Association between exposure to VOCs mixture and impaired renal function in Korean adults

Evidence suggests that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is linked to negative health outcomes. This study investigated the association of exposure to VOC mixtures with renal function parameters. Our study included a nationwide sample of Korean adults (n = 1758). The following nine urinary VOC metabolites were measured: SPMA, BMA, 3,4-MHA, 2-MHA, MA, 3-HPMA, BPMA, DHBMA, and PGA. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated based on the serum creatinine levels. Urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) was calculated. For mixture analysis, the Quantile g-computation (qgcomp) method and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) were conducted. Results from the qgcomp method indicated that a quartile increase in the levels of VOC metabolites was linked to a 1.33-point (95% CI, -2.46 to -0.20) decrease in the eGFR and a 14.67% (95% CI, 4.25-26.15) increase in the ACR. BKMR analyses also indicated that the overall increase in urinary VOC metabolite concentrations was related to a reduce in eGFR and an increase in ACR in a dose-dependent manner. Among the individual urinary VOC metabolites, SPMA and MA contributed the most to the decreased eGFR, whereas DHBMA was the primary contributor to the increased ACR. Policy efforts are needed to reduce environmental VOC exposure.