Environmental Epidemiology

Association of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) levels with biomarkers of placental development and disease during mid-gestation

Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) exposures have been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. A hypothesized mechanism is via alterations in placental development and function. However, we lack biomarke...

Authors: Julia R. Varshavsky, Joshua F. Robinson, Yan Zhou, Kenisha A. Puckett, Elaine Kwan, Sirirak Buarpung, Rayyan Aburajab, Stephanie L. Gaw, Saunak Sen, Sabrina Crispo Smith, Julie Frankenfield, June-Soo Park, Susan J. Fisher and Tracey J. Woodruff

Perfluoroalkyl substances exposure in early pregnancy and preterm birth in singleton pregnancies: a prospective cohort study

Preterm birth (PTB, < 37 completed weeks’ gestation) is one of the global public health concerns. Epidemiologic evidence on the potential impact of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on PTB is still limited and ...

Authors: Xiaona Huo, Lin Zhang, Rong Huang, Liping Feng, Weiye Wang and Jun Zhang

Indoor air pollution concentrations and cardiometabolic health across four diverse settings in Peru: a cross-sectional study

Indoor air pollution is an important risk factor for health in low- and middle-income countries.

Authors: Josiah L. Kephart, Magdalena Fandiño-Del-Rio, Kirsten Koehler, Antonio Bernabe-Ortiz, J. Jaime Miranda, Robert H. Gilman and William Checkley

Measuring the impact of sea surface temperature on the human incidence of Vibrio sp. infection in British Columbia, Canada, 1992–2017

Vibrio growth in the environment is related to sea surface temperature (SST). The incidence of human Vibrio illness increased sharply in British Columbia (BC) between 2008 and 2015 for unknown reasons, culminatin...

Authors: Eleni Galanis, Michael Otterstatter and Marsha Taylor

Plasma concentration of brominated flame retardants and postmenopausal breast cancer risk: a nested case-control study in the French E3N cohort

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are lipophilic substances with endocrine-disrupting properties. To date, only few investigations, mainly retrospective case-control studies, have explored the link between in...

Authors: Francesca Romana Mancini, German Cano-Sancho, Oceane Mohamed, Iris Cervenka, Hanane Omichessan, Philippe Marchand, Marie-Christine Boutron-Ruault, Patrick Arveux, Gianluca Severi, Jean-Philippe Antignac and Marina Kvaskoff

Drought severity and all-cause mortality rates among adults in the United States: 1968–2014

Little is known about the effect of drought on all-cause mortality, especially in higher income countries such as the United States. As the frequency and severity of droughts are likely to increase, understand...

Authors: Katie M. Lynch, Robert H. Lyles, Lance A. Waller, Azar M. Abadi, Jesse E. Bell and Matthew O. Gribble

Long-term exposure to particulate air pollution and brachial artery flow-mediated dilation in the Old Order Amish

Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) has been associated with endothelial dysfunction, an early marker of cardiovascular risk. Our aim was to extend this research to a genetically homogenous, geographically sta...

Authors: Shabnam Salimi, Jeff D. Yanosky, Dina Huang, Jessica Montressor-Lopez, Robert Vogel, Robert M. Reed, Braxton D. Mitchell and Robin C. Puett

Assessing short-term impact of PM₁₀ on mortality using a semiparametric generalized propensity score approach

The shape of the exposure-response curve describing the effects of air pollution on population health has crucial regulatory implications, and it is important in assessing causal impacts of hypothetical polici...

Authors: Laura Forastiere, Michele Carugno and Michela Baccini

Perinatal urinary benzophenone-3 concentrations and glucose levels among women from a fertility clinic

Subfertile women have higher risk of glucose intolerance during pregnancy. Studies suggest associations between several endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and pregnancy glucose levels. However, the associat...

Authors: Zifan Wang, Lidia Mínguez-Alarcón, Paige L. Williams, Andrea Bellavia, Jennifer B. Ford, Myra Keller, John C. Petrozza, Antonia M. Calafat, Russ Hauser and Tamarra James-Todd

The association between ambient temperature and sperm quality in Wuhan, China

Few epidemiological investigations have focused on the influence of environmental temperature on human sperm quality. Here, we evaluated the potential association between ambient temperature and human sperm qu...

