Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40045272›Full record

ArticleRespiratory research2025

Exposure to volatile organic compounds and chronic respiratory disease mortality, a case-cohort study.

Mahdi Nalini, Hossein Poustchi, Deepak Bhandari, Benjamin C Blount, Brandon M Kenwood, Cindy M Chang, Amy Gross, Christopher Ellison, Masoud Khoshnia, Akram Pourshams and 10 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Respiratory research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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  5. Review
  6. Review
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

20 authors.

Mahdi NaliniMetabolic Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Hossein PoustchiLiver and Pancreaticobilliary Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Deepak BhandariDivision of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Benjamin C BlountDivision of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Brandon M KenwoodDivision of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Cindy M ChangCenter for Tobacco Products, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
Amy GrossCenter for Tobacco Products, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
Christopher EllisonCenter for Tobacco Products, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
Masoud KhoshniaDigestive Oncology Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Akram PourshamsDigestive Oncology Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mitchell H GailBiostatistics Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Barry I GraubardBiostatistics Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Sanford M DawseyMetabolic Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Farin KamangarDepartment of Biology, School of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Paolo BoffettaStony Brook Cancer Center, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA.
Paul BrennanInternational Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France.
Christian C AbnetMetabolic Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Reza MalekzadehDigestive Oncology Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. malek@tums.ac.ir.
Neal D FreedmanMetabolic Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Arash EtemadiMetabolic Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. arash.etemadi@nih.gov.

Funding

World Health Organization 001
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundChronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) are the third leading cause of death worldwide. Data of the associations between specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a major component of air pollution and tobacco smoke, and subsequent CRD mortality in the general population are scarce.

methodsIn a case-cohort analysis within the population-based Golestan cohort study (n = 50045, aged 40-75 years, 58% women, enrollment: 2004-2008, northeastern Iran), we included all participants who died from CRD during follow-up through 2018 (n = 242) as cases and stratified them into 16 strata defined by age, sex, residence, and tobacco smoking. Subcohort participants (n = 610) were randomly selected from all eligible cohort participants in each stratum, and sampling fractions were calculated. Baseline urine samples were used to measure 20 VOCs using ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. After excluding participants with previous history of CRDs, we used stratified Cox regression models weighted by the inverse sampling fractions (i.e. inverse probability weighting) adjusted for potential confounders, including urinary cotinine and pack-years of smoking, to calculate hazard ratios (HR) for the associations between biomarker tertiles and CRD mortality.

resultsData from 545 non-case, sub-cohort participants and 149 cases (69.1% chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 13.4% asthma, 17.5% other CRDs) were assessed in this study. During a follow-up of 10.5 years, associations [2nd and 3rd vs. 1st tertiles, HR (95% confidence interval), p for trend] were observed between metabolites of acrolein [1.56 (0.64,3.79), 3.53 (1.53,8.16), 0.002] and styrene/ethylbenzene [1.17 (0.53,2.60), 3.24 (1.37,7.66), 0.005] and CRD mortality, which persisted after excluding the first four years of follow-up.

conclusionOur findings support prior research suggesting respiratory toxicity of VOCs. Further investigation and monitoring of these compounds, especially acrolein and styrene/ethylbenzene, as CRD risk factors, are recommended.

Indexed as

Air PollutantsEnvironmental ExposureVolatile Organic CompoundsAdultAgedBiomarkersCase-Control StudiesChronic DiseaseCohort StudiesFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansIranMaleMiddle AgedRisk FactorsAir PollutantsBiomarkersVolatile Organic CompoundsAir pollutionAsthmaPulmonary diseaseTobacco smoking

Identifiers

PMID40045272
PMCPMC11884121

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Registered trials

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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.