Exposure to volatile organic compounds and chronic respiratory disease mortality, a case-cohort study

Abstract Background Chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) are the third leading cause of death worldwide. Data of the associations between specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a major component of air pollution and tobacco smoke, and subsequent CRD mortality in the general population are scarce...

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Main Authors: Mahdi Nalini, Hossein Poustchi, Deepak Bhandari, Benjamin C. Blount, Brandon M. Kenwood, Cindy M. Chang, Amy Gross, Christopher Ellison, Masoud Khoshnia, Akram Pourshams, Mitchell H. Gail, Barry I. Graubard, Sanford M Dawsey, Farin Kamangar, Paolo Boffetta, Paul Brennan, Christian C. Abnet, Reza Malekzadeh, Neal D. Freedman, Arash Etemadi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-03-01
Series:Respiratory Research
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12931-025-03165-1
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author Mahdi Nalini
Hossein Poustchi
Deepak Bhandari
Benjamin C. Blount
Brandon M. Kenwood
Cindy M. Chang
Amy Gross
Christopher Ellison
Masoud Khoshnia
Akram Pourshams
Mitchell H. Gail
Barry I. Graubard
Sanford M Dawsey
Farin Kamangar
Paolo Boffetta
Paul Brennan
Christian C. Abnet
Reza Malekzadeh
Neal D. Freedman
Arash Etemadi
author_facet Mahdi Nalini
Hossein Poustchi
Deepak Bhandari
Benjamin C. Blount
Brandon M. Kenwood
Cindy M. Chang
Amy Gross
Christopher Ellison
Masoud Khoshnia
Akram Pourshams
Mitchell H. Gail
Barry I. Graubard
Sanford M Dawsey
Farin Kamangar
Paolo Boffetta
Paul Brennan
Christian C. Abnet
Reza Malekzadeh
Neal D. Freedman
Arash Etemadi
author_sort Mahdi Nalini
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) are the third leading cause of death worldwide. Data of the associations between specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a major component of air pollution and tobacco smoke, and subsequent CRD mortality in the general population are scarce. Methods In a case-cohort analysis within the population-based Golestan cohort study (n = 50045, aged 40–75 years, 58% women, enrollment: 2004–2008, northeastern Iran), we included all participants who died from CRD during follow-up through 2018 (n = 242) as cases and stratified them into 16 strata defined by age, sex, residence, and tobacco smoking. Subcohort participants (n = 610) were randomly selected from all eligible cohort participants in each stratum, and sampling fractions were calculated. Baseline urine samples were used to measure 20 VOCs using ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. After excluding participants with previous history of CRDs, we used stratified Cox regression models weighted by the inverse sampling fractions (i.e. inverse probability weighting) adjusted for potential confounders, including urinary cotinine and pack-years of smoking, to calculate hazard ratios (HR) for the associations between biomarker tertiles and CRD mortality. Results Data from 545 non-case, sub-cohort participants and 149 cases (69.1% chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 13.4% asthma, 17.5% other CRDs) were assessed in this study. During a follow-up of 10.5 years, associations [2nd and 3rd vs. 1st tertiles, HR (95% confidence interval), p for trend] were observed between metabolites of acrolein [1.56 (0.64,3.79), 3.53 (1.53,8.16), 0.002] and styrene/ethylbenzene [1.17 (0.53,2.60), 3.24 (1.37,7.66), 0.005] and CRD mortality, which persisted after excluding the first four years of follow-up. Conclusion Our findings support prior research suggesting respiratory toxicity of VOCs. Further investigation and monitoring of these compounds, especially acrolein and styrene/ethylbenzene, as CRD risk factors, are recommended.
