Inflammation Affects Association Between Furan Exposure and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

TOPLINE:

Exposure to furan, a chemical present in agricultural products, stabilizers, pharmaceuticals, and heat-processed foods, shows a significant positive correlation with the prevalence and respiratory mortality of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

METHODOLOGY:

• The researchers reviewed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database from 2013 to 2018 and identified 270 adults with a diagnosis of COPD and 7212 without.
• Exposure to furan was based on blood furan levels, and participants were divided into five groups on the basis of quartiles of log10-transformed blood furan levels.
• The researchers used a restricted cubic spline analysis to examine the association between COPD risk and blood furan levels and mediating analysis to explore the impact of inflammation.
• The primary outcome of the study was respiratory mortality.

TAKEAWAY:

• Ten COPD patients died of respiratory diseases; adjusted analysis showed a positive correlation between log10-transformed blood furan levels and respiratory mortality in COPD patients (hazard ratio, 41.00, P = .003).
• In a logistic regression analysis, log10-transformed blood furan levels were significantly associated with increased risk for COPD; individuals in the fifth quartile had significantly increased risk compared with the first quartile (odds ratio, 4.47; P = .006).
• COPD demonstrated a significant positive association with monocytes, neutrophils, and basophils, which showed mediated proportions of 8.73%, 20.90%, and 10.94%, respectively, in the relationship between furan exposure and prevalence of COPD (P < .05 for all).

IN PRACTICE:

“The implication [of the findings] is that reducing exposure to furan in the environment could potentially lower the incidence of COPD and improve the prognosis for COPD patients,” but large-scale prospective cohort studies are needed, the researchers wrote in their conclusion.

SOURCE:

The lead author of the study was Di Sun, MD, of Capital Medical University, Beijing, China. The study was published online in BMC Public Health.

LIMITATIONS:

The cross-sectional design prevented establishment of a causal relationship between furan exposure and COPD; lack of data on the conditions of furan exposure and the reliance on self-reports for COPD diagnosis were among the factors that limited the study findings.

DISCLOSURES:

The study was supported by the High Level Public Health Technology Talent Construction Project and Reform and Development Program of Beijing Institute of Respiratory Medicine. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose.

A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.