Associations between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and respiratory diseases have been widely studied, but the effects of PAH on liver toxicity in adolescents are unclear. Here, 3194 adolescents with NHANES data from 2003 to 2016 were selected. PAH exposure was assessed by measuring PAH metabolites in urine. The outcome variables were the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate amino transferase (AST) and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT). The association between PAH exposure and liver function was evaluated by the weighted quantile sum (WQS) and logistic regression, and the associations between PAHs and inflammation and blood lipids were evaluated by linear regression. Covariates were adjusted for age, ethnicity, BMI, physical activity, family income, cotinine, and urinary creatinine. The results showed that for females, mixed PAH exposure was related to an increased ALT level (OR = 2.33, 95% CI 1.15, 4.72), and 2-fluorene contributed the most (38.6%). Urinary 2-fluorene was positively associated with an elevated ALT level (OR = 2.19 95% 1.12, 4.27, p for trend = 0.004). Mechanistically, 2-fluorene can cause a 3.56% increase in the white blood cell count, a 6.99% increase in the triglyceride level, and 1.70% increase in the total cholesterol level. PAHs may have toxic effects, possibly mediated by inflammation and blood lipids, on the adolescent female liver. Additional confirmatory studies are needed.

多环芳烃（PAHs）与呼吸系统疾病之间的关联已得到广泛研究，但PAH对青少年肝脏毒性的影响尚不清楚。在这里，选择了3194名具有2003年至2016年NHANES数据的青少年。通过测量尿液中的PAH代谢物来评估PAH暴露。结果变量是丙氨酸转氨酶（ALT），天冬氨酸转氨酶（AST）和γ-谷氨酰转肽酶（GGT）的水平。通过加权分位数和（WQS）和逻辑回归评估PAH暴露与肝功能之间的关联，并通过线性回归评估PAH与炎症和血脂之间的关联。对年龄，种族，BMI，身体活动，家庭收入，可替宁和尿肌酐进行协变量调整。结果显示，对于女性，混合的PAH暴露与ALT水平升高有关（OR = 2.33，95％CI 1.15，4.72），其中2-芴贡献最大（38.6％）。尿中2-芴与ALT水平升高呈正相关（OR = 2.19 95％1.12，4.27，趋势p = 0.004）。从机理上讲，2-芴可使白细胞计数增加3.56％，甘油三酯水平增加6.99％，总胆固醇水平增加1.70％。PAHs对青春期女性肝脏可能具有毒性作用，可能是由炎症和血脂介导的。还需要其他验证性研究。