Urinary lead in relation to combustion-derived air pollution in urban environments. A longitudinal study of an international panel
Background: Urinary lead (Pb) is generally considered to have limited use in biomonitoring environmental exposure to lead. Carbon load in airway macrophages (AM BC) is an internal marker to assess long-term exposure to combustion-derived aerosol particles. In urban environments, atmospheric Pb and b...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2019-04-01
|
| Series: | Environment International |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412018318920 |
| _version_ | 1818420806515949568 |
|---|---|
| author | Yang Bai Annouschka Laenen Vincent Haufroid Tim S. Nawrot Benoit Nemery |
| author_facet | Yang Bai Annouschka Laenen Vincent Haufroid Tim S. Nawrot Benoit Nemery |
| author_sort | Yang Bai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Urinary lead (Pb) is generally considered to have limited use in biomonitoring environmental exposure to lead. Carbon load in airway macrophages (AM BC) is an internal marker to assess long-term exposure to combustion-derived aerosol particles. In urban environments, atmospheric Pb and black carbon may have common sources. We aimed to study the temporal change of urinary Pb (U-Pb) when exposure to outdoor air pollution changes, and the relationship between U-Pb and AM BC. Methods: A panel of 50 young healthy adults [mean (SD) 26.7 (5.2) years], including 17 long-term (>1 year) residents in Leuven, Belgium (BE), 15 and 18 newcomers (arrived <3 weeks) from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) and high-income countries (HIC), respectively, underwent 8 repeated measurements at 6 weeks intervals. In urine spot samples obtained at 5 time points (T1, T2, T4, T6, T8), 24 trace elements were quantified by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. At each time point, AM BC was quantified as the median surface of black inclusions (in μm2) by means of image analysis of 25 macrophages obtained by induced sputum. Changes in urinary metal concentrations (with and without creatinine correction) and the relationship between U-Pb and AM BC were estimated using linear mixed models adjusted for covariates and potential confounders. Results: Only U-Pb differed between groups and exhibited significant time trends. Participants from the LMIC group had significantly higher initial U-Pb (1.18 μg/g creat) than the HIC group (0.44 μg/g creat) and BE group (0.45 μg/g creat). In the LMIC group, U-Pb decreased significantly with time by 0.061 μg/g creatinine per 30 days [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.034, 0.088]. U-Pb remained unchanged in the other two groups. An increase in AM BC of 1 μm2 was associated with an increase in U-Pb of 0.369 μg/g creat (95% CI: 0.145, 0.593). Conclusion: This panel study demonstrates that U-Pb may be a valid alternative to blood Pb for biomonitoring changes in exposure to lead, at least at group level. In addition, we identified a positive association between U-Pb and AM BC, a biomarker of exposure to traffic-related air pollution, suggesting the existence of common sources of Pb and black carbon in urban environments. Keywords: Urinary lead, Carbon load in airway macrophages, Biomonitoring |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T13:00:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cf267097acb74df691bd9d72af1331a4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0160-4120 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T13:00:19Z |
| publishDate | 2019-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environment International |
| spelling | doaj.art-cf267097acb74df691bd9d72af1331a42022-12-21T23:00:27ZengElsevierEnvironment International0160-41202019-04-011257581Urinary lead in relation to combustion-derived air pollution in urban environments. A longitudinal study of an international panelYang Bai0Annouschka Laenen1Vincent Haufroid2Tim S. Nawrot3Benoit Nemery4Centre for Environment and Health, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, O&N 1 box 706, 3000 Leuven, BelgiumLeuven Biostatistics and Statistical Bioinformatics Centre (L-BioStat), Kapucijnenvoer 35 blok d, box 7001, 3000 Leuven, BelgiumLouvain Centre for Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology (LTAP), Université Catholique de Louvain, Avenue Mounier 52/B1.52.12, 1200 Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, BelgiumCentre for Environment and Health, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, O&N 1 box 706, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Agoralaan