Negative Association of Serum β-Cryptoxanthin With Benzene and Its Derivatives

Abstract

Objective

Benzene is widely recognized as a potential carcinogen. Furthermore, the deficiency of specific nutrients may render individuals more vulnerable to cancer. For instance, β-cryptoxanthin, which possesses anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer properties, has been identified as one such nutrient. Elevated benzene levels and reduced β-cryptoxanthin levels are reportedly correlated with an augmented susceptibility to cancer. To date, whether these 2 substances are linked with one another in the above correlation is yet to be determined.

Method

This study included 1358 participants with data on the serum concentration of β-cryptoxanthin as well as benzene and its derivatives. The data were sourced from the 2003–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a cross-sectional survey of the noninstitutionalized US population. Headspace solid-phase microextraction with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry was used to measure serum benzene and its derivatives, while high-performance liquid chromatography using multiwavelength photodiode-array absorbance detection was employed to quantify serum β-cryptoxanthin.

Results

In this study, male and female participants showed average β-cryptoxanthin levels of 9.10 ± 6.35 and 9.92 ± 8.95 ug/dL, respectively (p = 0.049). Styrene exhibited the strongest correlation with the change in β-cryptoxanthin concentration (β = −3.30, p for trend <0.001) upon comparing highest-quartile participants with those in the lowest quartile, followed by benzene (β = −2.95, p for trend <0.001), toluene (β = −2.90, p for trend <0.001), and ethylbenzene (β = −1.43, p for trend = 0.09). Subgroup analysis by sex displayed a statistically significant negative correlation of β-cryptoxanthin with benzene, styrene, and toluene in both the unadjusted and multivariate-adjusted models.

Conclusions

The sera of noninstitutionalized US individuals exhibit a negative association of β-cryptoxanthin levels with benzene and its derivatives. Styrene demonstrates the strongest link with a substantial decline in serum β-cryptoxanthin levels, followed by benzene, toluene, and ethylbenzene.

Keywords:

• Benzene
• volatile organic compounds
• β-cryptoxanthin
• carotenoids
• carcinogen
• NHANES

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the staff and participants of the NHANES for their contributions to this work.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Ethics Review Board approved the NHANES protocol. All participants provided written informed consent prior to data collection. Given that NHANES data are anonymized and publicly available, the George Washington University Institutional Review Board determined that the current study did not meet the criteria for human subjects research.

Authors’ contributions

Yu-Yang Lu was in charge of data management and retrieval, contributed to data interpretation, and wrote the initial draft of the publication. Hao-En Chen compiled the published works and revised the manuscript’s references. Wei-Liang Chen was responsible for the study’s conception and design, initial data analysis, overall project management, article revision, and final manuscript approval.

Disclosure statement

There is no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.

Availability of supporting data

The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available in the NHANES repository: https://wwwn.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/Default.aspx