Characterizing Subjects Exposed to Humidifier Disinfectants Using Computed-Tomography-Based Latent Traits: A Deep Learning Approach.

Journal: International journal of environmental research and public health
Published Date: Sep 20, 2022

Abstract

Around nine million people have been exposed to toxic humidifier disinfectants (HDs) in Korea. HD exposure may lead to HD-associated lung injuries (HDLI). However, many people who have claimed that they experienced HD exposure were not diagnosed with HDLI but still felt discomfort, possibly due to the unknown effects of HD. Therefore, this study examined HD-exposed subjects with normal-appearing lungs, as well as unexposed subjects, in clusters (subgroups) with distinct characteristics, classified by deep-learning-derived computed-tomography (CT)-based tissue pattern latent traits. Among the major clusters, cluster 0 (C0) and cluster 5 (C5) were dominated by HD-exposed and unexposed subjects, respectively. C0 was characterized by features attributable to lung inflammation or fibrosis in contrast with C5. The computational fluid and particle dynamics (CFPD) analysis suggested that the smaller airway sizes observed in the C0 subjects led to greater airway resistance and particle deposition in the airways. Accordingly, women appeared more vulnerable to HD-associated lung abnormalities than men.

Authors

  • Frank Li
    Roy J. Carver Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
  • Jiwoong Choi
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
  • Xuan Zhang
  • Prathish K Rajaraman
    IIHR-Hydroscience & Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
  • Chang-Hyun Lee
    Department of Radiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
  • Hongseok Ko
    Department of Radiology, Seoul National College of Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03080, Korea (H.C., S.H.Y., S.J.P., C.M.P., J.H.L., H. Kim, E.J.H., S.J.Y., J.G.N., C.H.L., J.M.G.); CHESS Center, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China (Q.X., J.L.); Department of Radiology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Gyeonggi-do, Korea (K.H.L.); Department of Internal Medicine, Incheon Medical Center, Incheon, Korea (J.Y.K.); Department of Radiology, Seoul Medical Center, Seoul, Korea (Y.K.L.); Department of Radiology, National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea (H. Ko); Department of Radiology, Myongji Hospital, Gyeonggi-do, Korea (K.H.K.); and Department of Radiology, Chonnam National University Hospital, Gwanju, Korea (Y.H.K.).
  • Kum-Ju Chae
    Department of Radiology, Jeonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju 560-011, Korea.
  • Eun-Kee Park
    Department of Medical Humanities and Social Medicine, College of Medicine, Kosin University, Busan, Republic of Korea.
  • Alejandro P Comellas
    Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242.
  • Eric A Hoffman
  • Ching-Long Lin
    Roy J. Carver Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.

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