Malondialdehyde in exhaled breath condensate and urine as a biomarker of air pollution induced oxidative stress

Jicheng Gong, Tong Zhu, Howard Kipen, Guangfa Wang, Min Hu, Pamela Ohman-Strickland, Shou En Lu, Lin Zhang, Yuedan Wang, Ping Zhu, David Q. Rich, Scott R. Diehl, Wei Huang, Junfeng Zhang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

77 Scopus citations

Abstract

Underlying mechanisms by which air pollutants adversely affect human health remain poorly understood. Oxidative stress has been considered as a potential mechanism that may promote lipid peroxidation by reactive oxygen species, leading to the formation of malondialdehyde (MDA) that is excreted in biofluids (e.g., urine and exhaled breath condensate (EBC)). A panel study was conducted to examine whether concentrations of MDA in EBC and urine were associated, respectively, with changes in air pollution levels brought by the Beijing Olympic air pollution control measures. EBC and urine samples from 125 healthy adults were collected twice in each of the pre-, during-, and post-Olympic periods. Period-specific means of MDA and changes in MDA levels associated with increases in 24-h average pollutant concentrations were estimated using linear mixed-effects models. From the pre- to the during-Olympic period, when concentrations of most pollutants decreased, EBC MDA and urinary MDA significantly decreased by 24% (P<0.0001) and 28% (P=0.0002), respectively. From the during-Olympic to the post-Olympic period, when concentrations of most pollutants increased, EBC MDA and urinary MDA increased by 28% (P=0.094) and 55% (P=0.046), respectively. Furthermore, the largest increases in EBC MDA associated with one interquartile range (IQR) increases in all pollutants but ozone ranged from 10% (95% CI: 2%, 18%) to 19% (95% CI: 14%, 25%). The largest increases in urinary MDA associated with IQR increases in pollutant concentration ranged from 9% (95%: 0.3%, 19%) to 15% (95% CI: 3%, 28%). These findings support the utility of EBC MDA as a biomarker of oxidative stress in the respiratory tract and urinary MDA as a biomarker of systemic oxidative stress in relation to air pollution exposure in healthy young adults. Both EBC and urine samples can be collected noninvasively in the general population.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)322-327
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology
Volume23
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2013

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Epidemiology
  • Toxicology
  • Pollution
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Keywords

  • The Beijing Olympics
  • exhaled breath condensate
  • lipid peroxidation
  • malondialdehyde
  • oxidative stress

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Malondialdehyde in exhaled breath condensate and urine as a biomarker of air pollution induced oxidative stress'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this