Authors: Xiaochen Wang, Xiaojia Tian, Bo Ye, Yi Zhang, Xiaotong Zhang, Shichun Huang, Cunlu Li, Simin Wu, Rui Li, Yuliang Zou, Jingling Liao, Jing Yang and Lu Ma

Occupational exposure to ionizing radiation and risk of lymphoma subtypes: results of the Epilymph European case-control study

Evidence linking risk of lymphoma and B-cell lymphoma subtypes to ionizing radiation is inconclusive, particularly at low exposure levels.

Authors: Giannina Satta, Matteo Loi, Nickolaus Becker, Yolanda Benavente, Silvia De Sanjose, Lenka Foretova, Anthony Staines, Marc Maynadie, Alexandra Nieters, Federico Meloni, Ilaria Pilia, Marcello Campagna, Marco Pau, Lydia B. Zablotska and Pierluigi Cocco

Reducing exposure to high levels of perfluorinated compounds in drinking water improves reproductive outcomes: evidence from an intervention in Minnesota

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been detected in drinking water supplies around the world and are the subject of intense regulatory debate. While they have been associated with several illness...

Authors: Gina Waterfield, Martha Rogers, Philippe Grandjean, Maximilian Auffhammer and David Sunding

Economic valuation of health benefits from using geologic data to communicate radon risk potential

Radon exposure is the second leading cause of lung cancer worldwide and represents a major health concern within and outside the United States. Mitigating exposure to radon is especially critical in places wit...

Authors: Scott J. Chiavacci, Carl D. Shapiro, Emily J. Pindilli, Clyde F. Casey, Mary Kay Rayens, Amanda T. Wiggins, William M. Andrews Jr and Ellen J. Hahn

Endotoxin clustering with allergens in house dust and asthma outcomes in a U.S. national study

Endotoxin is ubiquitous in the environment, but its clustering with indoor allergens is not well characterized. This study examined the clustering patterns of endotoxin with allergens in house dust and their a...

Authors: Angelico Mendy, Jesse Wilkerson, Pӓivi M. Salo, Darryl C. Zeldin and Peter S. Thorne

A risk-based model to assess environmental justice and coronary heart disease burden from traffic-related air pollutants

Communities need to efficiently estimate the burden from specific pollutants and identify those most at risk to make timely informed policy decisions. We developed a risk-based model to estimate the burden of ...

Authors: James P. Fabisiak, Erica M. Jackson, LuAnn L. Brink and Albert A. Presto

Associations between perfluoroalkyl substances and serum lipids in a Swedish adult population with contaminated drinking water

Exposures to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have shown positive associations with serum lipids in previous studies. While many studies on lipids investigated associations with perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (...

Authors: Ying Li, Lars Barregard, Yiyi Xu, Kristin Scott, Daniela Pineda, Christian H. Lindh, Kristina Jakobsson and Tony Fletcher

Maternal phthalate exposure and asthma, rhinitis and eczema in 552 children aged 5 years; a prospective cohort study

Prenatal phthalate exposure has been suggested to alter immune responses and increase the risk of asthma, eczema and rhinitis. However, few studies have examined the effects in prospective cohorts and only one...

Authors: Camilla Jøhnk, Arne Høst, Steffen Husby, Greet Schoeters, Clara Amalie Gade Timmermann, Henriette Boye Kyhl, Iben Have Beck, Anna-Maria Andersson, Hanne Frederiksen and Tina Kold Jensen

Pesticide exposure and risk of aggressive prostate cancer among private pesticide applicators

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers among men in developed countries; however, little is known about modifiable risk factors. Some studies have implicated organochlorine and org...

Authors: Larissa A. Pardo, Laura E. Beane Freeman, Catherine C. Lerro, Gabriella Andreotti, Jonathan N. Hofmann, Christine G. Parks, Dale P. Sandler, Jay H. Lubin, Aaron Blair and Stella Koutros

The impact of PM_2.5 on mortality in older adults: evidence from retirement of coal-fired power plants in the United States

Evidence of causal relationship between mortality of older adults and low- concentration PM_2.5 remains limited.

Authors: Maoyong Fan and Yi Wang

Parameters of ovarian reserve in relation to urinary concentrations of parabens

Parabens are synthetic chemicals commonly used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage processing as antimicrobial preservatives. In experimental animals, parabens exposure was associated with adverse...

