Association of occupational exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in workers with hypertension from a northeastern Chinese petrochemical industrial area

Elevated urinary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites have been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). However, for petrochemical workers with potentially high PAH exposure, it remains largely unknown whether the link will be amplified. Thus, this work aimed to investigate 14 urinary mono-hydroxylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (OH-PAHs) in 746 petrochemical workers working in a Chinese petrochemical industrial area and their association with the risk of hypertension using the binary logistic regression. Metabolites of naphthalene, fluorene, phenanthrene, and pyrene were frequently detected in the 746 urine samples analyzed (>98%), with Σ₁₀OH-PAH concentration in the range of 0.906–358 ng/mL. 2-hydroxynaphthalene accounted for the largest proportion of ten detected OH-PAHs (60.8% of Σ₁₀OH-PAHs). There were significant correlations between these metabolites and other factors, including gender, age, and body mass index. Diastolic blood pressure, not systolic blood pressure, was significant positively associated with the urinary Σ₁₀OH-PAH concentrations of the petrochemical workers. Elevated urinary 2/3-OH-Flu was significantly associated with an increased risk of hypertension (adjusted odds ratio: 1.96, 95% confidence interval: 1.20–3.18, p = 0.007), suggesting that PAH exposure in petrochemical workers was a driving factor of hypertension. In the stratified analysis, the association was more pronounced in those who were overweight with older age. Although the PAH exposure risk in petrochemical workers based on the estimated daily intakes was relatively low. Given the long-term impact, we call attention to CVDs of petrochemical workers.