National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

2009-2010 Data Documentation, Codebook, and Frequencies

Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons -Urine (PAH_F)

Data File: PAH_F.xpt

First Published: August 2015

Last Revised: NA

Component Description

Urinary Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)

PAHs constitute a group of chemicals which are formed during the incomplete combustion of coal, oil and gas, garbage, and other organic substances. In general, people are exposed to mixtures of PAHs, and the sources are widespread, including vehicle exhausts, asphalt, coal tar, wild fires, agricultural burning, charbroiled foods, and tobacco smoke. PAHs enter the body quickly and easily by all routes of exposure and are readily and predominantly metabolized to hydroxylated metabolites and glucuronide metabolites. These compounds require metabolic activation in order to interact with cellular macromolecules. Measurement of urinary metabolites indicates exposure to the parent PAHs. Although background ranges of PAHs in air and water are known, less is known about PAH background levels in humans.

Eligible Sample

Participants, aged 6 years and older, from a one-third sample were eligible.

Description of Laboratory Methodology

The specific analytes measured in this method are monohydroxylated metabolites of PAHs (OH-PAHs). This procedure involves enzymatic hydrolysis of glucuronidated/sulfated OH-PAH metabolites in urine, extraction, derivatization, and analysis using isotope dilution capillary gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). Ion transitions specific to each analyte and carbon-13 labeled internal standards are monitored, and the abundances of each ion are measured.

There were no changes to the lab method, lab equipment, or lab site for this component in the NHANES 2009-2010 cycle.

Refer to the Lab Method File for Monohydroxy Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons.

Laboratory Method Files

POLYAROMATIC_HYDROCARBONS_ URINE (August 2015)

Laboratory Quality Assurance and Monitoring

Urine specimens are processed, stored, and shipped to the Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA for analysis.

Detailed instructions on specimen collection and processing are discussed in the NHANES Laboratory Procedures Manual (LPM). Vials are stored under appropriate frozen (–30°C) conditions until they are shipped to National Center for Environmental Health for testing.

Vials are stored under appropriate frozen (–20°C) conditions until they are shipped to National Center for Environmental Health for testing.

Mobile Examination Centers (MECs)

Laboratory team performance is monitored using several techniques. NCHS and contract consultants use a structured quality assurance evaluation during unscheduled visits to evaluate both the quality of the laboratory work and the quality-control procedures. Each laboratory staff person is observed for equipment operation, specimen collection and preparation; testing procedures and constructive feedback are given to each staff. Formal retraining sessions are conducted annually to ensure that required skill levels were maintained.

The NHANES QA/QC protocols meet the 1988 Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments mandates. Detailed QA/QC instructions are discussed in the NHANES LPM.

Analytical Laboratories

NHANES uses several methods to monitor the quality of the analyses performed by the laboratories. In the MEC, these methods include performing blind split samples collected on “dry run” sessions. In addition, contract laboratories randomly perform repeat testing on 2% of all specimens.

NCHS developed and distributed a quality control protocol for all the contract laboratories which outlined the use of Westgard rules (Westgard, et al. 1981) when running NHANES specimens. Progress reports containing any problems encountered during shipping or receipt of specimens, summary statistics for each control pool, QC graphs, instrument calibration, reagents, and any special considerations are submitted to NCHS quarterly. The reports are reviewed for trends or shifts in the data. The laboratories are required to explain any identified areas of concern.

All QC procedures recommended by the manufacturers were followed. Reported results for all assays meet the Division of Laboratory Science’s quality control and quality assurance performance criteria for accuracy and precision, similar to the Westgard rules (Caudill, et al., 2008).

Data Processing and Editing

The data were reviewed. Incomplete data or improbable values were sent to the performing laboratory for confirmation.

Analytic Notes

Refer to the 2009-2010 Laboratory Data Overview for general information on NHANES laboratory data.

Subsample weights

Measures of urinary PAHs were measured in a one third subsample of persons 6 years and older. Special sample weights are required to analyze these data properly. Specific sample weights for this subsample are included in this data file and should be used when analyzing these data.