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spelling doaj-art-0a2c482a054245f4a3be69c15fcea2d32025-08-20T02:59:54ZengBMCRespiratory Research1465-993X2025-03-012611910.1186/s12931-025-03165-1Exposure to volatile organic compounds and chronic respiratory disease mortality, a case-cohort studyMahdi Nalini0Hossein Poustchi1Deepak Bhandari2Benjamin C. Blount3Brandon M. Kenwood4Cindy M. Chang5Amy Gross6Christopher Ellison7Masoud Khoshnia8Akram Pourshams9Mitchell H. Gail10Barry I. Graubard11Sanford M Dawsey12Farin Kamangar13Paolo Boffetta14Paul Brennan15Christian C. Abnet16Reza Malekzadeh17Neal D. Freedman18Arash Etemadi19Metabolic Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of HealthLiver and Pancreaticobilliary Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical SciencesDivision of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and PreventionDivision of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and PreventionDivision of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and PreventionCenter for Tobacco Products, Food and Drug AdministrationCenter for Tobacco Products, Food and Drug AdministrationCenter for Tobacco Products, Food and Drug AdministrationDigestive Oncology Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical SciencesDigestive Oncology Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical SciencesBiostatistics Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of HealthBiostatistics Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of HealthMetabolic Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of HealthDepartment of Biology, School of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences, Morgan State UniversityStony Brook Cancer Center, Stony Brook UniversityInternational Agency for Research on CancerMetabolic Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of HealthDigestive Oncology Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical SciencesMetabolic Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of HealthMetabolic Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of HealthAbstract Background Chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) are the third leading cause of death worldwide. Data of the associations between specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a major component of air pollution and tobacco smoke, and subsequent CRD mortality in the general population are scarce. Methods In a case-cohort analysis within the population-based Golestan cohort study (n = 50045, aged 40–75 years, 58% women, enrollment: 2004–2008, northeastern Iran), we included all participants who died from CRD during follow-up through 2018 (n = 242) as cases and stratified them into 16 strata defined by age, sex, residence, and tobacco smoking. Subcohort participants (n = 610) were randomly selected from all eligible cohort participants in each stratum, and sampling fractions were calculated. Baseline urine samples were used to measure 20 VOCs using ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. After excluding participants with previous history of CRDs, we used stratified Cox regression models weighted by the inverse sampling fractions (i.e. inverse probability weighting) adjusted for potential confounders, including urinary cotinine and pack-years of smoking, to calculate hazard ratios (HR) for the associations between biomarker tertiles and CRD mortality. Results Data from 545 non-case, sub-cohort participants and 149 cases (69.1% chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 13.4% asthma, 17.5% other CRDs) were assessed in this study. During a follow-up of 10.5 years, associations [2nd and 3rd vs. 1st tertiles, HR (95% confidence interval), p for trend] were observed between metabolites of acrolein [1.56 (0.64,3.79), 3.53 (1.53,8.16), 0.002] and styrene/ethylbenzene [1.17 (0.53,2.60), 3.24 (1.37,7.66), 0.005] and CRD mortality, which persisted after excluding the first four years of follow-up. Conclusion Our findings support prior research suggesting respiratory toxicity of VOCs. Further investigation and monitoring of these compounds, especially acrolein and styrene/ethylbenzene, as CRD risk factors, are recommended.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12931-025-03165-1Air pollutionPulmonary diseaseAsthmaTobacco smoking
spellingShingle Mahdi Nalini
Hossein Poustchi
Deepak Bhandari
Benjamin C. Blount
Brandon M. Kenwood
Cindy M. Chang
Amy Gross
Christopher Ellison
Masoud Khoshnia
Akram Pourshams
Mitchell H. Gail
Barry I. Graubard
Sanford M Dawsey
Farin Kamangar
Paolo Boffetta
Paul Brennan
Christian C. Abnet
Reza Malekzadeh
Neal D. Freedman
Arash Etemadi
Exposure to volatile organic compounds and chronic respiratory disease mortality, a case-cohort study
Respiratory Research
Air pollution
Pulmonary disease
Asthma
Tobacco smoking
title Exposure to volatile organic compounds and chronic respiratory disease mortality, a case-cohort study
title_full Exposure to volatile organic compounds and chronic respiratory disease mortality, a case-cohort study
title_fullStr Exposure to volatile organic compounds and chronic respiratory disease mortality, a case-cohort study
title_full_unstemmed Exposure to volatile organic compounds and chronic respiratory disease mortality, a case-cohort study
title_short Exposure to volatile organic compounds and chronic respiratory disease mortality, a case-cohort study
title_sort exposure to volatile organic compounds and chronic respiratory disease mortality a case cohort study
topic Air pollution
Pulmonary disease
Asthma
Tobacco smoking
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12931-025-03165-1
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