Dietary Acrylamide Exposure and Hemoglobin Adducts – National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2003–04)

The objective of this study is to evaluate the relationship between dietary AA and hemoglobin adducts using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES, 2003–04). Measured acrylamide (AA–Hb) and glycidamide (Gly–Hb) hemoglobin adducts for over 7000 participants >3 years, 24-h dietary recall, food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), lifestyle and demographic data, and anthropometric measurements are available from NHANES (2003–04). The 24-h dietary recall and FFQ data were combined with AA concentration data in food from the US FDA to estimate “usual” AA dietary exposure. The associations between dietary AA and AA–Hb and Gly–Hb were evaluated using linear regression models with smoking, age, gender, energy and macronutrient intake, body surface area, and activity level as covariates. Dietary AA positively correlates with AA–Hb and Gly–Hb (p < 0.05) but the correlation is small (R-Squared < 3.5%). Relative to the background adduct levels, the incremental increase in AA–Hb and Gly–Hb from average dietary AA is small (7% and 9% for AA–Hb and Gly–Hb, respectively). Non-dietary sources of exposure, measurement errors associated with the use of the FFQ, and uncertainty in the data on AA levels in foods are possible explanations for the observed lack of association between dietary AA and AA–Hb and Gly–Hb.