Demographic and Other Related Variables

The analysis of NHANES laboratory data must be conducted with the key survey design and basic demographic variables. The NHANES Demographic Data File contains demographic and sample design variables. The recommended procedure for variance estimation requires use of stratum and PSU variables (SDMVSTRA and SDMVPSU, respectively) in the demographic data file. This laboratory data file can be linked to the other NHANES data files using the unique survey participant identifier SEQN.

Detection Limits

The detection limits were constant for all of the analytes in the data set. Two variables are provided for each of these analytes. The variable named URD___LC indicates whether the result was below the limit of detection. There are two values: “0” and “1”. “0” means that the result was at or above the limit of detection. “1” indicates that the result was below the limit of detection. The other variable named URX___ provides the analytic result for that analyte. For analytes with analytic results below the lower limit of detection (i.e., URD___LC=1), an imputed fill value was placed in the analyte results field. This value is the lower limit of detection divided by square root of 2 (LLOD/sqrt(2)).

The lower limit of detection (LLOD, in ng/L) for urinary PAHs is:


Analyte	Item ID	LLOD
Urinary 2-Hydroxyfluorene	URXP04	10.0
Urinary 3-Hydroxyfluorene	URXP03	10.0
Urinary 9-Hydroxyfluorene	URXP17	10.0
Urinary 1-Hydroxyphenanthrene	URXP06	10.0
Urinary 2-Hydroxyphenanthrene	URXP07	10.0
Urinary 3-Hydroxyphenanthrene	URXP05	10.0
Urinary 1-Hydroxypyrene	URXP10	10.0
Urinary 1-Hydroxynapthalene (1-Naphthol)	URXP01	44.0
Urinary 2-Hydroxynapthalene (2-Naphthol)	URXP02	42.0
Urinary 4-Hydroxyphenanthrene	URXP19	10.0

Please refer to the NHANES Analytic Guidelines and the on-line NHANES Tutorial for further details on the use of sample weights and other analytic issues.

References

Caudill, S.P., Schleicher, R.L., Pirkle, J.L. Multi-rule quality control for the age-related eye disease study. Statist. Med. (2008) 27(20):4094-40106.
Li Z, Romanoff LC, Trinidad D, Hussain N, Porter EN, Jones RS, Patterson Jr DG, Sjodin A. 2006. Measurement of Urinary Mono-Hydroxylated Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Using Automated Liquid-Liquid Extraction and Isotope Dilution Gas Chromatography/High Resolution Mass Spectrometry. Anal Chem 78:5744-5751.
Romanoff LC, Li Z, Young KJ, Blakely NC, Patterson DG, Jr., Sandau CD. 2006. Automated Solid-Phase Extraction Method for Measuring Urinary Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Metabolites in Human Biomonitoring using Isotope-Dilution Gas Chromatography High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci 835:47-54.
Westgard JO, Barry PL, Hunt MR, Groth T. A multi-rule Shewhart chart for quality control in clinical chemistry. Clin Chem. 1981 Mar; 27(3):493-501.

Codebook and Frequencies

SEQN - Respondent sequence number

Variable Name:: SEQN
SAS Label:: Respondent sequence number
English Text:: Respondent sequence number.
Target:: Both males and females 6 YEARS - 150 YEARS

WTSB2YR - Subsample B Weights

Variable Name:: WTSB2YR
SAS Label:: Subsample B Weights
English Text:: Subsample B Weights
Target:: Both males and females 6 YEARS - 150 YEARS

Code or Value	Value Description	Count	Cumulative	Skip to Item
0 to 426061.06902	Range of Values	2819	2819
.	Missing	0	2819

URXP01 - 1-hydroxynaphthalene (ng/L)

Variable Name:: URXP01
SAS Label:: 1-hydroxynaphthalene (ng/L)
English Text:: 1-hydroxynaphthalene (ng/L)
Target:: Both males and females 6 YEARS - 150 YEARS

