Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Environmental Health and Exposome
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1498919

Associations between blood ethylene oxide levels and serum neurofilament light chain concentrations in adults: Evidence from the NHANES

Provisionally accepted
Shikun Li Shikun Li Wenchen Li Wenchen Li Jishuang Liu Jishuang Liu Jing Ma Jing Ma Yan Juan Yan Juan Bo Chen Bo Chen *
  • THe first hosipital of jilin, Changchun, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Ethylene oxide (EO) is a widely used industrial chemical recognized for its health risks, potentially posing threats to human health, including neurotoxicity, cardiovascular damage, and carcinogenic effects. Neurofilament light chain (NfL) is a protein released into the blood following axonal damage. To date, no studies have investigated the relationship between EO exposure and NfL levels. Therefore, we selected 5 9 0 2 0 1 3 -2 0 1 4 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey ( NHANES) participants to examine the relationship between blood EO levels and serum NfL concentrations.Methods: According to the data from NHANES, this cross-sectional study used multiple regression analysis, subgroup analysis, and smooth curve fitting to explore the relationship between Ethylene oxide and Neurofilament light chain.The results of the present study indicate a positive association between EO exposure and NfL concentrations. Greater EO exposure was correlated with increased serum NfL concentrations in the fully adjusted model[β = 0.28, 95% CI (0.16 ， 0.40)]. Each additional unit of EO exposure was linked to a 0.28-unit increase in the serum NfL level. Additionally, IN sensitivity analysis by changing EO exposure from a continuous variable to a categorical variable. The serum NfL concentrations increased with increasing tertiles of EO levels. Compared with the lowest tertile, the highest EO exposure tertile was associated with a 0.28-unit increase in serum NfL concentrations (β = 0.28, 95% CI 0.16, 0.40; P for trend = 0.0138) .our results indicate a link between increased EO levels and higher serum NfL concentrations in a sample of U.S. adults aged 20 years and older. Although the directionality and clinical significance of this observation remain uncertain, our results emphasize the importance of conducting additional studies to investigate the possible causes and neurological effects of exposure to EO in adults.

    Keywords: Ethylene Oxide, Neurofilament light chain Abbreviations Ethylene oxide EO, N-(2-hydroxyethyl)valine HbEO, Neurofilament light chain NfL, NHANES

    Received: 21 Sep 2024; Accepted: 10 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Li, Li, Liu, Ma, Juan and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Bo Chen, THe first hosipital of jilin, Changchun, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.