• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.46 no.2
• /
• pp.214-223
• /
• 2020

Objectives: The aim of this study is to identify temporal trends in urinary cotinine levels and exposure factors among Non-smokers in Korean adults. Methods: Biological samples and questionnaire data were collected from representative Korean adults recruited in the Korean National Environmental Health Survey from 2009 to 2017. Multiple regression analysis was performed to determine the factors affecting urinary cotinine concentrations of non-smokers. Results: The urinary cotinine levels of Korean non-smokers decreased in Cycle 2 (1.04 ㎍/L, 2012-2014) compared to Cycle 1 (1.93 ㎍/L, 2009-2011) but increased slightly in Cycle 3 (1.37 ㎍/L, 2015-2017). Among the diverse variables, the main factors of cotinine exposure were secondhand smoke exposure and the presence of smokers in the family. Conclusions: The results of this study identified temporal trends in cotinine exposure among non-smokers in the Korean adult population. These findings will be used to develop further assessment and environmental health policies on secondhand smoke exposure.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
• /
• v.5 no.3_4
• /
• pp.47-56
• /
• 1990

Smoking damages nonsmoker's health who have been exposed to passive smoking as well as smoker's own health. Passive smoking can cause serious health damage to particular groups, such as the old aged, children and pregnant women. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between nicotine concentrations in environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and urinary cotinine concentrations of nonsmokers exposed to ETS, and to provide basic information related to health risk assessment. The results of this study were summarized as follows: 1. When 180 cigarrette were smoked during S hours (high concentrations exposure) in 132 m$^3$chamber, mean concentrations of nicotine in ETS showed 263.52 $\mu\textrm{g}$/m$^3$${\pm}$51.93. When 45 cigarretts were smoked (low concentrations exposure), it was 69.43${\pm}$8.96 $\mu\textrm{g}$/m$^3$. 2. The urinary cotinine concentrations of each times (0, 2.5, 5, 17 and 24 hours) in nonsmokers ranged from 0.27∼12.52 ng/ml in high concentrations exposure and 0.22∼2.28 ng/ml in low concentrations exposure. Mean while the total urinary cotinine concentrations during 24 hours ranged from 11.62∼31.65 ng/ml in high concentrations exposure and 3.45∼5.64 ng/ml in low concentrations exposure. 3. The correlation equation and coefficient between cotinine concentrations in nonsmokers' urine (y) and nicotine concentrations in ETS (x) was y=0.421+0.0171x and 0:875 (p<0.01) respectively, 4. The quantity of nonsmokers' smoking exposure by passive smoking can be assumed as based on the estimation of nicotine concentrations in ETS by measuring cotinine concentrations of nonsmokers' urine.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.181-188
• /
• 2001

A gas chromatographic method was established for the simultaneous determination of urinary nicotine and cotinine. The analytes in basified urine containing a sufficient amount of Na$_2$S0$_4$were extracted into dichloromethane by vigorous shaking. Into the transferred organic phase was added a small amount of acidified methanol (0.5 N HCI in methanol), followed by concentrating the mixture to dryness using a mild stream of nitrogen gas. The concentrate was reconstituted with methanol and the final solution analyzed using the gas chromatograph equipped with the nitrogen-phosphorus detector. The reproducibility tests showed coefficients of variation less than 11％ for both compounds. The percent recovery for both analytes ranged from 88 to 103％. The estimated method detection limits for nicotine and cotinine were 0.60 and 5.1 ng/mL, respectively. Extraction efficiencies for both nicotine and cotinine apparently declined without the addition of Na$_2$S0$_4$into the urine. Moreover, the absence of methanolic HCI in the extract resulted in almost complete evaporation of nicotine and partial loss of cotinine during the concentration process, indicating that the formation of nicotine-HCI and cotinine-HCI species is prerequisite to the suppression of the loss of both compounds.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.269-276
• /
• 2001

