Harmonized human biomonitoring in European children, teenagers and adults: EU-wide exposure data of 11 chemical substance groups from the HBM4EU Aligned Studies (2014-2021).

Eva Govarts, Liese Gilles, Laura Rodriguez Martin, Tiina Santonen, Petra Apel, Paula Alvito, Elena Anastasi, Helle Raun Andersen, Anna-Maria Andersson, Lenka Andryskova, Jean-Philippe Antignac, Brice Appenzeller, Fabio Barbone, Zohar Barnett-Itzhaki, Robert Barouki, Tamar Berman, Wieneke Bil, Teresa Borges, Jurgen Buekers, Ana Cañas-Portilla, Adrian Covaci, Zsofia Csako, Elly Den Hond, Darina Dvorakova, Lucia Fabelova, Tony Fletcher, Hanne Frederiksen, Catherine Gabriel, Catherine Ganzleben, Thomas Göen, Thorhallur I Halldorsson, Line S Haug, Milena Horvat, Pasi Huuskonen, Medea Imboden, Marta Jagodic Hudobivnik, Beata Janasik, Natasa Janev Holcer, Spyros Karakitsios, Andromachi Katsonouri, Jana Klanova, Venetia Kokaraki, Tina Kold Jensen, Jani Koponen, Michelle Laeremans, Federica Laguzzi, Rosa Lange, Nora Lemke, Sanna Lignell, Anna Karin Lindroos, Joana Lobo Vicente, Mirjam Luijten, Konstantinos C Makris, Darja Mazej, Lisa Melymuk, Matthieu Meslin, Hans Mol, Parisa Montazeri, Aline Murawski, Sónia Namorado, Lars Niemann, Stefanie Nübler, Baltazar Nunes, Kristin Olafsdottir, Lubica Palkovicova Murinova, Nafsika Papaioannou, Susana Pedraza-Diaz, Pavel Piler, Veronika Plichta, Michael Poteser, Nicole Probst-Hensch, Loïc Rambaud, Elke Rauscher-Gabernig, Katarina Rausova, Sylvie Remy, Margaux Riou, Valentina Rosolen, Christophe Rousselle, Maria Rüther, Denis Sarigiannis, Maria J Silva, Zdenka Šlejkovec, Janja Snoj Tratnik, Anja Stajnko, Tamas Szigeti, José V Tarazona, Cathrine Thomsen, Žiga Tkalec, Hanna Tolonen, Tomas Trnovec, Maria Uhl, An Van Nieuwenhuyse, Elsa Vasco, Veerle J Verheyen, Susana Viegas, Anne Marie Vinggaard, Nina Vogel, Katrin Vorkamp, Wojciech Wasowicz, Till Weber, Sona Wimmerova, Marjolijn Woutersen, Philipp Zimmermann, Martin Zvonar, Holger Koch, Marike Kolossa-Gehring, Marta Esteban López, Argelia Castaño, Lorraine Stewart, Ovnair Sepai, Greet Schoeters

Journal: International journal of hygiene and environmental health 2023;249():114119

PMID: 36773580

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Abstract

As one of the core elements of the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) a human biomonitoring (HBM) survey was conducted in 23 countries to generate EU-wide comparable HBM data. This survey has built on existing HBM capacity in Europe by aligning national or regional HBM studies, referred to as the HBM4EU Aligned Studies. The HBM4EU Aligned Studies included a total of 10,795 participants of three age groups: (i) 3,576 children aged 6-12 years, (ii) 3,117 teenagers aged 12-18 years and (iii) 4,102 young adults aged 20-39 years. The participants were recruited between 2014 and 2021 in 11-12 countries per age group, geographically distributed across Europe. Depending on the age group, internal exposure to phthalates and the substitute DINCH, halogenated and organophosphorus flame retardants, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), cadmium, bisphenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), arsenic species, acrylamide, mycotoxins (deoxynivalenol (total DON)), benzophenones and selected pesticides was assessed by measuring substance specific biomarkers subjected to stringent quality control programs for chemical analysis. For substance groups analyzed in different age groups higher average exposure levels were observed in the youngest age group, i.e., phthalates/DINCH in children versus teenagers, acrylamide and pesticides in children versus adults, benzophenones in teenagers versus adults. Many biomarkers in teenagers and adults varied significantly according to educational attainment, with higher exposure levels of bisphenols, phthalates, benzophenones, PAHs and acrylamide in participants (from households) with lower educational attainment, while teenagers from households with higher educational attainment have higher exposure levels for PFASs and arsenic. In children, a social gradient was only observed for the non-specific pyrethroid metabolite 3-PBA and di-isodecyl phthalate (DiDP), with higher levels in children from households with higher educational attainment. Geographical variations were seen for all exposure biomarkers. For 15 biomarkers, the available health-based HBM guidance values were exceeded with highest exceedance rates for toxicologically relevant arsenic in teenagers (40%), 3-PBA in children (36%), and between 11 and 14% for total DON, Σ (PFOA + PFNA + PFHxS + PFOS), bisphenol S and cadmium. The infrastructure and harmonized approach succeeded in obtaining comparable European wide internal exposure data for a prioritized set of 11 chemical groups. These data serve as a reference for comparison at the global level, provide a baseline to compare the efficacy of the European Commission's chemical strategy for sustainability and will give leverage to national policy makers for the implementation of targeted measures.

