RESEARCH ARTICLE Respiratory health assessment and exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Mexican indigenous population Maribel Rodríguez-Aguilar 1 & Lorena Díaz de León-Martínez 1 & Sofía García-Luna 1 & Alejandro Gómez-Gómez 2 & Ana Karen González-Palomo 1 & Francisco Javier Pérez-Vázquez 3 & Fernando Díaz-Barriga 1 & Joyce Trujillo 4 & Rogelio Flores-Ramírez 3 Received: 28 February 2019 /Accepted: 4 June 2019 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2019 Abstract Indoor air pollution is an important risk factor for the generation of lung diseases in developing countries. The indigenous population is particularly susceptible to be exposed to the mixture of pollutants from the biomass burning, among them, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The objective of this study was to assess respiratory health and exposure to PAHs in indigenous populations of the Huasteca Potosina in Mexico. The urinary metabolite 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) was evaluated by HPLC with fluorescence detector, the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV 1 ) and the FEV 1 /FVC ratio (forced vital capacity) by spirometry in the Teenek indigenous adult population of the communities from Tocoy (TOC), Xolol (XOL), and Tanjajnec (TAN). A total of 134 subjects participated in the study: 64 from TOC, 30 from XOL, and 40 from TAN; in all the communities, high percentages of overweight and obesity were presented (from 50 to 73%). The average hours of firewood usage per year were 281.06, 284.6, and 206.6 in TOC, XOL, and TAN, respectively. The average of the three communities of the % FEV 1 post-bronchodilator was 86.1%. There were identified from 4.5 to 6.6% and from 12.5 to 15.5% of spirometric obstructive and restrictive patterns respectively, in all communities. The highest exposure levels reported as median were found in TOC (1.15 μmol/mol of creatinine) followed by TAN (0.94 μmol/mol of creatinine) and XOL (0.65 μmol/mol of creatinine). Considering the magnitude of the indigenous population exposed to pollutants from the biomass burning and the possible effects on respiratory health, it is important to design strategies that mitigate exposure and evaluate the effectiveness through biological monitoring and effects. Keywords Indoor air pollution . Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons . 1-Hydroxypyrene . Respiratory health . Indigenous communities . Mexico Introduction Chronic lung diseases are one of the main public health prob- lems worldwide, causing more than 3 million deaths annually. The most frequent are chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, tuberculosis, acute respiratory infection, and lung cancer (ERS 2017). The most common risk factors for the development of lung diseases are tobacco smoking, second-hand tobacco smoke, indoor air pollutants, outdoor air pollutants, allergens, and occupational agents (Khaltaev 2017). The estimates of the World Health Organization indi- cate that more than 90% of deaths associated with lung dis- eases are in developing countries (WHO 2011) where one of the main causal factors are indoor air pollution (IAP) inflicted by the use of solid fuels (biomass), which are used as an energy source to heat dwellings and for cooking; these are factors that trigger lung diseases (Gordon et al. 2014). Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues * Rogelio Flores-Ramírez rfloresra@conacyt.mx 1 Centro de Investigación Aplicada en Ambiente y Salud, CIACYT, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Av. Venustiano Carranza 2405, CP 78210 San Luis Potosí, SLP, México 2 Servicio de Neumología, Hospital Central “Dr. Ignacio Morones Prieto”, San Luis Potosí, SLP, México 3 CONACYT Research Fellow, Coordinación para la Innovación y Aplicación de la Ciencia y la Tecnología (CIACYT), Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Avenida Sierra Leona No. 550, Colonia Lomas Segunda Sección, CP 78210 San Luis Potosí, SLP, México 4 CONACYT Research Fellow, Consorcio de Investigación Innovación y Desarrollo para la Zonas Áridas, Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica, Camino a la Presa San José 2055, CP 78216 San Luis Potosí, SLP, México Environmental Science and Pollution Research https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05687-w