Neurological Effects of Environmental Styrene and BTEX Exposure in a Gulf of Mexico Cohort

墨西哥湾队列中环境苯乙烯和苯系物暴露的神经学影响

基本信息

批准号：
10224623
负责人：
Bok Haeng Baek
金额：
$ 51.91万
依托单位：
UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
财政年份：
2020
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2020-08-01 至 2024-05-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10224623
关键词：
Accounting Acute Address Adult Air Air Pollutants Area Attention Behavioral Benzene Biological Blood Chemicals Chronic Communities Data Dose Enrollment Exposure to Follow-Up Studies Future Gases General Population Health Impairment Individual Industrialization Inhalation Interview Investigation Life Style Longterm Follow-up Measurement Measures Methods Mexico Modeling Monitor National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Nervous System Physiology Neurologic Neurologic Effect Neurologic Symptoms Neurotoxins Occupational Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Oils Outcome Ozone Patient Self-Report Peripheral Peripheral Nerves Peripheral Nervous System Petroleum Population Population Heterogeneity Production Prospective cohort Prospective cohort study Public Health Recording of previous events Research Resources Safety Science Sensory Source Styrenes Symptoms Techniques Testing Time Tobacco smoke Toluene Vehicle Emissions Visual Work Xylene building materials cohort consumer product cost data fusion density ethylbenzene experience fine particles follow-up health disparity innovation lifestyle factors medically underserved member neurobehavioral neurobehavioral test neurotoxic neurotoxicity operation pollutant prospective public health intervention racial diversity response socioeconomic disadvantage study population temporal measurement virtual

项目摘要

Abstract Styrene is neurotoxic at occupational levels, but has received little study at environmental levels experienced by the general population, despite widespread exposure. Our study team has found that annual average ambient styrene levels are adversely associated with neurologic function and symptoms, including decrements in visual, sensory, and vestibular function. Exposure to styrene in the general population occurs primarily through inhalation of industrial and vehicle emissions, tobacco smoke, and off-gassing of building materials. It is produced from petroleum-derived benzene and ethylbenzene, which explains why over half of US styrene production occurs near oil and gas operations in the Gulf states. Benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, and xylenes (i.e., BTEX) are also neurotoxic at occupational levels. The proposed study is significant because there are virtually no data describing the safety of most of these neurotoxicants at general population levels, despite widespread exposure. The objective of this study is to investigate the acute and chronic neurotoxicity of styrene and BTEX at levels relevant to the general population. Our central hypothesis is that, even at general population levels, higher ambient styrene/BTEX levels are associated with reduced peripheral nerve and neurobehavioral function and increased neurologic symptoms. We will test this in a prospective, well-characterized cohort of 23,370 Gulf state residents enrolled in the Gulf Long-Term Follow-up Study in 2011-2013—a socioeconomically disadvantaged, medically underserved, and racially diverse population with significant unexplained health disparities. This population has average blood styrene levels 2-3 times higher than those observed in the general population, but much lower than the ~25-fold higher levels typically observed in occupationally exposed populations. We have extensive information on all cohort members, from enrollment and follow-up interviews, on demographic, lifestyle, occupational, and health factors; geocoded residential histories; measured blood levels of styrene and BTEX from 965 cohort members during the last year of enrollment; and results of extensive peripheral neurologic function and neurobehavioral tests administered to 3,403 members 2-4 years after enrollment. We propose to: (1) Generate high resolution temporally- and spatially-referenced ambient (air) styrene and BTEX concentrations in the Gulf region over a 6 year follow-up period, (2) Evaluate estimated ambient styrene and BTEX concentrations against measured blood styrene and BTEX levels, and (3) Determine associations of styrene and BTEX exposures, both individually and as a mixture, with neurologic symptoms and neurobehavioral and peripheral neurologic function, accounting for other neurotoxic air pollutants. This study is innovative because we will be the first to investigate the neurotoxicity of styrene at general population levels and we will do so using state-of-the-art air quality exposure data fusion methods that have not previously been applied to styrene or BTEX. The Public Health Impact of this research is high because exposure to styrene and BTEX is widespread and these chemicals are known to be neurotoxic at occupational levels.

抽象的苯乙烯在职业水平上具有神经毒性，但在环境水平上很少有研究尽管我们的研究小组发现，年平均环境温度仍存在于普通人群中。苯乙烯水平与神经功能和症状不利相关，包括神经功能和症状的降低一般人群接触苯乙烯主要是通过视觉、感觉和前庭功能。吸入工业和车辆排放物、烟草烟雾以及建筑材料排出的气体。来自石油衍生的苯和乙苯，这解释了为什么美国一半以上的苯乙烯产量发生在海湾国家的石油和天然气作业区附近。苯系物（BTEX）在职业水平上也具有神经毒性，这项研究很重要，因为实际上存在神经毒性。尽管广泛存在，但没有数据描述大多数这些神经毒物在一般人群中的安全性本研究的目的是调查苯乙烯和苯系物的急性和慢性神经毒性。我们的中心假设是，即使在一般人群水平上，较高的环境苯乙烯/BTEX 水平与周围神经和神经行为功能降低有关我们将在一个由 23,370 名海湾人组成的前瞻性、特征明确的队列中对此进行测试。参加 2011-2013 年海湾地区长期跟踪研究的州居民——一项社会经济研究弱势群体、医疗服务不足和种族多样化的人群，其健康状况明显无法解释该人群的平均血液苯乙烯水平比普通人群高 2-3 倍。一般人群，但远低于职业暴露中通常观察到的约 25 倍的高水平我们拥有有关所有队列成员的大量信息，包括注册和后续访谈，人口、生活方式、职业和健康因素；地理编码的居住史；最后一年入组期间 965 名队列成员的苯乙烯和 BTEX 水平以及广泛的结果； 2-4 年后对 3,403 名成员进行了周围神经功能和神经行为测试我们建议：（1）生成高分辨率的时间和空间参考环境（空气）。 6 年跟踪期内海湾地区苯乙烯和苯系物浓度，(2) 评估估计值环境苯乙烯和 BTEX 浓度与测得的血液苯乙烯和 BTEX 水平的比较，以及 (3) 确定苯乙烯和苯系物暴露（单独或混合）与神经系统症状的关联以及神经行为和周围神经功能，解释其他神经毒性空气污染物。这项研究具有创新性，因为我们将成为第一个研究苯乙烯对普通人群的神经毒性的研究水平，我们将使用以前从未有过的最先进的空气质量暴露数据融合方法来做到这一点这项研究对公共健康的影响很大，因为接触苯乙烯或苯系物。苯乙烯和苯系物广泛存在，这些化学物质在职业水平上具有神经毒性。