Address: VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Boeretang 200, 2400, Mol, Belgium. Electronic address: [email protected].; VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Boeretang 200, 2400, Mol, Belgium.; Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH), P.O. Box 40, FI-00032, Työterveyslaitos, Finland.; German Environment Agency (UBA), Corrensplatz 1, 14195, Dessau-Roßlau, Germany.; Food and Nutrition Department, National Institute of Health Doctor Ricardo Jorge, Avenida Padre Cruz, 1649-016, Lisbon, Portugal; CESAM, Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.; Cyprus State General Laboratory, Ministry of Health, P.O. Box 28648, 2081, Nicosia, Cyprus.; Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark (SDU), J.B. Winsløws Vej 17A, DK-5230, Odense M, Denmark.; Department of Growth and Reproduction, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, DK-2100, Copenhagen, Denmark.; RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlarska 2, Brno, 611 37, Czech Republic.; Oniris, INRAE, LABERCA, Nantes, France.; Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH), Luxembourg.; Department of Medicine - DAME, University of Udine, Udine, Italy.; Israeli Ministry of Health, Ruppin Research Group in Environmental and Social Sustainability, Ruppin Academic Center, 4025000, Israel.; Université Paris Cité, Inserm T3S, Paris, France.; Department of Environmental Health, Ministry of Health, Israel.; National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9, 3721 MA, Bilthoven, the Netherlands.; Ministry of Health, Lisbon, Portugal.; National Centre for Environmental Health, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ctra, Majadahonda a Pozuelo km 2,2, 28220, Majadahonda (Madrid), Spain.; University of Antwerp, Toxicological Center, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium.; National Public Health Center, Budapest, Hungary.; Provincial Institute of Hygiene, Antwerp, Belgium.; University of Chemistry and Technology (UCT), Prague, Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology, Department of Food Analysis and Nutrition, Technicka 5, Prague, 166 28, Czech Republic.; Slovak Medical University, Faculty of Public Health, Limbová 12, 833 03, Bratislava, Slovak Republic.; UKHSA UK Health Security Agency, Harwell Science Park, Chilton, OX11 0RQ, United Kingdom.; Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece; HERACLES Research Center on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Balkan Center, Bldg. B, 10th km, Thessaloniki, Thermi Road, 57001, Greece.; European Environment Agency (EEA), Kongens Nytorv 6, 1050, Copenhagen K, Denmark.; Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institute and Outpatient Clinic of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Henkestraße 9-11, 91054, Erlangen, Germany.; Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.; Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Department of Food Safety, PO Box 222, Skøyen, 0213, Oslo, Norway.; Jožef Stefan Institute, Department of Environmental Sciences, Jamova cesta 39, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.; Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Kreuzstrasse 2, 4123, Allschwil, Switzerland; University of Basel, P.O. Box, CH-4003, Basel, Switzerland.; Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine (NIOM), Lodz, Poland.; Croatian Institute of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health, Zagreb, Croatia; Faculty of Medicine of the University of Rijeka, Department of Social Medicine and Epidemiology, Rijeka, Croatia.; School for Advanced Study (IUSS), Science, Technology and Society Department, Pavia, Italy.; Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Pharmacy and Environmental Medicine, Italy.; Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Kuopio, Finland.; Unit of Cardiovascular and Nutritional Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Nobels väg 13, Box 210, 17177, Stockholm, Sweden.; Swedish Food Agency, Risk Benefit Assessment Department, Box 622, SE-751 26, Uppsala, Sweden.; Cyprus International Institute for Environmental and Public Health, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol, 3041, Cyprus.; French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety, Anses, 14 Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 94701, Maisons-Alfort, France.; Wageningen Food Safety Research - Part of Wageningen University & Research, Akkermaalsbos 2, 6708 WB, Wageningen, the Netherlands.; ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain.; Department of Epidemiology, National Institute of Health Doctor Ricardo Jorge, Avenida Padre Cruz, 1649-016, Lisbon, Portugal.; German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Dept. Safety of Pesticides, Max-Dohrn-Strasse 8-10, D-10589, Berlin, Germany.; Dept. Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.; Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Department Risk assessment, Spargelfeldstraße 191, 1220, Wien, Austria.; Medical University of Vienna, ZPH, Dept. of. Environmental Health, Austria.; Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Santé publique France, 12 rue du Val d'Osne, 94415, Saint-Maurice, France.; Institute for Maternal and Child Health - IRCCS "Burlo Garofolo", Trieste, Italy.; Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece; HERACLES Research Center on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Balkan Center, Bldg. B, 10th km, Thessaloniki, Thermi Road, 57001, Greece; Environmental Health Engineering, Institute of Advanced Study, Palazzo del Broletto, Piazza Della Vittoria 15, 27100, Pavia, Italy.; Department of Human Genetics, National Institute of Health Doctor Ricardo Jorge and Centre of Toxicogenomics and Human Health, NOVA Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.; European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Methodology and Scientific Support Unit, Via Carlo Magno 1/A, 43126, Parma, Italy.; Environment Agency Austria, 1090, Vienna, Austria.; Department of Health Protection, Laboratoire national de santé (LNS), 1 rue Louis Rech, 3555, Dudelange, Luxembourg.; Food and Nutrition Department, National Institute of Health Doctor Ricardo Jorge, Avenida Padre Cruz, 1649-016, Lisbon, Portugal.; Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde de Lisboa (ESTeSL), Lisbon, Portugal.; National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark.; Aarhus University, Department of Environmental Science, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000, Roskilde, Denmark.; Institute for Prevention and Occupational Medicine of the German Social Accident Insurance - Institute of the Ruhr-University Bochum (IPA), Bürkle-de-la-Camp-Platz 1, 44789, Bochum, Germany.; VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Boeretang 200, 2400, Mol, Belgium; University of Antwerp, Toxicological Center, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium; Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2023.114119

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MeSH Terms: Young Adult, Humans, Child, Adolescent, Biological Monitoring, Environmental Pollutants, Cadmium, Arsenic, Pesticides, Fluorocarbons, Biomarkers, Acrylamides