Objectives : To evaluate the internal burden and hazardous effects associated with smoking in middle and high school students. Methods : We analysed urinary cotinine(U-cotinine) concentrations and the frequency of Sister Chromatid Exchanges (SCE). A comparison was done of U-cotinine concentrations and the frequency of SCE in peripheral lymphocytes across school levels (middle vs. high) and smoking types (direct: daily & occasional smoking, indirect; usual indirect & non-smoking), in 122 males. Results : The middle school student group comprised 6.8% daily smokers, 15.9% occasional smokers, 40.9% daily indirect smokers, and 35.4% nonsmokers, while the high school student group comprised 18.0%, 20.5%, 35.7%, and 21.8%, respectively. The U-cotinine concentration and the frequency of SCE among the middle school students were $79.11{\mu}g/l$ and 2.0 per cell, respectively, which were significantly lower than the $146.85{\mu}g/l$ (p=0.078) and 2.6 per cell (p=0.005) of the high school students. Among the 40 direct smokers, these two biomarkers were $236.66{\mu}g/l$ and 2.59 per cell, significantly higher than the $67.33{\mu}g/l$ (p=0.0001) and 2.1 per cell (p=0.003) among indirect smoking groups. The variation in individual U-cotinine concentration ranged widely in both the indirect and direct smoking groups. Conclusion : Urinary cotinine concentrations and the frequency of Sister Chromatid Exchange seem to objectively and effectively evaluate student exposure whether it was direct or indirect smoking. Consequently, these biomarkers may be useful in monitoring the objective efficacy of anti-smoking programs in adolescent populations.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.40 no.6
• /
• pp.492-501
• /
• 2014

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the validity of self-reported cigarette smoking status and investigate factors associated with the accuracy self-reported and measured urinary cotinine in Korean adults. Methods: We used data from the $1^{st}$ Korean National Environmental Health Survey (2009-2011) among adults aged ${\geq}19$ years (N=6,246). The survey examined self-reported smoking status, and urinary cotinine was regarded as the biomarker of exposure to tobacco smoke. Urinary cotinine was analyzed using a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and data analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS version 20.0, which uses the sample weight and calculates variance estimates to adjust for the unequal probability of selection into the survey. Results: We calculated a cut-off point (53.3 ug/L) by using a ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic) curve. The smoking prevalence was 24.6% based on self-reported data and 28.2% based on urinary cotinine concentrations. When we assessed the agreement between self-reported and urinary cotinine, we found an average agreement of 97.7% among self-reported smokers and 94.5% among self-reported non-smokers. Among self-reported smokers, factors affected the discrepancy were age, household economic status and average number of cigarettes smoked per day. On the other hand, gender, former smoking experience, and exposure to SHS (second hand smoke) were associated with discrepancies among self-reported non-smokers. Conclusion: These results suggest that self-reported data on smoking status provide a valid estimate of actual smoking status. In future research, we will conduct a continuous monitoring study for reliability verification of the data to reduce potential interpretation errors.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.37-45
• /
• 2007

Purpose: A diverse range of measurement methods to evaluate the effect of smoking is more powerful than using a single measure. The objectives of this study were to examine the relationships among smoking pack year, self-reported smoking dependence, and urinary cotinine levels, and to investigate the psychological variables in working men. Method: In this cross-sectional study, we surveyed men working in an electronic company who participated in a smoking cessation program. Among 57 men who completed questionnaires, 25 participate in a test for cotinine levels. Results: Smoking pack year was significantly and positively correlated with the FTND-K (Korean version of Fagerstrom test for nicotine dependence) sum scores (r=0.631, p=0.000) and with the levels of urine cotinine (r=0.463, p=0.023). The relationship between FTND-K sum scores and urinary cotinine levels was also significantly positive (r=0.639, p=0.001). Those with higher social support, especially family support, tended to perceive a higher self-efficacy to smoking cessation. Conclusion: These findings suggest that self-reported smoking pack year and nicotine dependence in working men may be a valid way to evaluate the effect of smoking. A supportive family may influence smoking cessation in working men as it increases self-efficacy to avoid smoking.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Tobacco Science
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.40-45
• /
• 1997

This study was conducted to evaluate the personal effects of tobacco smoke and environmental tobacco smoke(ETS) by measuring the concentration of nicotine and cotinine in the urine. While 129 urine samples were being collected, Personal characteristics such as sex, age, number of years since a Person has been a smoker, average consumption number of cigarettes per day, and number of smoker in family were also surveyed. Collected urine samples were used for analysis of nicotine and cotinine by GC/NPD after Passing the extrelut column. In the urine of the smoker, the average contents of nicotine and cotinine were 5.38$\mu\textrm{g}$/ml and 3.14 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml, respectively. The average contents of nicotine and cotinine were 0.18$\mu\textrm{g}$/ml and 0.07$\mu\textrm{g}$/ml in the urine of male non-smoker, respectively. The contents of nicotine and cotinine in the non-smoker's urine were dependent on sex and age. On the other hand, the contents of nicotine and cotinine in smoker's urine were dependent on average consumption amount of cigarettes per day. Also, there was a direct relation between nicotine levels in the smoker's urine and the average consumption number of cigarettes Per day of smoker. The Possible sources of nicotine and cotinine in the non-smoker's urine seemed to be caused by food, beverage and En, Our results indicate that the number of smoker in family had no effect on increasing nicotine and cotinine contents in the urine of non-smoker.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Health Society Conference
• /
• 2002.04a
• /
• pp.6-8
• /
• 2002

