Mediating role of systemic inflammation in the association between volatile organic compounds exposure and periodontitis: NHANES 2011–2014

Abstract

Abstract Background Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are ubiquitous environmental pollutants which have been suggested to have adverse effects on human health. While the influence of environmental pollutant exposures on periodontitis has attracted elevating attention in recent years, the epidemiological evidence on the association between VOCs exposure and periodontitis was scarce. This study aimed to investigate the potential mediating role of systemic inflammation factors in the complex association between VOCs exposure and periodontitis. Methods Utilizing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011–2014, we examined the impacts of VOCs exposure on periodontitis. Concentrations of urinary metabolites of VOCs (mVOCs) were measured using electrospray tandem mass spectrometry to evaluate internal VOCs exposure. Multivariable logistic regression, restricted cubic spline regression (RCS), Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) and Quantile g-computation (QGC) models were performed to investigate the impacts of VOCs exposure on periodontitis. Mediation models were applied to assess the mediated effects of systemic inflammation on the association between mixed VOCs exposure and periodontitis. Besides, we analyzed the association between mixed VOCs exposure and periodontitis in stratified age, gender, and smoking status subgroups. Results 1,551 participants were ultimately included for further analyses, of whom 45.20% suffering from periodontitis. Multivariable logistic regression and RCS identified positive associations between single urinary mVOCs and periodontitis (P 0.05). Conclusion This study demonstrated a positive association between VOCs exposure and periodontitis, which was potentially mediated by systemic inflammation factors. Further longitudinal researches are demanded to clarify the underlying mechanisms.

Keywords

• Periodontitis
• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
• Inflammation
• National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)
• Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR)
• Quantile g-computation (QGC)