{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,11,7]],"date-time":"2026-11-07T00:05:15Z","timestamp":1794009915154,"version":"4.8.0"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,30]],"date-time":"2025-11-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1764460800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Toxins"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Although ochratoxin A (OTA) contamination has been previously reported in Lebanon, this study is the first worldwide to assess its potential impact on renal health among adolescents aged 10 to 18 years. In this cross-sectional study, the aim was to evaluate the levels of OTA, OT\u03b1, and kidney injury biomarkers, as well as creatinuria and total proteinuria, while correlating these findings with dietary patterns. Urinary concentrations of OTA, its main metabolite ochratoxin \u03b1 (OTa), the three renal injury biomarkers (N-acetyl-\u03b2-D-glucosaminidase [NAG], Kidney Injury Molecule-1 [KIM-1], and human lipocalin-2 [NGAL]), and two renal function indicators (creatinine and total protein) were quantified. Associations between biomarker levels and dietary intake patterns were also evaluated. OTA and OT\u03b1 were detected in 14.2% and 59.5% of urine samples, respectively. NGAL and NAG were found in all participants at low concentrations, with the NAG-to-creatinine ratio exceeding the clinical threshold in 1.5% of samples, while KIM-1 was detected in 86% of participants. A weak positive correlation between urinary OT\u03b1 and NAG suggests subtle renal alterations possibly linked to OTA exposure. Correlations between biomarker levels and food consumption were generally weak and positive. Estimated dietary intake (EDI) of OTA generated from consumption patterns was shown to be less than the probable dietary intake (PDI) calculated from urinary OTA. However, this presented a limitation, as EDI was calculated from previous contamination data in Lebanon. Overall, these findings indicate that while renal injury biomarkers were present at low levels, they may reflect early kidney stress not yet manifesting as overt pathology and highlight the need for strengthened regulatory measures to limit OTA contamination in foods available on the Lebanese market and for longitudinal studies to confirm these preliminary findings.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/toxins17120577","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,5]],"date-time":"2025-12-05T16:37:02Z","timestamp":1764952622000},"page":"577","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Assessing Kidney Injury Biomarkers and OTA Exposure in Urine of Lebanese Adolescents Amid Economic Crisis and Evolving Dietary Patterns"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5805-9174","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rouaa","family":"Daou","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre d\u2019Analyses et de Recherche (CAR), Unit\u00e9 de Recherche Technologies et Valorisation Agro-Alimentaire (UR-TVA), Faculty of Sciences, Campus of Sciences and Technologies, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Beirut PO Box 17-5208, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7392-4835","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maha","family":"Hoteit","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"PHENOL Research Program, Faculty of Public Health, Section 1, Lebanese University, Beirut P.O. Box 6573, Lebanon"},{"name":"Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University of Nicosia Medical School, Nicosia P.O. Box 24005, Cyprus"},{"name":"INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Sant\u00e9 Publique, d\u2019\u00c9pid\u00e9miologie Clinique et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut 1103, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4546-3685","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jad","family":"Ch\u00e9mali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratoire de Canc\u00e9rologie et d\u2019agents canc\u00e9rog\u00e8nes, Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Beirut P.O. Box 17-5208, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6679-2296","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nikolaos","family":"Tzenios","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Public Health, Charisma University, London EC1V 7QE, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2935-2611","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nassim","family":"Fares","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Research in Physiology and Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Beirut P.O. Box 17-5208, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1687-1989","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andr\u00e9","family":"El Khoury","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre d\u2019Analyses et de Recherche (CAR), Unit\u00e9 de Recherche Technologies et Valorisation Agro-Alimentaire (UR-TVA), Faculty of Sciences, Campus of Sciences and Technologies, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Beirut PO Box 17-5208, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"218","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fct.2013.07.047","article-title":"Mycotoxins: Occurrence, Toxicology, and Exposure Assessment","volume":"60","author":"Marin","year":"2013","journal-title":"Food Chem. 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