Many adolescents stay long time in the PC game room and are exposed to much of tobacco smoke. To evaluate the effect of passive smoking in the PC game room, airborne nicotine concentrations and urinary cotinine concentrations were measured for 20 adolescents at 2 PC game rooms in Sung-nam city. And the subjects were interviewed for duration and time in PC game room and smoking pattern. Subjects are composed of each of 10 smokers(5 males and 5 females) and 10 non-smokers(5 males and 5 females). They stayed for three hours in the PC game room without smoking. Concentrations of nicotine in smokers and non-smokers were 129.72 $\mu\textrm{g}$/㎥ and 99.99 $\mu\textrm{g}$/㎥, respectively. Urinary cotinine concentrations were increased as time goes on after exposure to nicotine and showed maximum value at 9.45 hours after nicotine exposure and were 32.21 and 110.66 $\mu\textrm{g}$/L for non-smoker and smokers. Urinary cotinine has a tendency to be increased by passive smoking. Therefore, it is recommended that the effective control for indoor air quality and extensive research be needed to reduce nicotine concentration by passive smoking in the PC game room.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.11
• /
• pp.6807-6812
• /
• 2013

Background: Lung cancer is a major cause of Korean female mortality and is clearly associated with smoking. The Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES IV-2,3), which included both self-reports of smoking and urinary cotinine data, revealed a significant discrepancy between the prevalence of self-reported and biochemically-verified female smokers. The factors associated with accurate self-reporting of current smoking status remain poorly understood, however. Materials and Methods: We assessed the prevalence of smoking in KNHANES using both self-report and urinary cotinine data. Subsequently, using univariate and multivariate tests, we assessed whether age, intensity of smoking, marital status, relationship with cohabitants, education, occupation, residential area, or annual household income were associated with inaccurate self-reporting in Korean females. We also investigated whether the prevalence of inaccurate self-reports changed over the survey period, 2008-2009. Results: The prevalence of self-reported smoking was 47.8% in males and 6.6% in females. By contrast, the prevalence of smoking as assessed by urinary cotinine levels was 52.2% in males and 14.5% in females. Of the 746 females with urinary cotinine levels >50ng/ml, 407 (56.0%) provided inaccurate self-reports. In a multivariate model, age group(40-49: OR 3.54, 95%CI 1.42-8.86, p=0.007; ref :20-29), cotinine intensity(OR 0.999, 95%CI 0.998-0.999, p<0.001), marital status (married but without spouse: OR 0.37, 95%CI 0.15-0.94, p=0.037; ref :never married), relationship with cohabitants (living with a spouse and unmarried child: OR 2.63, 95%CI 1.44-4.80, p=0.002; living with 2 generations except unmarried child: OR 2.53, 95%CI 1.09-5.87, p=0.030; living with ${\geq}3$ generations: OR 3.25, 95%CI 1.48-7.10, p=0.003; ref :spouse only) and education(college or higher: OR 2.73, 95%CI 1.04-7.18, p=0.042; ref :elementary or less) were independently associated with inaccurate self-reports. Conclusions: The trend of smoking prevalence of Korean females is likely to decrease. However, an elevated prevalence of inaccurate self-reports by females remains. Factors related to the intensity of smoking and family status appear to influence whether a Korean female provides an accurate self-report when asked about smoking behavior.

• Biomedical Science Letters
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.143-152
• /
• 2005

To investigate the exposure effect of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), we analyzed the relationship between urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) concentration and PAHs exposure. The study population contained 44 workers in steel-pipe coating and paint manufacture industries. We measured airborne total PAHs as an external dose, urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) as an internal dose of PAHs exposure, and urinary 8-OHdG as an effective dose of oxidative DNA damage. There was significant correlation between the urinary concentration of l-OHP and the environmental concentration of PAHs, pyrene, urinary cotinine, AST, and GGT. The mean of urinary 8-OHdG was $17.07\pm1.706{\mu}g/g$ creatinine in workers exposed to airborne PAHs. There was significant correlation between the urinary concentration of 8-0HdG and the airborne concentration of PAHs. From the results of stepwise multiple regression analysis about 8-OHdG, significant independents was total PAHs. In this study, there were significant correlation between the urinary concentration of 8-OHdG and the airborne concentration of PAHs. The urinary 1-OHP was effective index as a biomarker of airborne PAHs in workplace. But it was influenced by non-occupational PAHs source, smoking and biomarkers of liver function test.