Background: A cohort of community residents and workers is the basis for a series of epidemiologic studies of a Mid-Ohio Valley population with substantial perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) exposure due to releases from a chemical plant.
Objectives: We describe study design, methods, and study participants for a longitudinal cohort study of associations between PFOA exposure and adult chronic diseases.
Methods: Two cohorts were formed, one recruited from community residents who participated in a previous community-wide survey, and one from plant workers. Study participants were interviewed during 2008–2011 regarding demographics, health-related behaviors, and personal history of chronic diseases. Reported diseases were validated through medical records review and registry matching. Here we describe cohort characteristics, compare survey respondents and nonrespondents, provide data on the number of diseases reported and validated, and describe historical estimates of serum PFOA concentrations over time.
Results: The final combined cohort included 32,254 participants (28,541 community; 3,713 worker). Participation rates were high (community, 81.5%; worker, 72.9% of target population). The final population from each cohort was representative of the target population in terms of demographic characteristics and measured serum PFOA concentrations in 2005–2006. The study had a wide exposure range and the number of reported cases of chronic diseases was high, resulting in greater power to detect associations than has been the case for many previous studies.
Conclusions: This is the largest study to date of the health effects of PFOA. The information from this cohort is being used to examine associations between PFOA exposure and multiple adult chronic diseases.
Air pollution disproportionately affects marginalized populations of lower socioeconomic status. There is little literature on how socioeconomic status affects the risk of exposure to air pollution and associated health outcomes, particularly for children’s health. The objective of this article was to review the existing literature on air pollution and children’s health and discern how socioeconomic status affects this association. The concept of environmental injustice recognizes how underserved communities often suffer from higher air pollution concentrations in addition to other underlying risk factors for impaired health. This exposure then exerts larger effects on their health than it does in the average population, affecting the whole body, including the lungs and the brain. Children, whose organs and mind are still developing and who do not have the means of protecting themselves or creating change, are the most vulnerable to the detrimental effects of air pollution and environmental injustice. The adverse health effects of air pollution and environmental injustice can harm children well into adulthood and may even have transgenerational effects. There is an urgent need for action in order to ensure the health and safety of future generations, as social disparities are continuously increasing, due to social discrimination and climate change.
by
David Alexander Phillips;
Jose Antonio Ferreira;
Deidra Ansah;
Herica S. A. Teixeira;
Uriel Kitron;
Thelma de Filippis;
Marcelo H. de Alcântara;
Jessica Fairley
BACKGROUND
Despite public health efforts to reduce the global burden of leprosy, gaps remain in the knowledge surrounding transmission of infection. Helminth co-infections have been associated with a shift towards the lepromatous end of the disease spectrum, potentially increasing transmission in co-endemic areas.
OBJECTIVES
Using this biologically plausible association, we conducted a geographic information systems (GIS) study to investigate the spatial associations of schistosomiasis and leprosy in an endemic area of Minas Gerais (MG), Brazil.
METHODS
Data on new cases of Mycobacterium leprae and Schistosoma mansoni infections from 2007-2014 were retrieved from the Brazilian national notifiable diseases information system for seven municipalities in and surrounding Vespasiano, MG. A total of 139 cases of leprosy and 200 cases of schistosomiasis were mapped to a municipality level. For one municipality, cases were mapped to a neighborhood level and a stratified analysis was conducted to identify spatial associations.
FINDINGS
A relative risk of 6.80 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.46 - 31.64] of leprosy was found in neighborhoods with schistosomiasis. Incidence rates of leprosy increased with corresponding incidence rates of schistosomiasis, and the temporal trends of both infections were similar.
CONCLUSIONS
The associations found in this project support the hypothesis that helminth infections may influence the transmission of leprosy in co-endemic areas.
by
Rachel L Maguire;
John S House;
Dillon T Lloyd;
Harlyn G Skinner;
Terrence K Allen;
Asifa M Raffi;
David A Skaar;
Sarah S Park;
Lauren McCullough;
Scott H Kollins;
Staci D Bilbo;
David N Collier;
Susan K Murphy;
Bernard F Fuemmeler;
Kymberly M Gowdy;
Cathrine Hoyo
Background: Although maternal systemic inflammation is hypothesized to link maternal pre-pregnancy obesity to offspring metabolic dysfunction, patient empirical data are limited. Objectives: In this study, we hypothesized that pre-pregnancy obesity alters systemic chemo/cytokines concentrations in pregnancy, and this alteration contributes to obesity in children. Methods: In a multi-ethnic cohort of 361 mother-child pairs, we measured prenatal concentrations of plasma TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, IL-1β, IL-4, IFN-γ, IL-12 p70 subunit, and IL-17A using a multiplex ELISA and examined associations of pre-pregnancy obesity on maternal chemo/cytokine levels, and associations of these cytokine levels with offspring body mass index z score (BMI-z) at age 2–6 years using linear regression. Results: After adjusting for maternal smoking, ethnicity, age, and education, pre-pregnancy obesity was associated with increased concentrations of TNF-α (P =.026) and IFN-γ (P =.06). While we found no evidence for associations between TNF-α concentrations and offspring BMI-z, increased IFN-γ concentrations were associated with decreased BMI-z (P =.0002), primarily in Whites (P =.0011). In addition, increased maternal IL-17A concentrations were associated with increased BMI-z in offspring (P =.0005) with stronger associations in African Americans (P =.0042) than Whites (P =.24). Conclusions: Data from this study are consistent with maternal obesity-related inflammation during pregnancy, increasing the risk of childhood obesity in an ethnic-specific manner.
by
Cristina T. Navarrete;
Lisa A. Wrage;
Waldemar A. Carlo;
Michele C. Walsh;
Wade Rich;
Marie G. Gantz;
Abhik Das;
Kurt Schibler;
Nancy S. Newman;
Anthony Piazza;
Brenda B. Poindexter;
Seetha Shankaran;
Pablo J. Sanchez;
Brenda H. Morris;
Ivan D. Frantz III;
Krisa P. Van Meurs;
C. Michael Cotten;
Richard A. Ehrenkranz;
Edward F. Bell;
Kristi L. Watterberg;
Rosemary D. Higgins;
Shahnaz Duara
Objective: To test whether infants randomized to a lower oxygen saturation (peripheral capillary oxygen saturation [SpO 2 ]) target range while on supplemental oxygen from birth will have better growth velocity from birth to 36 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA) and less growth failure at 36 weeks PMA and 18-22 months corrected age.
