Abstract
BACKGROUND: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), primarily produced by incomplete combustion of organic materials, have been suggested as obesogens, but information on PAHs and obesity, especially in children, is limited. We examined the cross-sectional association between urinary concentrations of PAHs and obesity in the Korean pediatric population. METHODS: We analyzed the data of 2286 children and adolescents aged 3–17 years who participated in the Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS) 2015–2017. Urinary concentrations of 2-naphthol, 2-hydroxyfluorene, 1-hydroxyphenanthrene, and 1-hydroxypyrene were assayed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Covariate-adjusted standardization method was used for the urinary dilution adjustment. Overweight and obesity were defined as BMI-for-age ≥85th percentile and ≥95th percentile, respectively. Multiple linear and logistic regression models were performed to analyze the relationship of BMI z-score and overweight with urinary concentrations of PAHs after adjusting for age, sex, household income, parental education level, physical activity, fast-food consumption, and ETS exposure. RESULTS: Obese children showed significantly higher urinary 2-naphthol concentrations than normal-weighted children in the overall population [3.62 µg/L (95% confidence intervals (95% CI): 3.20, 4. 09) vs. 2.88 µg/L (95% CI: 2.62, 3.16)]. Similar findings were observed in the age groups 6-11 and 12-17 years. Significant increases in BMI z-scores for 10 times increase in urinary 2-naphthol concentrations were observed in the age groups 6-11 [0.31 z-score units, (95% CI: 0.13, 0.49), P = 0. 001] and 12-17 years [0.33 z-score units, (95% CI: 0. 05, 0.60), P=0. 02]. A significant but smaller association was observed between change in BMI z-score and 1-hydroxypyrene concentrations in the 6-11 year group [0.14 z-score units, (95% CI: 0. 02, 0.27), P=0. 03]. The multiple logistic regression models for overweight showed significant positive associations with the quartiles of 2-NAP in the overall population [OR (95% CI); 1.14 (0.83-1.55), 1.39 (1. 03, 1.88), 1.46 (1. 08, 1.99) in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quartile, respectively, compared with the 1st quartile; P-for-trend=0. 006]. Similar associations between 2-naphthol and overweight status were also observed in the 6-11 year and 12-17 year groups. CONCLUSION: This result suggests a possible link between PAH exposure, particularly 2-naphthol, and obesity in the Korean pediatric population. Given the growing obesity rates among Asian children and adolescents, this finding warrants further studies on the impacts of long-term exposure of PAHs on childhood obesity and possible mechanisms for this association. Presentation: No date and time listed