Building D, 3590 Diepenbeek, BelgiumCentre for Environment and Health, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, O&N 1 box 706, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; Corresponding author.Background: Urinary lead (Pb) is generally considered to have limited use in biomonitoring environmental exposure to lead. Carbon load in airway macrophages (AM BC) is an internal marker to assess long-term exposure to combustion-derived aerosol particles. In urban environments, atmospheric Pb and black carbon may have common sources. We aimed to study the temporal change of urinary Pb (U-Pb) when exposure to outdoor air pollution changes, and the relationship between U-Pb and AM BC. Methods: A panel of 50 young healthy adults [mean (SD) 26.7 (5.2) years], including 17 long-term (>1 year) residents in Leuven, Belgium (BE), 15 and 18 newcomers (arrived <3 weeks) from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) and high-income countries (HIC), respectively, underwent 8 repeated measurements at 6 weeks intervals. In urine spot samples obtained at 5 time points (T1, T2, T4, T6, T8), 24 trace elements were quantified by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. At each time point, AM BC was quantified as the median surface of black inclusions (in μm2) by means of image analysis of 25 macrophages obtained by induced sputum. Changes in urinary metal concentrations (with and without creatinine correction) and the relationship between U-Pb and AM BC were estimated using linear mixed models adjusted for covariates and potential confounders. Results: Only U-Pb differed between groups and exhibited significant time trends. Participants from the LMIC group had significantly higher initial U-Pb (1.18 μg/g creat) than the HIC group (0.44 μg/g creat) and BE group (0.45 μg/g creat). In the LMIC group, U-Pb decreased significantly with time by 0.061 μg/g creatinine per 30 days [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.034, 0.088]. U-Pb remained unchanged in the other two groups. An increase in AM BC of 1 μm2 was associated with an increase in U-Pb of 0.369 μg/g creat (95% CI: 0.145, 0.593). Conclusion: This panel study demonstrates that U-Pb may be a valid alternative to blood Pb for biomonitoring changes in exposure to lead, at least at group level. In addition, we identified a positive association between U-Pb and AM BC, a biomarker of exposure to traffic-related air pollution, suggesting the existence of common sources of Pb and black carbon in urban environments. Keywords: Urinary lead, Carbon load in airway macrophages, Biomonitoringhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412018318920 |
| spellingShingle | Yang Bai Annouschka Laenen Vincent Haufroid Tim S. Nawrot Benoit Nemery Urinary lead in relation to combustion-derived air pollution in urban environments. A longitudinal study of an international panel Environment International |
| title | Urinary lead in relation to combustion-derived air pollution in urban environments. A longitudinal study of an international panel |
| title_full | Urinary lead in relation to combustion-derived air pollution in urban environments. A longitudinal study of an international panel |
| title_fullStr | Urinary lead in relation to combustion-derived air pollution in urban environments. A longitudinal study of an international panel |
| title_full_unstemmed | Urinary lead in relation to combustion-derived air pollution in urban environments. A longitudinal study of an international panel |
| title_short | Urinary lead in relation to combustion-derived air pollution in urban environments. A longitudinal study of an international panel |
| title_sort | urinary lead in relation to combustion derived air pollution in urban environments a longitudinal study of an international panel |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412018318920 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yangbai urinaryleadinrelationtocombustionderivedairpollutioninurbanenvironmentsalongitudinalstudyofaninternationalpanel AT annouschkalaenen urinaryleadinrelationtocombustionderivedairpollutioninurbanenvironmentsalongitudinalstudyofaninternationalpanel AT vincenthaufroid urinaryleadinrelationtocombustionderivedairpollutioninurbanenvironmentsalongitudinalstudyofaninternationalpanel AT timsnawrot urinaryleadinrelationtocombustionderivedairpollutioninurbanenvironmentsalongitudinalstudyofaninternationalpanel AT benoitnemery urinaryleadinrelationtocombustionderivedairpollutioninurbanenvironmentsalongitudinalstudyofaninternationalpanel |