Associations of ambient exposure to benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene with daily mortality: a multicountry time-series study in 757 global locations

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60460709%3A41330%2F25%3A105931" target="_blank" >RIV/60460709:41330/25:105931 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanplh.2025.101306" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanplh.2025.101306</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lanplh.2025.101306" target="_blank" >10.1016/j.lanplh.2025.101306</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Associations of ambient exposure to benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene with daily mortality: a multicountry time-series study in 757 global locations

Original language description

Background The presence of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene isomers (BTEX) in the environment is of increasing concern due to their toxicity and ubiquity. Although the adverse health effects of BTEX exposure have been documented, robust epidemiological evidence from large-scale, multicountry studies using advanced exposure assessment methodologies remains scarce. We aimed to assess the association of short-term ambient exposure to individual BTEX components and their mixture with daily total, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality on a global scale. Methods Daily data on mortality, meteorological factors, and air pollution were collected from 757 locations across 46 countries or regions. Data on individual chemicals (ie, benzene, toluene, xylenes [summation of ethylbenzene, m-xylene, p-xylene, and o-xylene]) and the aggregate mixture (ie, BTEX) were estimated using a chemistry-climate model. We examined the short-term associations of each individual chemical as well as the BTEX mixture with daily total, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality in a multicountry framework. Using a two-stage time-series design, we first applied generalised additive models with a quasi-Poisson distribution to obtain location-specific associations, which were subsequently pooled using random-effects meta-analysis. Two-pollutant models were used to assess the independent effects of BTEX after adjusting for co-pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone, and carbon monoxide). Additionally, we assessed the overall exposure-response curves with spline terms. Findings An IQR increment of BTEX concentration on lag 0-2 days (3-day moving average of the present day and the previous 2 days) was associated with increases of 0.57% (95% CI 0.49-0.65), 0.42% (0.30-0.54), and 0.68% (0.50-0.86) in total, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality, respectively. The corresponding effect estimates for an IQR increment in individual chemicals (benzene, toluene, and xylenes) were 0.38-0.61%, 0.44-0.70%, and 0.41-0.65%, respectively. The associations remained significant after adjusting for co-pollutants, with a general decline in magnitude, except for a slight increase after adjustment for ozone. The shape of the exposure-response curves for all pollutants and causes of death was almost linear, with steeper slopes at low concentrations and no discernible thresholds. Interpretation This global study provides novel evidence linking short-term exposure to ambient BTEX, both individually and as a mixture, with increased daily total, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality. Our findings underscore the need for comprehensive air pollution mitigation policies, including stringent controls on BTEX emissions, to protect public health. Copyright (c) 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

10511 - Environmental sciences (social aspects to be 5.7)

Project

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Continuities

S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Lancet Planetary Health

ISSN

2542-5196

e-ISSN

2542-5196

Volume of the periodical

9

Issue of the periodical within the volume

9

Country of publishing house

GB - UNITED KINGDOM

Number of pages

12

Pages from-to

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UT code for WoS article

001605591400013

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-105018647016