Background

Exposure to atmospheric fine particle matter (PM_2.5) pollution and the absorbed pollutants is known to contribute to numerous adverse health effects in children including to growth.

Objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate exposure levels of atmospheric PM_2.5-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in an electronic waste (e-waste) polluted town, Guiyu, and to investigate the associations between PM_2.5-PAH exposure, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels and child growth.

Methods

This study recruited 238 preschool children (3–6 years of age), from November to December 2017, of which 125 were from Guiyu (an e-waste area) and 113 were from Haojiang (a reference area). Levels of daily PM_2.5 and PM_2.5-bound ∑16 PAHs were assessed to calculate individual chronic daily intakes (CDIs). IGF-1 and IGF-binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3) concentrations in child plasma were also measured. The associations and further mediation effects between exposure to PM_2.5 and PM_2.5-bound PAHs, child plasma IGF-1 concentration, and child height were explored by multiple linear regression models and mediation effect analysis.

Results

Elevated atmospheric PM_2.5-bound ∑16 PAHs and PM_2.5 levels were observed in Guiyu, and this led to more individual CDIs of the exposed children than the reference (all P < 0.001). The median level of plasma IGF-1 in the exposed group was lower than in the reference group (91.42 ng/mL vs. 103.59 ng/mL, P < 0.01). IGF-1 levels were negatively correlated with CDIs of PM_2.5, but not with CDIs of PM_2.5-bound ∑16 PAHs after adjustment. An increase of 1 μg/kg of PM_2.5 intake per day was associated with a 0.012 cm reduction of child height (95% CI: −0.014, −0.009), and similarly, an elevation of 1 ng/kg of PM_2.5-bound ∑16 PAHs intake per day was associated with a 0.022 cm decrease of child height (95% CI: −0.029, −0.015), both after adjustment of several potential confounders (age, gender, family cooking oil, picky eater, eating sweet food, eating fruits or vegetables, parental education level and monthly household income). The decreased plasma IGF-1 concentration mediated 15.8% of the whole effect associated with PM_2.5 exposure and 23.9% of the whole effect associated with PM_2.5-bound ∑16 PAHs exposure on child height.

Conclusion

Exposure to atmospheric PM_2.5-bound ∑16 PAHs and PM_2.5 is negatively associated with child height, and is linked to reduced IGF-1 levels in plasma. This may suggest a causative negative role of atmospheric PM_2.5-bound exposures in child growth.

中文翻译：

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与PM _2.5结合的PAHs暴露与血浆胰岛素样生长因子1水平低和儿童身高降低有关

背景

已知暴露于大气细颗粒物（PM _2.5）污染和吸收的污染物会导致儿童的许多不良健康影响，包括成长。

目的

这项研究的目的是评估贵屿县一个电子废物（电子废物）污染小镇中与大气PM _2.5结合的多环芳烃（PAHs）的暴露水平，并研究PM _2.5 -PAH暴露，胰岛素-之间的关联。如生长因子1（IGF-1）的水平和儿童的成长。

方法

该研究于2017年11月至2017年12月招募了238名3-6岁的学龄前儿童，其中125名来自贵屿（电子废物区），113名来自Ha江（参考区）。评估每日PM _2.5和与PM _2.5结合的∑16 PAH的水平，以计算个体的慢性每日摄入量（CDI）。还测量了儿童血浆中的IGF-1和IGF结合蛋白3（IGFBP-3）浓度。通过多重线性回归模型和中介效应分析，探讨了暴露于PM _2.5和与PM _2.5结合的PAHs，儿童血浆IGF-1浓度和儿童身高之间的关联和进一步的中介效应。

结果

在桂yu市，大气PM _2.5结合的∑16 PAHs和PM _2.5升高，导致暴露儿童的个体CDI比参考儿童多（所有P  <0.001）。暴露组血浆IGF-1的中位数水平低于参考组（91.42 ng / mL与103.59 ng / mL，P  <0.01）。调整后，IGF-1水平与PM _2.5的CDI呈负相关，但与PM _2.5结合的∑16 PAH的CDI呈负相关。每天增加1μg/ kg的PM _2.5会导致儿童身高降低0.012 cm（95％CI：-0.014，-0.009），同样地，PM _2.5会升高1 ng / kg调整了一些潜在的混杂因素（年龄，性别，家庭食用油，挑食者，进食后）后，每天摄入的Σ16PAHs与儿童身高下降0.022 cm（95％CI：-0.029，-0.015）有关。甜食，吃水果或蔬菜，父母的教育程度和每月家庭收入）。降低的血浆IGF-1浓度介导了与PM _2.5暴露相关的整体影响的15.8％，以及与PM _2.5结合的∑16 PAHs暴露对儿童身高相关的整体影响的23.9％。

结论

暴露于大气中与PM _2.5结合的Σ16PAHs和PM _2.5与儿童身高呈负相关，并与血浆中IGF-1含量降低有关。这可能表明大气中PM _2.5暴露对儿童成长具有消极作用。