Association between urinary metabolites of volatile organic compounds and lung function: A cross-sectional study

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), play a major role in exacerbating air pollution and present a threat to human health. However, the association between specific VOCs and lung function in the general population has not been extensively explored.

Our study aimed to examine the correlation between urinary VOC metabolites (mVOCs) concentrations and lung function, among a typical sample of the adult population.

The correlation between urinary mVOCs and lung function was analyzed using logistic regression models, QG-C, WQS, and BKMR models were employed.

Our study revealed that higher concentrations of certain urinary mVOCs significantly correlated with an increased risk of abnormal lung function, especially URXAMC and URXDHB. A significant nonlinear correlation was observed between URXDHB and FEV1 % pred <80 % (P for overall <0.001, P for nonlinear <0.001), and a nonlinear correlation was noted between URXAMC and the incidence of FEV1 % pred <80 % (P for overall, P for nonlinear = 0.012).

VOCs exposure is associated with compromised lung health, and particularly strong correlations exist between URXAMC/URXDHB and abnormal lung function; These findings provide new insights for respiratory disease prevention and control.