8283394 Short-term working-life exposome and cross-week changes in lung function among persons with (mild) respiratory symptoms

<h3>Objective</h3> The impact of multiple occupational exposures on short-term changes in lung function has barely been investigated. In a subsample of the population-based, multicenter ECRHS study, we included persons with a job and mild respiratory symptoms. We aimed to investigate the association between the working-life exposome and cross-week changes in lung function (∆FEV1, ∆FVC and ∆FEV1/FVC). <h3>Material and Methods</h3> During a workweek, we used the EPHOR sensor system to sample personal high temporal resolution data for physical activity, sleep, temperature, light, UVB radiation, humidity, particle count, PM1, PM2.5, PM10, and noise. Personal exposure to environmental volatile organic compounds and endotoxin levels at home were assessed during the week. At the beginning and end of the workweek, metals (urine and blood), cotinine (blood) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (urine) were measured, and lung function measurements were conducted. Correlation analysis and machine learning approaches are used to identify exposures important to lung function changes. The selected exposures and clusters are investigated individually and combined in relation to cross-week changes in lung function, and different exposure metrics (e.g. mean, peaks). <h3>Results</h3> Analyses are ongoing and will be presented at the conference. Among 139 participants (47% females), the mean age was 59 years, and 9% were current smokers. A total of 51% held administrative/office jobs, 37% service/sales jobs, while 12% were manual workers. Overall, we observed a slight decrease in lung function during the workweek. The mean (SD) changes were ∆FEV1 = -25 (166)mL, ∆FVC = -3.1 (207)mL, and ∆FEV1/FVC = -0.0057 (0.025), with only minor differences between the three job groups. <h3>Conclusion</h3> Preliminary findings point to a slight cross-week decline in lung function, with considerable individual differences. This study will help disentangle the complex relationship between the short-term working-life exposome and respiratory impairment by considering the multitude of exposures, their temporality and relative importance. <h3>Funding</h3> This project is part of the Exposome Project for Health and Occupational Research (EPHOR) funded by EU’s Horizon 2020, grant agreement number 874703.