UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Can exhaled carbon monoxide be used as a marker of exposure? A cross-sectional study in young adults

Pan, KT; Leonardi, GS; Ucci, M; Croxford, B; (2021) Can exhaled carbon monoxide be used as a marker of exposure? A cross-sectional study in young adults. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health , 18 (22) , Article 11893. 10.3390/ijerph182211893. Green open access

[thumbnail of Croxford_ijerph-18-11893-v2.pdf]
Preview
Text
Croxford_ijerph-18-11893-v2.pdf - Published Version

Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is a major public health issue worldwide. People are exposed to CO in their daily lives, with one of the common sources of CO being cigarette smoking. Inhalation of CO leads to elevated carboxyhaemoglobin (COHb) levels in the blood and also in exhaled CO concentration. Several factors have been shown to affect COHb concentration and COHb half-life. However, factors affecting exhaled CO concentration and exhaled CO half-life are not well understood. The present study aimed to investigate the potential factors related to baseline exhaled CO concentration and exhaled CO half-life among smokers. A cross-sectional study was conducted between 26 January and 30 June 2019, and young adults were recruited into the study. A total of 74 participants (mean age: 27.1 years, 71.6% males and 28.4% females) attended the study. They were invited to complete a questionnaire, including demographic, physiological, and behavioural factors. Then, exhaled CO measurements were taken. These measurements were taken before and after smoking a single cigarette for smokers and only once for non-smokers. The average baseline exhaled CO concentration was 6.9 ± 4.9 ppm for smokers and 1.9 ± 0.5 ppm for non-smokers. The mean of exhaled CO half-life was around 273.3 min (4.6 h) for smokers. No difference was seen in exhaled CO half-life between light smokers and heavy smokers in the smoking group. Gender and cigarettes smoked weekly affected baseline exhaled CO in smokers. Even though height seemed to positively associate with exhaled CO half-life, the relationship disappeared when adjusting by gender and weight. Therefore, exhaled CO could be used as a marker of CO exposure, but we cannot ignore the factors mentioned in the study. For future study, considering factors related to smoking habits and smoking style are recommended as these may affect total inhaled CO.

Type: Article
Title: Can exhaled carbon monoxide be used as a marker of exposure? A cross-sectional study in young adults
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182211893
Publisher version: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/22/11893#
Language: English
Additional information: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
Keywords: Carbon monoxide; CO half-life; CO elimination; cigarette; smoking
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > Bartlett School Env, Energy and Resources
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10139022
Downloads since deposit
30Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item