Biomarkers of Benzene Exposure in Inner City Residents

This study compares air pollution exposures of residents in a South Baltimore community next to major industry with those in a comparison community with much less industry nearby. Parents and children as well as adults alone will be included. Air levels of 3 chemicals that have been found in increased amounts in the community as well as two urinary breakdown products of benzene will be measured. Participants will limit the amount of sorbate preserved foods they eat as this preservative interferes with one of the benzene breakdown products. Benzene air and urine exposure measurements will be compared in each community as well as between communities. By including children and parents we will gather exposure information on children who may be more sensitive that adults to these types of pollution. Lastly, by restricting the amount of food preserved with sorbates, we can decide if this improves the use of ttMA for people exposed to benzene from air pollution.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Detailed Description

The current study focuses on an environmental exposure assessment of a South Baltimore community residing near a heavily industrialized area. Exposure differences between this community and a reference community that is demographically similar to South Baltimore but has limited industrial impact will be assessed. Participants will include both parent child study pairs and adults. Outdoor, indoor and personal 72 hour badge monitoring for benzene, 1,3-butadiene and carbon tetrachloride will be performed. Two urinary biomarkers for benzene exposure, trans,trans-muconic acid (ttMA) and s-phenylmercapturic acid (S-PMA) will be measured at 3 daily time points over the 3 day period. Past work indicates that ingestion of sorbate preserved foods causes substantial interference with the benzene biomarker, ttMA. Therefore, participants will restrict their intake of sorbate preserved foods during the study. On the day of greatest dietary restriction, a 24 hour benzene personal air measurement will be obtained. Data analysis will include correlations of benzene badge exposure measurements and urinary biomarkers. Air and biomarker benzene exposure data will be compared between communities. Linear regression modeling will be used to determine important explanatory factors of the biomarkers. The inclusion of parent child study pairs will also allow correlation of benzene air levels and urinary biomarkers between parents and children. This will provide exposure information on a potentially susceptible subpopulation, e.g. children, and allow assessment of potential for age-related differences in benzene metabolism. Finally, we will be able to determine if dietary restriction is practical and results in greater specificity of ttMA as a benzene biomarker.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment

90

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • Maryland
      • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21205
        • Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

3 years and older (Child, Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

residence in one of the study communities

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Time Perspectives: Cross-Sectional

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 16, 2001

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 17, 2001

First Posted (Estimate)

April 18, 2001

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

March 23, 2006

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 22, 2006

Last Verified

March 1, 2006

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 7780-CP-001

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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