.06.021. Epub 2024 Jul 4.
Evidence on the association of occupational exposure to benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) with hematologic and hepatic profiles were equivocal, and few studies have investigated overall effect of BTEX mixtures. Herein, significant higher concentrations (p < 0.05) of hippuric acid, 1,2-dihydroxybenzene, mandelic acid, trans, trans-muconic acid and phenylglyoxylic acid were found in petrochemical workers than the controls, in accordance with higher levels of hematologic and hepatic profiles found in petrochemical workers (p < 0.05). Occupational exposure to individual BTEX was associated with elevated levels of white blood cell (WBC), lymphocyte (LYMPH), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT). Further, the Weighted Quantile Sum Regression model and Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression model consistently identified a positive association between BTEX mixture exposure and WBC, LYMPH, and GGT. Xylene was the primary contributor to increased WBC, LYMPH, and GGT levels. Furthermore, BTEX exposure resulting in the increased inflammation indices were mainly related to perturbations of sphingolipid metabolism, biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, and primary bile acid biosynthesis. Whereas metabolites mediated the correlation between BTEX exposure and liver function indices were related to the perturbations of biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, arachidonic acid metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, primary bile acid biosynthesis, etc. Our findings revealed potential health risk of occupational exposure to BTEX and might help one to understand the link between BTEX exposure and hematologic and hepatic profiles.
关于职业接触苯、甲苯、乙苯和二甲苯（BTEX）与血液学和肝脏指标之间关联的证据并不明确，而且很少有研究调查BTEX混合物的总体影响。在此，发现石化工人中马尿酸、1,2 - 二羟基苯、扁桃酸、反式，反式 - 粘康酸和苯甲酰甲酸的浓度显著高于对照组（p < 0.05），这与石化工人中血液学和肝脏指标水平较高的情况相符（p < 0.05）。职业接触单一的BTEX与白细胞（WBC）、淋巴细胞（LYMPH）、丙氨酸转氨酶（ALT）和γ - 谷氨酰转移酶（GGT）水平升高有关。此外，加权分位数和回归模型以及贝叶斯核机器回归模型一致确定BTEX混合物暴露与WBC、LYMPH和GGT之间存在正相关。二甲苯是导致WBC、LYMPH和GGT水平升高的主要因素。此外，BTEX暴露导致炎症指标升高主要与鞘脂代谢、不饱和脂肪酸生物合成和初级胆汁酸生物合成的紊乱有关。而介导BTEX暴露与肝功能指标之间相关性的代谢产物与不饱和脂肪酸生物合成、花生四烯酸代谢、鞘脂代谢、初级胆汁酸生物合成等的紊乱有关。我们的研究结果揭示了职业接触BTEX的潜在健康风险，并可能有助于人们理解BTEX暴露与血液学和肝脏指标之间的联系。
