Effects of exposure to mixed volatile organic compounds on the neurobehavioral test performance in a cross-sectional study of US adults

Publication Date

2014

Journal Title

Int J Environ Health Res

Abstract

While the environmental exposure to multiple volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is ubiquitous, its neurobehavioral effects are not well understood. We assessed the associations between short-term exposure to VOC mixtures and neurobehavioral test performances on 497 participants in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, using quantile and ordinary least squares regression models. We grouped 10 blood VOCs into 3 mixtures based on the principal component analysis, where Mix1 included benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m-/p-xylene, o-xylene, and styrene; Mix2 included chloroform and tetrachloroethene; and Mix3 included 1,1,1-trichloroethane and 1,4-dichlorobenzene. We found a general lack of significant adverse effects with exceptions limited to those with the worst performance (i.e. the top 10 percent) in the simple reaction time test, suggesting that these people were potentially more susceptible to impacts of VOC mixtures. However, further research is needed to clarify the neurobehavioral effects of chronic low-level exposure to VOC mixtures among the general population.

Volume Number

25

Issue Number

4

Pages

1-15

Document Type

Article

EPub Date

2014/08/19

Status

Northwell Researcher

Facility

Northwell Health

Primary Department

Occupational Medicine, Epidemiology and Prevention

PMID

25130197

DOI

10.1080/09603123.2014.945514

For the public and Northwell Health campuses

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