Currently submitted to: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Jan 29, 2025
Open Peer Review Period: Feb 3, 2025 - Mar 31, 2025
(currently open for review)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Prenatal, childhood and adolescent exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds and Health Outcomes: A Scoping Review protocol to Map the Level of Evidence
ABSTRACT
Background:
VOCs are a diverse group of organic chemicals with widespread presence in daily life. VOCs may have detrimental health effects on humans, particularly during critical periods such as pregnancy, childhood, and adolescence.
Objective:
This ongoing scoping review aims to map the current evidence concerning exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and associations with pregnancy outcomes and health during pregnancy, childhood, and adolescence.
Methods:
This review will consider studies investigating potential health effects related to exposures to either total VOCs or any of the following six specific VOCs: Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Xylene, Trichloroethylene (TCE), and Tetrachloroethylene/perchloroethylene (PCE) during critical windows from pregnancy through adolescence. Original articles published in English from January 1, 2000, through the end of the scoping review period, will be included. This review will follow the JBI methodology for scoping reviews, and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). The literature search will use Ovid Medline, Embase, and Web of Science databases. Two reviewers will screen and extract the information separately; in case of discrepancy, both will discuss to reach a consensus, and a third reviewer may intervene if needed. Reviewers will provide commentaries of their findings from the included studies and suggest areas of interest for future studies.
Results:
The literature search yielded 7332 citations with screening underway. After data extraction and a complementary literature search, the results will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
Conclusions:
The results are expected to summarize the current state of knowledge on the association of VOCs with health at critical life stages (pregnancy, childhood, and adolescence). We anticipate identifying gaps in the literature as well that could guide future research priorities. Clinical Trial: Protocol registration (Open Science Framework): https://osf.io/ep73g
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