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Variability of urinary concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolite in general population and comparison of spot, first-morning, and 24-h void sampling

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 20, pages 526–535 (2010)Cite this article

A Corrigendum to this article was published on 17 December 2012

Abstract

Urinary mono-hydroxy polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (OH-PAHs) are commonly used in biomonitoring to assess exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Similar to other biologically non-persistent chemicals, OH-PAHs have relatively short biological half-lives (4.4–35 h). Little information is available on their variability in urinary concentrations over time in non-occupationally exposed subjects. This study was designed to (i) examine the variability of nine urinary OH-PAH metabolite concentrations over time and (ii) calculate sample size requirements for future epidemiological studies on the basis of spot urine, first-morning void, and 24-h void sampling. Individual urine samples (n=427) were collected during 1 week from 8 non-occupationally exposed adults. We recorded the time and volume of each urine excretion, dietary details, and driving activities of the participants. Within subjects, the coefficients of variation (CVs) for the wet-weight concentration of OH-PAHs in all samples ranged from 45% to 297%; creatinine adjustment reduced the CV to 19–288% (P<0.001; paired t-test). The simulated 24-h void concentrations were the least variable measure, with CVs ranging from 13% to 182% for the 9 OH-PAHs. Within-day variability contributed on average 84%, and between-day variability accounted for 16% of the total variance of 1-hydroxypyrene (1-PYR). Intraclass correlation coefficients of 1-PYR levels were 0.55 for spot urine samples, 0.60 for first-morning voids, and 0.76 for 24-h voids, indicating a high degree of correlation between urine measurements collected from the same subject over time. Sample size calculations were performed to estimate the number of subjects required for detecting differences in the geometric mean at a statistical power of 80% for spot urine, first-morning, and 24-h void sampling. These data will aid in the design of future studies of PAHs and possibly other biologically non-persistent chemicals and in the interpretation of their analytical results.

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Abbreviations

CV:

coefficient of variation

GM:

geometric mean

ICC:

intraclass correlation coefficient

OH-PAH:

mono-hydroxy polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon

1-PYR:

1-hydroxypyrene

PAH:

polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon

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Acknowledgements

We thank the study participants for their time and devotion. We also thank Pam Olive and Dr Mary Kimberly for supplying the creatinine measurements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway NE, F-53, Atlanta, 30341, GA, USA

    Zheng Li, Lovisa C Romanoff, Erin N Porter, Debra A Trinidad, Larry L Needham & Andreas Sjödin

  2. Division of Health Studies, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 4770 Buford Highway NE, Atlanta, 30341, GA, USA

    Michael D Lewin

  3. EnviroSolutions Consulting Inc., 172 Camelot Way, no. 20198, Jasper, 30143, Georgia, USA

    Donald G Patterson Jr

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  1. Zheng Li
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  2. Lovisa C Romanoff
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Correspondence to Andreas Sjödin.

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Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology website

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Li, Z., Romanoff, L., Lewin, M. et al. Variability of urinary concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolite in general population and comparison of spot, first-morning, and 24-h void sampling. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 20, 526–535 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2009.41

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