Impact of genetic polymorphisms on associations between crude oil exposure and health effects among coast guard deepwater horizon responders

Joseph B Kim; Hristina Denic-Roberts; Jordan McAdam; Dana L Thomas; Lawrence S Engel; Jennifer A Rusiecki

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.177542

Impact of genetic polymorphisms on associations between crude oil exposure and health effects among coast guard deepwater horizon responders

Sci Total Environ. 2024 Nov 18:177542. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.177542. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Joseph B Kim¹, Hristina Denic-Roberts², Jordan McAdam³, Dana L Thomas⁴, Lawrence S Engel⁵, Jennifer A Rusiecki⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Room E-2009, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
² Department of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Room E-2009, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, MD, USA.
³ Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, 1401 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD, USA.
⁴ United States Coast Guard Headquarters, Directorate of Health, Safety, and Work Life, Washington, DC, USA.
⁵ Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
⁶ Department of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Room E-2009, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA. Electronic address: jennifer.rusiecki@usuhs.edu.

PMID: 39566611
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.177542

Abstract

The U.S. Coast Guard led a clean-up response to the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, the largest marine oil spill in history. Studies from the Deepwater Horizon Coast Guard Cohort (DWH-CG) have shown associations between crude oil exposure and various acute symptoms and longer-term health outcomes. Evidence has suggested genetic polymorphisms in metabolizing genes could modify the toxicity of crude oil and its components, which could impact health effects in responders exposed to crude oil. We applied log-binomial regression to calculate prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) in the relationship between crude oil exposure (categorized to never, low, and high) and four acute symptoms (cough, shortness of breath/wheeze, skin rash/itching, headache) and to calculate risk ratios (RR) and 95 % CIs in the relationship between crude oil exposure and incidence of hypertension and asthma in the DWH-CG cohort. Effect modification by polymorphisms in 6 metabolizing genes [Cytochrome P450 family 2 subfamily E member 1 (CYP2E1), Glutathione S-Transferase Mu 1 (GSTM1), Glutathione S-Transferase Theta 1 (GSTT1), Epoxide Hydrolase 1 (EPHX1), NADPH quinone oxidoreductase-1 (NQO1), and Myeloperoxidase (MPO)] was evaluated. Results were stratified into wildtype and variant [i.e., those with at least one variant allele] for each gene. There was evidence of effect modification in the relationship between crude oil exposure and asthma by CYP2E1 [wildtype (RR_{High vs never/low}, 95 % CI = 1.18, 0.99-1.42); variant (RR_{High vs never/low,} 95 % CI = 2.27, 1.26-4.10); p_interaction = 0.04] and headache by NQO1 [wildtype (PR_{High vs never/low}, 95 % CI = 2.1, 1.88-2.34); variant (PR_{High vs never/low}, 95 % CI = 1.44, 1.07-1.94); p_interaction = 0.04]. Our study indicated the potential effect modification by metabolizing genotype in the relationship between crude oil exposure and headaches or asthma. These findings highlight the need to consider vulnerable sub-groups of responders to oil spill disasters.

Keywords: Crude oil; Deepwater horizon; Genotype; Oil spill; Polymorphisms.