Code or Value	Value Description	Count	Cumulative	Skip to Item
55 to 11664396	Range of Values	2747	2747
.	Missing	72	2819

URDP01LC - 1-hydroxynaphthalene comment code

Variable Name:: URDP01LC
SAS Label:: 1-hydroxynaphthalene comment code
English Text:: 1-hydroxynaphthalene comment code
Target:: Both males and females 6 YEARS - 150 YEARS

Code or Value	Value Description	Count	Cumulative
0	At or above the detection limit	2747	2747
1	Below lower detection limit	0	2747
.	Missing	72	2819

URXP02 - 2-hydroxynaphthalene (ng/L)

Variable Name:: URXP02
SAS Label:: 2-hydroxynaphthalene (ng/L)
English Text:: 2-hydroxynaphthalene (ng/L)
Target:: Both males and females 6 YEARS - 150 YEARS

Code or Value	Value Description	Count	Cumulative	Skip to Item
127 to 102128	Range of Values	2747	2747
.	Missing	72	2819

URDP02LC - 2-hydroxynaphthalene comment code

Variable Name:: URDP02LC
SAS Label:: 2-hydroxynaphthalene comment code
English Text:: 2-hydroxynaphthalene comment code
Target:: Both males and females 6 YEARS - 150 YEARS

Code or Value	Value Description	Count	Cumulative
0	At or above the detection limit	2747	2747
1	below lower detection limit	0	2747
.	Missing	72	2819

URXP03 - 3-hydroxyfluorene (ng/L)

Variable Name:: URXP03
SAS Label:: 3-hydroxyfluorene (ng/L)
English Text:: 3-hydroxyfluorene (ng/L)
Target:: Both males and females 6 YEARS - 150 YEARS

Code or Value	Value Description	Count	Cumulative	Skip to Item
7.1 to 5718	Range of Values	2744	2744
.	Missing	75	2819

URDP03LC - 3-hydroxyfluorene comment code

Variable Name:: URDP03LC
SAS Label:: 3-hydroxyfluorene comment code
English Text:: 3-hydroxyfluorene comment code
Target:: Both males and females 6 YEARS - 150 YEARS

Code or Value	Value Description	Count	Cumulative
0	At or above the detection limit	2707	2707
1	Below lower detection limit	37	2744
.	Missing	75	2819

URXP04 - 2-hydroxyfluorene (ng/L)

Variable Name:: URXP04
SAS Label:: 2-hydroxyfluorene (ng/L)
English Text:: 2-hydroxyfluorene (ng/L)
Target:: Both males and females 6 YEARS - 150 YEARS

Code or Value	Value Description	Count	Cumulative	Skip to Item
11 to 14823	Range of Values	2747	2747
.	Missing	72	2819

URDP04LC - 2-hydroxyfluorene comment code

Variable Name:: URDP04LC
SAS Label:: 2-hydroxyfluorene comment code
English Text:: 2-hydroxyfluorene comment code
Target:: Both males and females 6 YEARS - 150 YEARS

Code or Value	Value Description	Count	Cumulative
0	At or above the detection limit	2747	2747
1	Below lower detection limit	0	2747
.	Missing	72	2819

URXP05 - 3-hydroxyphenanthrene (ng/L)

Variable Name:: URXP05
SAS Label:: 3-hydroxyphenanthrene (ng/L)
English Text:: 3-hydroxyphenanthrene (ng/L)
Target:: Both males and females 6 YEARS - 150 YEARS

Code or Value	Value Description	Count	Cumulative	Skip to Item
7.1 to 2314	Range of Values	2746	2746
.	Missing	73	2819

URDP05LC - 3-hydroxyphenanthrene comment code

Variable Name:: URDP05LC
SAS Label:: 3-hydroxyphenanthrene comment code
English Text:: 3-hydroxyphenanthrene comment code
Target:: Both males and females 6 YEARS - 150 YEARS

