Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41469699›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental health : a global access science source2025

Association of oil spill cleanup-related hydrocarbon exposure with incident hypertension up to 11 years after exposure in the Gulf Long-term Follow-up Study.

Opal P Patel, Jessie K Edwards, Anna M Kucharska-Newton, Eric A Whitsel, Kate E Christenbury, W Braxton Jackson Ii, Kaitlyn G Lawrence, Patricia A Stewart, Mark R Stenzel, Lawrence S Engel and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Environmental health : a global access science source, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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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

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Opal P PatelDepartment of Epidemiology, UNC Gillings School of Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Jessie K EdwardsDepartment of Epidemiology, UNC Gillings School of Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Anna M Kucharska-NewtonDepartment of Epidemiology, UNC Gillings School of Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Eric A WhitselDepartment of Epidemiology, UNC Gillings School of Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Kate E ChristenburySocial & Scientific Systems, Inc., a DLH Holdings Company, Durham, NC, USA.
W Braxton Jackson IiSocial & Scientific Systems, Inc., a DLH Holdings Company, Durham, NC, USA.
Kaitlyn G LawrenceEpidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USA.
Patricia A StewartStewart Exposure Assessments, LLC, Arlington, VA, 22207, USA.
Mark R StenzelExposure Assessment Applications, LLC, Arlington, VA, 22207, USA.
Lawrence S Engel *Department of Epidemiology, UNC Gillings School of Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Dale P Sandler *Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USA. dale.sandler@nih.gov.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWhile several studies have found positive associations between exposure to oil spill cleanup-related chemicals and hypertension, no study has examined these associations longitudinally.

objectiveThis study examined associations of oil spill-related benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and n-hexane (BTEX-H) exposures, individually and as both the aggregate sum (total) of BTEX-H and the BTEX-H mixture with incident hypertension among Gulf Long-term Follow-up (GuLF) Study participants.

methodsParticipants were 18,619 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill cleanup and response workers who enrolled in the GuLF Study (2011-2013). Cumulative exposures to each BTEX-H chemical were estimated with a job-exposure matrix linking detailed self-reported DWH participant work histories to exposure group estimates developed from air monitoring data. We defined incident hypertension as the first self-reported physician diagnosis of hypertension or high blood pressure after each worker's last date of cleanup work, as reported at enrollment or a follow-up interview (2013-2016 or 2017-2021). We used Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). We used quantile g-computation to estimate the joint effect of the BTEX-H mixture.

resultsApproximately 20% (n = 3,779) of workers reported an incident hypertension diagnosis. Exposures to the individual BTEX-H chemicals were highly correlated (r = 0.87-0.95). The HRs comparing the highest to lowest quartiles of individual BTEX-H and total BTEX-H exposures ranged from 1.27 to 1.35. We found evidence of exposure-response trends across increasing quartiles of exposure. Each one quartile increase in the BTEX-H mixture was positively associated with incident hypertension (HR: 1.10, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.14). DISCUSSION: Oil spill cleanup work-related BTEX-H exposures were associated with the risk of incident hypertension, extending prior findings of cross-sectional associations. Since BTEX-H exposures are common in occupational and population settings, these findings may have broader public health implications.

Indexed as

HydrocarbonsHypertensionOccupational ExposurePetroleum PollutionAdultFemaleFollow-Up StudiesGulf of AmericaHumansIncidenceMaleMiddle AgedHydrocarbonsEnvironmental epidemiologyHypertensionOil spillVolatile hydrocarbons

Identifiers

PMID41469699
PMCPMC12860164

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