Study design: We evaluated a subgroup of 810 preterm infants from the Surfactant, Positive Pressure, and Oxygenation Randomized Trial, randomized at birth to lower (85%-89%, n = 402, PMA 26 ± 1 weeks, birth weight 839 ± 186 g) or higher (91%-95%, n = 408, PMA 26 ± 1 weeks, birth weight 840 ± 191 g) SpO 2 target ranges. Anthropometric measures were obtained at birth, postnatal days 7, 14, 21, and 28; then at 32 and 36 weeks PMA; and 18-22 months corrected age. Growth velocities were estimated with the exponential method and analyzed with linear mixed models. Poor growth outcome, defined as weight < 10th percentile at 36 weeks PMA and 18-22 months corrected age, was compared across the 2 treatment groups by the use of robust Poisson regression.
Results: Growth outcomes including growth at 36 weeks PMA and 18-22 months corrected age, as well as growth velocity were similar in the lower and higher SpO 2 target groups.
Conclusion: Targeting different oxygen saturation ranges between 85% and 95% from birth did not impact growth velocity or reduce growth failure in preterm infants.
Background
Organophosphorus (OPs) pesticides are the most commonly used pesticides in Peruvian agriculture. The population at risk for OPs exposure includes formulators, applicators and farmers. Majes Valley is the most important agricultural center of the Southern region of Peru. The present study was aimed to determine the knowledge about using OPs, safety practice and urinary dialkylphosphate metabolites on OP applicators in the Majes Valley, Peru.
Methods
This study was based on a questionnaire which included socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge of safety practices to handling OPs, characteristics of pesticide application and use of protective measures to avoid pesticide contamination. Exposure was assessed by measuring six urinary OP metabolites (DMP, DMTP, DMDTP, DEP, DETP, and DEDTP) by gas chromatography using a single flame photometric detector. The sample consisted of 31 men and 2 women aged 20 – 65 years old.
Results
76% of applicators had at least one urinary dialkylphosphate metabolite above the limit of detection. The geometric mean (GM) and the geometric standard deviation (GSD) of DMP and DEP were 5.73 ug/g cr. (GSD 2.51), and 6.08 ug/g cr. (GSD 3.63), respectively. The percentage of applicators with detectable DMP, DMDTP, and DMTP in urine was 72.72%, 3.03%, and 15.15%, respectively, while the corresponding figures for DEP, DETP, and DEDTP were 48.48%, 36.36% and 15.15%, respectively. There was no significant association between the use of protection practices and the absence of urine OPs metabolites suggesting inadequate protection practices.
Conclusion
The pesticide applicators in Majes Valley have significant exposure to OP pesticides, probably due to inappropriate protective practices. Future work should evaluate possible health effects.
This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows:
To assess the effectiveness of water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions to prevent soil-transmitted helminth infection.
Many chemicals have been used to increase the safety of consumer products by reducing their flammability and risk for ignition. Recent focus on brominated flame retardants, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) has shown them to contribute to neurobehavioral deficits in children, including learning and memory. As the manufacture and use of PBDEs have been reduced, replacement chemicals, such as hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) have been substituted. Our current study evaluated the neurotoxicity of HBCDD, concentrating on dopaminergic innervation to the hippocampus. Using an in vivo model, we exposed male mice to HBCDD and then assessed alterations to the dopamine synapse 6 weeks later. These exposures elicited significant reductions in presynaptic dopaminergic proteins, including TH, COMT, MAO-B, DAT, VMAT2, and alpha-synuclein. In contrast, postsynaptic dopamine receptors were not impaired. These findings suggest that the mesohippocampal dopamine circuit is vulnerable to HBCDD and the dopamine terminal may be a selective target for alteration.
by
Gonza Namulanda;
Mildred Maisonet;
Ethel Taylor;
William Flanders;
David Olson;
Andreas Sjodin;
Judith R. Qualters;
John Vena;
Kate Northstone;
Luke Naeher
Introduction Epidemiologic data supporting the role of organochlorine pesticides in pubertal development are limited. Methods Using a nested case-control design, serum collected during pregnancy from mothers of 218 girls who reported menarche before 11.5 years of age (cases) and 230 girls who reported menarche at or after 11.5 years of age (controls) was analyzed for 9 organochlorines and metabolites. We analyzed the association between in utero organochlorine concentrations and early menarche using multivariate logistic regression controlling for mother's age at menarche, or mother's prenatal BMI. Results We did not observe an association between in utero exposure to HCB, β-HCH, ϒ-HCH, p,p′-DDT, p,p′-DDE, oxychlordane or trans-nonachlor and early menarche. Conclusions This study is the first to examine the association between in utero exposure to HCB, β-HCH, ϒ-HCH, oxychlordane or trans-nonachlor and early menarche. In utero exposure to organochlorine pesticides does not appear to have a role in the timing of menarche in this study.