Published December 2, 2025 | Version v1
Directed Acyclic Graph Open

Causal relationship between micro- and nanoplastics and lung function

Contributors

  • 1 University Medical Center Utrecht

Visualisation

Description

The study quantified micro- and nanoplastic (MNP) exposure in young adults by analyzing whole-blood samples using pyrolysis gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (1). Lung function—specifically forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁) and forced vital capacity (FVC)—was assessed through standardized spirometry following international recommendations as previously done in the PIAMA cohort (2). For the statistical models, the minimally sufficient adjustment set included age, sex, height, and weight at the time of blood collection. The fully adjusted models additionally accounted for recent respiratory infections within the preceding three weeks (yes/no), the participant’s educational attainment (higher vocational education or university, yes/no), parental educational attainment (at least one parent with higher vocational education or university, yes/no), and active smoking (>1×/week, yes/no). Participant educational attainment and parental educational attainment are included together in the DAG to represent socioeconomic position (SEP).


1. Shao K, Zou R, Zhang Z, Mandemaker LDB, Timbie S, Smith RD, et al. Advancements in Assays for Micro- and Nanoplastic Detection: Paving the Way for Biomonitoring and Exposomics Studies. Annu Rev Pharmacol Toxicol. 2025;65(1):567-85.
2. Milanzi EB, Koppelman GH, Smit HA, Wijga AH, Oldenwening M, Vonk JM, et al. Air pollution exposure and lung function until age 16 years: the PIAMA birth cohort study. European Respiratory Journal. 2018;52(3).


Abbreviations: MNPs, Micro- and nanoplastics; SEP, Socioeconomic Position

Variables

9 nodes
  • MNPs Exposure No description
  • Lung function Outcome No description
  • Respiratory Infection No description
  • SEP (participant and parental education) No description
  • Age No description
  • Height No description
  • Sex No description
  • Smoking No description
  • Weight No description

Relationships

14 edges

  • Respiratory Infection Lung function
  • Respiratory Infection MNPs
  • SEP (participant and parental education) Lung function
  • SEP (participant and parental education) MNPs
  • SEP (participant and parental education) Smoking
  • SEP (participant and parental education) Weight
  • Age Lung function
  • Height Lung function
  • MNPs Lung function
  • Sex Lung function
  • Smoking Lung function
  • Smoking Respiratory Infection
  • Smoking MNPs
  • Weight Lung function

Read across: each marked cell is an edge from the row's variable to the column's.

  • No sign given
  • Directed
MNPsLung function Respiratory InfectionSEP (participant and parental education)AgeHeightSexSmokingWeight
MNPs
Lung function
Respiratory Infection
SEP (participant and parental education)
Age
Height
Sex
Smoking
Weight

Code

Submitted as opencausal_6lwex6ix.txt. Also available as:

This JSON follows CausalJSON 0.2, the Open Causal Graph Format.