Code or Value	Value Description	Count	Cumulative
0	At or above the detection limit	2705	2705
1	Below lower detection limit	41	2746
.	Missing	73	2819

URXP06 - 1-hydroxyphenanthrene (ng/L)

Variable Name:: URXP06
SAS Label:: 1-hydroxyphenanthrene (ng/L)
English Text:: 1-hydroxyphenanthrene (ng/L)
Target:: Both males and females 6 YEARS - 150 YEARS

Code or Value	Value Description	Count	Cumulative	Skip to Item
7.1 to 5864	Range of Values	2746	2746
.	Missing	73	2819

URDP06LC - 1-hydroxyphenanthrene comment code

Variable Name:: URDP06LC
SAS Label:: 1-hydroxyphenanthrene comment code
English Text:: 1-hydroxyphenanthrene comment code
Target:: Both males and females 6 YEARS - 150 YEARS

Code or Value	Value Description	Count	Cumulative
0	At or above the detection limit	2740	2740
1	Below lower detection limit	6	2746
.	Missing	73	2819

URXP07 - 2-hydroxyphenanthrene (ng/L)

Variable Name:: URXP07
SAS Label:: 2-hydroxyphenanthrene (ng/L)
English Text:: 2-hydroxyphenanthrene (ng/L)
Target:: Both males and females 6 YEARS - 150 YEARS

Code or Value	Value Description	Count	Cumulative	Skip to Item
7.1 to 2646	Range of Values	2744	2744
.	Missing	75	2819

URDP07LC - 2-hydroxyphenanthrene comment code

Variable Name:: URDP07LC
SAS Label:: 2-hydroxyphenanthrene comment code
English Text:: 2-hydroxyphenanthrene comment code
Target:: Both males and females 6 YEARS - 150 YEARS

Code or Value	Value Description	Count	Cumulative
0	At or above the detection limit	2710	2710
1	Below lower detection limit	34	2744
.	Missing	75	2819

URXP10 - 1-hydroxypyrene (ng/L)

Variable Name:: URXP10
SAS Label:: 1-hydroxypyrene (ng/L)
English Text:: 1-hydroxypyrene (ng/L)
Target:: Both males and females 6 YEARS - 150 YEARS

Code or Value	Value Description	Count	Cumulative	Skip to Item
7.1 to 8523	Range of Values	2746	2746
.	Missing	73	2819

URDP10LC - 1-hydroxypyrene comment code

Variable Name:: URDP10LC
SAS Label:: 1-hydroxypyrene comment code
English Text:: 1-hydroxypyrene comment code
Target:: Both males and females 6 YEARS - 150 YEARS

Code or Value	Value Description	Count	Cumulative
0	At or above the detection limit	2729	2729
1	Below lower detection limit	17	2746
.	Missing	73	2819

URXP17 - 9-hydroxyfluorene (ng/L)

Variable Name:: URXP17
SAS Label:: 9-hydroxyfluorene (ng/L)
English Text:: 9-hydroxyfluorene (ng/L)
Target:: Both males and females 6 YEARS - 150 YEARS

Code or Value	Value Description	Count	Cumulative	Skip to Item
7.1 to 50872	Range of Values	2747	2747
.	Missing	72	2819

URDP17LC - 9-hydroxyfluorene comment code

Variable Name:: URDP17LC
SAS Label:: 9-hydroxyfluorene comment code
English Text:: 9-hydroxyfluorene comment code
Target:: Both males and females 6 YEARS - 150 YEARS

Code or Value	Value Description	Count	Cumulative
0	At or above the detection limit	2746	2746
1	Below lower detection limit	1	2747
.	Missing	72	2819

URXUCR - Urinary creatinine

Variable Name:: URXUCR
SAS Label:: Urinary creatinine
English Text:: Urinary creatinine
Target:: Both males and females 6 YEARS - 150 YEARS

Code or Value	Value Description	Count	Cumulative	Skip to Item
4 to 749	Range of Values	2757	2757
.	Missing	62	2819

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