Reconstructing population exposures to acrylamide from human monitoring data using a toxicokinetic framework
On this page:
Background: Acrylamide toxicity involves several metabolic pathways. Thus, a panel of biomarkers for the evaluation of acrylamide exposure was deemed appropriate.
Objective: The study was designed to evaluate daily acrylamide exposure in US adults via hemoglobin adducts and urinary metabolites using a toxicokinetic framework. Methods: A cohort of 2798 subjects aged 20-79 yrs was selected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES, 2013-2016) for analysis. Three acrylamide biomarkers including hemoglobin adducts of acrylamide in blood and two urine metabolites, N-Acetyl-S-(2-carbamoylethyl)cysteine (AAMA) and N-Acetyl-S-(2-carbamoyl-2-hydroxyethyl)-L-cysteine (GAMA) were used to estimate daily acrylamide exposure using validated toxicokinetic prediction models. Multivariate regression models were also used to examine key factors in determining estimated acrylamide intake.
Results: The estimated daily acrylamide exposure varied across the population. Estimated AA daily exposure was comparable among the three different biomarkers (median: 0.4-0.7 µg/kg/day). Cigarette smoking emerged as the leading contributor to the acquired acrylamide dose. Smokers had the highest estimated acrylamide intake (1.20 -1.49 µg/kg/day), with passive smokers intermediate (0.47-0.61) and non-smokers (0.45-0.59) least. Several covariates, particularly, body mass index and race/ethnicity, played roles in determining estimated exposures. This study also highlights the value of integrating toxicokinetics into human health risk assessments.
Discussion: Estimated daily acrylamide exposure among US adults was similar to populations reported elsewhere providing external support for using the current approach in assessing acrylamide exposure. The analyses should also be evaluated further for its utility in adolescents and children to better protect vulnerable populations.