{
  "$schema": "https://opencausal.org/causaljson/0.2/causaljson.schema.json",
  "graph": {
    "id": "6lwex6ix",
    "doi": "10.83031/6lwex6ix",
    "version": 1,
    "title": "Causal relationship between micro- and nanoplastics and lung function",
    "description": "The study quantified micro- and nanoplastic (MNP) exposure in young adults by analyzing whole-blood samples using pyrolysis gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (1). Lung function—specifically forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁) and forced vital capacity (FVC)—was assessed through standardized spirometry following international recommendations as previously done in the PIAMA cohort (2). For the statistical models, the minimally sufficient adjustment set included age, sex, height, and weight at the time of blood collection. The fully adjusted models additionally accounted for recent respiratory infections within the preceding three weeks (yes/no), the participant’s educational attainment (higher vocational education or university, yes/no), parental educational attainment (at least one parent with higher vocational education or university, yes/no), and active smoking (>1×/week, yes/no). Participant educational attainment and parental educational attainment are included together in the DAG to represent socioeconomic position (SEP). \r\n\r\n\r\n1.\tShao K, Zou R, Zhang Z, Mandemaker LDB, Timbie S, Smith RD, et al. Advancements in Assays for Micro- and Nanoplastic Detection: Paving the Way for Biomonitoring and Exposomics Studies. Annu Rev Pharmacol Toxicol. 2025;65(1):567-85.\r\n2.\tMilanzi EB, Koppelman GH, Smit HA, Wijga AH, Oldenwening M, Vonk JM, et al. Air pollution exposure and lung function until age 16 years: the PIAMA birth cohort study. European Respiratory Journal. 2018;52(3).\r\n\r\n\r\nAbbreviations: MNPs, Micro- and nanoplastics; SEP, Socioeconomic Position",
    "type": "dag",
    "created": "2025-12-02T10:30:30+00:00",
    "authors": [
      {
        "given_name": "Amanda",
        "family_name": "Durkin",
        "orcid": "0009-0001-4022-6464",
        "affiliations": [
          {
            "name": "University Medical Center Utrecht"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "submitter": {
      "given_name": "Amanda",
      "family_name": "Durkin",
      "orcid": "0009-0001-4022-6464"
    },
    "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
    "rights_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode",
    "publisher": "Open Causal",
    "language": "en",
    "layout": {
      "coordinate_system": "screen"
    }
  },
  "nodes": [
    {
      "id": "Lung_function",
      "label": "Lung function ",
      "role": "outcome",
      "position": {
        "x": 1.4,
        "y": 1.621
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "Respiratory_Infection",
      "label": "Respiratory Infection",
      "position": {
        "x": -1.085,
        "y": 0.823
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "SEP_participant_and_parental_education",
      "label": "SEP (participant and parental education)",
      "position": {
        "x": -1.069,
        "y": -0.48
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "Age",
      "label": "Age",
      "position": {
        "x": 1.248,
        "y": 0.283
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "Height",
      "label": "Height",
      "position": {
        "x": 1.076,
        "y": 0.286
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "MNPs",
      "label": "MNPs",
      "role": "exposure",
      "position": {
        "x": -2.2,
        "y": 1.597
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "Sex",
      "label": "Sex",
      "position": {
        "x": 1.426,
        "y": 0.28
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "Smoking",
      "label": "Smoking",
      "position": {
        "x": -1.079,
        "y": 0.334
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "Weight",
      "label": "Weight",
      "position": {
        "x": 0.891,
        "y": 0.291
      }
    }
  ],
  "edges": [
    {
      "source": "Respiratory_Infection",
      "target": "Lung_function",
      "type": "directed"
    },
    {
      "source": "Respiratory_Infection",
      "target": "MNPs",
      "type": "directed"
    },
    {
      "source": "SEP_participant_and_parental_education",
      "target": "Lung_function",
      "type": "directed"
    },
    {
      "source": "SEP_participant_and_parental_education",
      "target": "MNPs",
      "type": "directed"
    },
    {
      "source": "SEP_participant_and_parental_education",
      "target": "Smoking",
      "type": "directed"
    },
    {
      "source": "SEP_participant_and_parental_education",
      "target": "Weight",
      "type": "directed"
    },
    {
      "source": "Age",
      "target": "Lung_function",
      "type": "directed"
    },
    {
      "source": "Height",
      "target": "Lung_function",
      "type": "directed"
    },
    {
      "source": "MNPs",
      "target": "Lung_function",
      "type": "directed"
    },
    {
      "source": "Sex",
      "target": "Lung_function",
      "type": "directed"
    },
    {
      "source": "Smoking",
      "target": "Lung_function",
      "type": "directed"
    },
    {
      "source": "Smoking",
      "target": "Respiratory_Infection",
      "type": "directed"
    },
    {
      "source": "Smoking",
      "target": "MNPs",
      "type": "directed"
    },
    {
      "source": "Weight",
      "target": "Lung_function",
      "type": "directed"
    }
  ]
}
source,target,edge_type
Respiratory_Infection,Lung_function,directed
Respiratory_Infection,MNPs,directed
SEP_participant_and_parental_education,Lung_function,directed
SEP_participant_and_parental_education,MNPs,directed
SEP_participant_and_parental_education,Smoking,directed
SEP_participant_and_parental_education,Weight,directed
Age,Lung_function,directed
Height,Lung_function,directed
MNPs,Lung_function,directed
Sex,Lung_function,directed
Smoking,Lung_function,directed
Smoking,Respiratory_Infection,directed
Smoking,MNPs,directed
Weight,Lung_function,directed
dag {
Lung_function [outcome,label="Lung function ",pos="1.4,1.621"]
Respiratory_Infection [label="Respiratory Infection",pos="-1.085,0.823"]
SEP_participant_and_parental_education [label="SEP (participant and parental education)",pos="-1.069,-0.48"]
Age [pos="1.248,0.283"]
Height [pos="1.076,0.286"]
MNPs [exposure,pos="-2.2,1.597"]
Sex [pos="1.426,0.28"]
Smoking [pos="-1.079,0.334"]
Weight [pos="0.891,0.291"]
Respiratory_Infection -> Lung_function
Respiratory_Infection -> MNPs
SEP_participant_and_parental_education -> Lung_function
SEP_participant_and_parental_education -> MNPs
SEP_participant_and_parental_education -> Smoking
SEP_participant_and_parental_education -> Weight
Age -> Lung_function
Height -> Lung_function
MNPs -> Lung_function
Sex -> Lung_function
Smoking -> Lung_function
Smoking -> Respiratory_Infection
Smoking -> MNPs
Weight -> Lung_function
}

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