Polychlorinated dibenzo-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzo-furans exposure and altered lung function: The mediating role of oxidative stress

Zhuang Zhang; Min Zhou; Jintong He; Tingming Shi; Sukun Zhang; Naijun Tang; Weihong Chen

Environment International (Apr 2020)

Polychlorinated dibenzo-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzo-furans exposure and altered lung function: The mediating role of oxidative stress

Zhuang Zhang,
Min Zhou,
Jintong He,
Tingming Shi,
Sukun Zhang,
Naijun Tang,
Weihong Chen

Affiliations

Zhuang Zhang: Department of Occupational & Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China; Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education & Ministry of Environmental Protection, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
Min Zhou: Department of Occupational & Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China; Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education & Ministry of Environmental Protection, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
Jintong He: Department of Occupational & Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China; Zhuhai Center for Chronic Disease Control, Zhuhai, Guangdong 519060, China
Tingming Shi: Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory for Applied Toxicology, Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wuhan, Hubei 430079, China
Sukun Zhang: Center for Research on Urban Environment, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences (SCIES), Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), Guangzhou 510655, China
Naijun Tang: Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300070, China
Weihong Chen: Department of Occupational & Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China; Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education & Ministry of Environmental Protection, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China; Corresponding author at: Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 137

Abstract

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The lung has been reported to be one of the target organs of polychlorinated dibenzo-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzo-furans (PCDD/Fs) in many toxicological studies. While the associations between PCDD/Fs exposure and lung function levels have not been investigated thoroughly. This study aimed to explore these associations and the potential mediating role of oxidative stress. In this study, 201 foundry workers and 222 non-exposed general residents were recruited from central China, and their lung function parameters were measured. Air and food samples were collected to determine the PCDD/Fs levels for individual PCDD/Fs exposure estimation. Serum PCDD/Fs levels were determined in a subgroup of individuals randomly selected from the study population to reflect the body burden. It was found that each 1-unit increase in ln-transformed concentration of PCDD/Fs exposure (fg TEQ/bw/day) was associated with a 0.47 L decrease in FVC and a 0.25 L decrease in FEV1. Each 1-unit increase in ln-transformed concentration of serum PCDD/Fs (fg TEQ/g lipid) was associated with a 0.36 L decrease in FVC and a 0.24 L decrease in FEV1. Urinary 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) was not only positively related to PCDD/Fs exposure, but also inversely associated with FVC and FEV1 are FVC (β = −0.15, 95% CI: −0.22 to −0.08) and FEV1 (β = −0.07, 95% CI: −0.13 to −0.02). Mediation analysis revealed that urinary 8-OHdG mediated 12.22% of the associations of external PCDD/Fs exposure with FVC levels, 28.61% and 27.87% of the associations of serum PCDD/Fs with FVC and FEV1 levels respectively. Our findings suggested that PCDD/Fs exposure was associated with decreased lung function levels by a mechanism partly involving oxidatively generated damage to DNA. Keywords: Polychlorinated dibenzo-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzo-furans, Dioxins, Serum, Foundry plant, Lung function, Oxidative stress

Published in Environment International

ISSN: 0160-4120 (Print)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Geography. Anthropology. Recreation: Environmental sciences
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environment-international

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