Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Their Effects on the Occurrence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): A Review

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are among the most important compounds that cause adverse health outcomes in humans, such as poor lung function, bronchitis, asthma, shortness of breath, circulatory disorders, lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and mortality.

This review aims to investigate the effects of PAHs on the occurrence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

A narrative review of the literature was done from 1979 to 2021 in various databases: Science Direct, PubMed, Web of Science, Springer, and Google Scholar. We found 76 and 14 articles by searching the databases and other sources, respectively. Twelve articles were included after screening. The literature indicates the significant adverse effect of PAHs on the occurrence of COPD.

Heavy industries (oil, steel, gas, and petroleum) are the primary sources of PAHs. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons induce respiratory diseases, as they are destructive to the lung, leading to COPD. Sex, age, nutritional status, health, duration of exposure to PAHs, and body response to the pollutants affect the complications.

High PAH levels can increase the risk of COPD, respiratory diseases, and incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR).