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- Brief communication Levels of exposure markers among residents in environmentally vulnerable areas in Korea, the general population in Korea, and Asians in the United States
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Kyung-Hwa Choi2
, Dahee Han1
, Sang-Yong Eom3
, Yong Min Cho1
, Young Seoub Hong4
, Woo Jin Kim5
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Epidemiol Health 2025;e2025007
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4178/epih.e2025007 [Accepted]
Published online: February 25, 2025
2Department of Preventive Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea
3Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Korea
4Department of Preventive Medicine, Dong-A University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea
5Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Korea
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Corresponding author:
Yong Min Cho,
Email: neworder@skuniv.ac.kr
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Abstract
This study compares biomarker levels among environmentally vulnerable residents in Korea, the general Korean population, and Asians in the United States. We selected 953 exposed residents and 204 controls from the Forensic Research via Omics Markers in Environmental Health Vulnerable Areas (FROM) study (2021-2023), 4,239 participants from the fourth Korean National Environmental Health Survey (2018-2020), and 996 Asians from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2017-March 2020). The analyzed biomarkers included blood and urinary metals, urinary metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), nicotine, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and serum perfluorocarbon metabolites. The highest median biomarker levels varied by pollution source among older adults. In refineries, blood lead and cadmium (Cd), as well as urinary Cd and 2-hydroxyfluorene (2-OHFlu), were highest. Abandoned metal mines exhibited the highest blood and urinary mercury (Hg), urinary Cd, total arsenic (As), 2-naphthol, and cotinine levels. Coal-fired power plants showed the highest urinary 1-PHEN levels, while cement factories had the highest urinary As3+ levels. Sprawls demonstrated the highest urinary monomethylarsonic acid, 1-hydroxypyrene, and phenylglyoxylic acid levels, and industrial areas recorded the highest levels of trans, trans-muconic acid, benzylmercapturic acid, and 2-MHA. In general, biomarker levels were higher among exposed residents in the FROM study than in the general population; however, urinary 2-hydroxyfluorene and As5+ levels did not differ significantly. Exposure to pollution sources in environmentally vulnerable areas may elevate biomarker levels in residents.
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