TY - JOUR
T1 - Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure among European adults
T2 - Evidence from the HBM4EU aligned studies
AU - Karakoltzidis, Achilleas
AU - Papaioannou, Nafsika
AU - Gabriel, Catherine
AU - Chatzimpaloglou, Anthoula
AU - Andersson, Anna Maria
AU - Juul, Anders
AU - Halldorsson, Thorhallur I.
AU - Olafsdottir, Kristin
AU - Klanova, Jana
AU - Piler, Pavel
AU - Janasik, Beata
AU - Wasowicz, Wojciech
AU - Janev-Holcer, Natasa
AU - Namorado, Sónia
AU - Rambaud, Loïc
AU - Riou, Margaux
AU - Probst-Hensch, Nicole
AU - Imboden, Medea
AU - Van Nieuwenhuyse, An
AU - Appenzeller, Brice M.R.
AU - Kolossa-Gehring, Marike
AU - Weber, Till
AU - Stewart, Lorraine
AU - Sepai, Ovnair
AU - Esteban-López, Marta
AU - Castaño, Argelia
AU - Gilles, Liese
AU - Govarts, Eva
AU - Rodriguez Martin, Laura
AU - Schoeters, Greet
AU - Karakitsios, Spyros
AU - Sarigiannis, Dimosthenis
N1 - Funding We acknowledge funding for HBM4EU from the European Union’s
Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement #733032 and the national governments of the participating countries.
This publication reflects only the author’s view, and the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Authors
PY - 2025/4
Y1 - 2025/4
N2 - Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are persistent environmental pollutants with well-documented associations to adverse health effects, posing significant public health challenges across Europe. Human exposure to 13 urinary PAH metabolites was assessed in a harmonized cohort of European adults aged 20–39, representing diverse geographic regions across Europe: North (Iceland and Denmark), East (Poland and the Czech Republic), South (Croatia and Portugal), and West (France, Germany, Switzerland, and Luxembourg). This study aimed to achieve a unified understanding of PAH exposure by employing stringent participant selection criteria and harmonizing biomarker analyses by utilizing high-quality analytical protocols across multiple laboratories in Europe. Key findings revealed consistently elevated metabolite levels in smokers compared to non-smokers, with naphthalene metabolites dominating the profiles over phenanthrene and fluorene derivatives. Country-specific analyses highlighted Poland as having the highest naphthalene metabolite concentrations, while Luxembourg exhibited elevated pyrene metabolite levels. Urbanization influenced exposure, with slightly higher metabolite concentrations in town populations compared to rural areas. While sex-based stratification revealed no marked differences, gender emerged as a significant covariate in regression models, with women generally displaying higher exposure to naphthalene metabolites. Educational level further stratified exposure, with lower education correlating with increased PAH levels. Multivariate linear regression identified key exposure factors, including sampling season (i.e., summer, winter, autumn, and spring), dietary habits e.g., smoked foods, and proximity to smoke-prone environments. This dataset provides a significant baseline for evaluating the European Commission's Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS) and underscores the utility of harmonized human biomonitoring studies in informing targeted public health interventions.
AB - Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are persistent environmental pollutants with well-documented associations to adverse health effects, posing significant public health challenges across Europe. Human exposure to 13 urinary PAH metabolites was assessed in a harmonized cohort of European adults aged 20–39, representing diverse geographic regions across Europe: North (Iceland and Denmark), East (Poland and the Czech Republic), South (Croatia and Portugal), and West (France, Germany, Switzerland, and Luxembourg). This study aimed to achieve a unified understanding of PAH exposure by employing stringent participant selection criteria and harmonizing biomarker analyses by utilizing high-quality analytical protocols across multiple laboratories in Europe. Key findings revealed consistently elevated metabolite levels in smokers compared to non-smokers, with naphthalene metabolites dominating the profiles over phenanthrene and fluorene derivatives. Country-specific analyses highlighted Poland as having the highest naphthalene metabolite concentrations, while Luxembourg exhibited elevated pyrene metabolite levels. Urbanization influenced exposure, with slightly higher metabolite concentrations in town populations compared to rural areas. While sex-based stratification revealed no marked differences, gender emerged as a significant covariate in regression models, with women generally displaying higher exposure to naphthalene metabolites. Educational level further stratified exposure, with lower education correlating with increased PAH levels. Multivariate linear regression identified key exposure factors, including sampling season (i.e., summer, winter, autumn, and spring), dietary habits e.g., smoked foods, and proximity to smoke-prone environments. This dataset provides a significant baseline for evaluating the European Commission's Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS) and underscores the utility of harmonized human biomonitoring studies in informing targeted public health interventions.
KW - Exposure assessment
KW - Exposure determinants
KW - Human biomonitoring
KW - PAHs
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105000779389&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40132439/
U2 - 10.1016/j.envint.2025.109383
DO - 10.1016/j.envint.2025.109383
M3 - Article
C2 - 40132439
AN - SCOPUS:105000779389
SN - 0160-4120
VL - 198
JO - Environment international
JF - Environment international
M1 - 109383
ER -