Gender differences in sensitization to formaldehyde among urban adolescents in relation to parental chemical exposure

BACKGROUND: The burden of sensitization and allergies increases every year. The development of allergopathology can be influenced by various external factors, including the exposure of parents to chemical compounds with the subsequent impact on the child's health. AIM: to identify gender differences in sensitization to formaldehyde among adolescents of industrial cities in relation to parental chemical exposure. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on a sample of 800 adolescents who were exposed to varying levels of formaldehyde inhalation. We assessed the serum levels of total immunoglobulin E (IgE) and the concentration of formaldehyde in urine among 340 participants who met the inclusion criteria. Additionally, the sensitization to formaldehyde was evaluated using the leukocytes migration inhibition test (LMIT) with this compound. Furthermore, the personalized hazard indices (HQfa) of formaldehyde exposure were calculated. RESULTS: Urine formaldehyde concentration exceeded the reference values in 89.7% of the study participants. Elevated concentrations of IgE were more common among boys (35.4% vs. 21.9%). The highest concentrations of IgE [70.0 (4.0138.9) mU/ml] were observed in boys with HQfa 1 with the history of parental chemical exposure. It was 3.8 times as high as in girls [18.5 (1.853.4) mU/ml]. The proportion of boys with altered LMIT and HQfa 1 was greater in the group of adolescents with exposed parents (66.7%) compared to 13.3% among their counterparts with unexposed parents. The proportion of LMIT alterations in girls with HQfa 1 was 66.7% with exposed parents which is 3 times higher as high as among girls with unexposed parents (22.8%). The relative risk of sensitization to formaldehyde in boys with HQfa 1, whose parents had no pre-conceptional industrial contact with chemical compounds, was 3 times as high as in girls [OR (CI) = 3.01 (1.326.88)] under the same chemical load. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of formaldehyde sensitization was greater among adolescent boys compared to girls. Pre-gestational parental chemical exposure was not associated with sensitization levels in regression analysis. This finding highlights the importance of considering variations in adolescent body sensitization to pollutants when developing diagnostic, preventive, and therapeutic strategies with the further going aim to reduce the burden of allergopathology and contribute to better health of the population.