Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37149022›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental research2023

Exposure to volatile hydrocarbons and neurologic function among oil spill workers up to 6 years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Dazhe Chen, Emily J Werder, Patricia A Stewart, Mark R Stenzel, Fredric E Gerr, Kaitlyn G Lawrence, Caroline P Groth, Tran B Huynh, Gurumurthy Ramachandran, Sudipto Banerjee and 5 more

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Environmental research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
3.0field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors at 9 institutions in 1 country.

Dazhe ChenDepartment of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Emily J WerderEpidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
Patricia A StewartStewart Exposure Assessments, LLC, Arlington, VA, USA.
Mark R StenzelExposure Assessment Applications, LLC, Arlington, VA, USA.
Fredric E GerrDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City, IA, USA.
Kaitlyn G LawrenceEpidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
Caroline P GrothDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA.
Tran B HuynhDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Gurumurthy RamachandranDepartment of Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Sudipto BanerjeeDepartment of Biostatistics, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California - Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
W Braxton Jackson IiSocial & Scientific Systems, Inc, a DLH Holdings Company, Durham, NC, USA.
Kate ChristenburySocial & Scientific Systems, Inc, a DLH Holdings Company, Durham, NC, USA.
Richard K KwokPopulation Studies and Genetics Branch, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Dale P SandlerEpidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
Lawrence S EngelDepartment of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA. Electronic address: larry.engel@unc.edu.
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences · USSocial and Scientific Systems (United States) · USUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · USDrexel University · USJohns Hopkins University · USNational Institute on Aging · USUniversity of California, Los Angeles · USUniversity of Iowa · USWest Virginia University · US

Funding

UNC-CH CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH &SUSCEPTIBILITYP30ES010126 · NIEHS · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI Stephanie Engel · 2001 to 2026
$36.3M
Gulf Longitudinal Follow-up (GuLF) Worker StudyZIAES102945 · NIEHS · NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES · PI SANDLER, DALE P · 2010 to 2025
$15.3M
Neurological Effects of Environmental Styrene and BTEX Exposure in a Gulf of Mexico CohortR01ES031127 · NIEHS · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI BAEK, BOK HAENG, ENGEL, LAWRENCE STUART · 2020 to 2023
$2.0M
NIEHS NIH HHS P30 ES010126NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES031127
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDuring the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) disaster, oil spill response and cleanup (OSRC) workers were exposed to toxic volatile components of crude oil. Few studies have examined exposure to individual volatile hydrocarbon chemicals below occupational exposure limits in relation to neurologic function among OSRC workers.

objectivesTo investigate the association of several spill-related chemicals (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, n-hexane, i.e., BTEX-H) and total petroleum hydrocarbons (THC) with neurologic function among DWH spill workers enrolled in the Gulf Long-term Follow-up Study.

methodsCumulative exposure to THC and BTEX-H across the oil spill cleanup period were estimated using a job-exposure matrix that linked air measurement data to detailed self-reported DWH OSRC work histories. We ascertained quantitative neurologic function data via a comprehensive test battery at a clinical examination that occurred 4-6 years after the DWH disaster. We used multivariable linear regression and modified Poisson regression to evaluate relationships of exposures (quartiles (Q)) with 4 neurologic function measures. We examined modification of the associations by age at enrollment (<50 vs. ≥50 years).

resultsWe did not find evidence of adverse neurologic effects from crude oil exposures among the overall study population. However, among workers ≥50 years of age, several individual chemical exposures were associated with poorer vibrotactile acuity of the great toe, with statistically significant effects observed in Q3 or Q4 of exposures (range of log mean difference in Q4 across exposures: 0.13-0.26 μm). We also observed suggestive adverse associations among those ≥ age 50 years for tests of postural stability and single-leg stance, although most effect estimates did not reach thresholds of statistical significance (p < 0.05).

conclusionsHigher exposures to volatile components of crude oil were associated with modest deficits in neurologic function among OSRC workers who were age 50 years or older at study enrollment.

Indexed as

DisastersPetroleumPetroleum PollutionFollow-Up StudiesHumansHydrocarbonsMiddle AgedHydrocarbonsPetroleumCrude oilHydrocarbonsNeurologic functionOil spillPeripheral nervous systemVolatile organic compounds

Identifiers

PMID37149022
PMCPMC10330421
OpenAlexW4368351189

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.