Table 2.

Summary of considered studies on atopy induced by benzene and/or its metabolites.

Population	Exposure substance(s)	Effect(s)	Reference
Nonatopic and atopic women	Vehicular traffic and low air pollution	No difference in urinary trans,trans-muconic acid	Boscolo et al., 2000 [39]
Nonatopic and atopic women	Vehicular traffic and low air pollution	Stimulation of NK activity	Boscolo et al., 2000 [39]
3-year-old children	Chlorobenzene	Contribution to the risk of allergic sensitization to the food allergens milk and egg white	Lehmann et al., 2001 [40]
3-year-old children	Benzene, ethylbenzene, and chlorobenzene	Increased IL-4 producing CD3+ T cells	Lehmann et al., 2001 [40]
Healthy subjects	HQ, benzenetriol, BQ, and catechol	Increased secretion of IL-4	Gillis et al., 2007 [21]
Healthy subjects	HQ, catechol	Increased secretion of IL-5	Gillis et al., 2007 [21]

HQ: hydroquinone; BQ: benzoquinone.