Authors: Joanna Jurewicz, Michał Radwan, Bartosz Wielgomas, Anetta Karwacka, Anna Klimowska, Paweł Kałużny, Paweł Radwan and Wojciech Hanke

The disease burden attributable to 18 occupational risks in China: an analysis for the global burden of disease study 2017

China has more than 18% of the global population and over 770 million workers. However, the burden of disease attributable to occupational risks is unavailable in China. We aimed to estimate the burden of dise...

Authors: Jie Li, Peng Yin, Haidong Wang, Xinying Zeng, Xiao Zhang, Lijun Wang, Jiangmei Liu, Yunning Liu, Jinling You, Zhenping Zhao, Shicheng Yu and Maigeng Zhou

The impact of long-term PM_2.5 exposure on specific causes of death: exposure-response curves and effect modification among 53 million U.S. Medicare beneficiaries

The shape of the exposure-response curve for long-term ambient fine particulate (PM_2.5) exposure and cause-specific mortality is poorly understood, especially for rural populations and underrepresented minorities...

Authors: Bingyu Wang, Ki-Do Eum, Fatemeh Kazemiparkouhi, Cheng Li, Justin Manjourides, Virgil Pavlu and Helen Suh

Associations of noise kurtosis, genetic variations in NOX3 and lifestyle factors with noise-induced hearing loss

Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a complex disease caused by environmental and genetic risk factors. This study was to explore the association of noise kurtosis, triphosphopyridine nucleotide oxidase 3 (NOX3)...

Authors: Tianyu Zhao, Yinan Wang, Zheng Li, Xiaojun Xu, Song Lei, Liu Huang, Liangwen Xu, Meibian Zhang and Lei Yang

Lung function and systemic inflammation associated with short-term air pollution exposure in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients in Beijing, China

Exposure to air pollution is associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, findings on the effects of air pollution on lung function and systemic inflammation in Chinese COPD patients ...

Authors: Nannan Gao, Wenshuai Xu, Jiadong Ji, Yanli Yang, Shao-Ting Wang, Jun Wang, Xiang Chen, Shuzhen Meng, Xinlun Tian and Kai-Feng Xu

Predictors of Beta-Hexachlorocyclohexane blood levels among people living close to a chemical plant and an illegal dumping site

Hexachlorocyclohexane is a synthetic chemical with several isomers, including β-Hexachlorocyclohexane (β-HCH). In 2005, a large contamination of crude milk from some bovine farms along the Sacco River (Central...

Authors: S. Narduzzi, F. Fantini, F. Blasetti, P. Rantakokko, H. Kiviranta, F. Forastiere, P. Michelozzi and D. Porta

Road proximity, air pollution, noise, green space and neurologic disease incidence: a population-based cohort study

Emerging evidence links road proximity and air pollution with cognitive impairment. Joint effects of noise and greenness have not been evaluated. We investigated associations between road proximity and exposur...

Authors: Weiran Yuchi, Hind Sbihi, Hugh Davies, Lillian Tamburic and Michael Brauer

Association between exposure to traffic-related air pollution and pediatric allergic diseases based on modeled air pollution concentrations and traffic measures in Seoul, Korea: a comparative analysis

Pediatric allergic diseases are a major public health concern, and previous studies have suggested that exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) exposure is a risk factor. These studies have typically ass...

Authors: Kyung-Duk Min, Seon-Ju Yi, Hwan-Cheol Kim, Jong-Han Leem, Ho-Jang Kwon, Soyoung Hong, Kyoo Sang Kim and Sun-Young Kim

Associations of Perfluoroalkyl substances with blood lipids and Apolipoproteins in lipoprotein subspecies: the POUNDS-lost study

The associations of perfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) exposure with blood lipids and lipoproteins are inconsistent, and existing studies did not account for metabolic heterogeneity of lipoprotein subspecies. Thi...

Authors: Gang Liu, Bo Zhang, Yang Hu, Jennifer Rood, Liming Liang, Lu Qi, George A. Bray, Lilian DeJonge, Brent Coull, Philippe Grandjean, Jeremy D. Furtado and Qi Sun

Mortality associated with wildfire smoke exposure in Washington state, 2006–2017: a case-crossover study

Wildfire events are increasing in prevalence in the western United States. Research has found mixed results on the degree to which exposure to wildfire smoke is associated with an increased risk of mortality.

Authors: Annie Doubleday, Jill Schulte, Lianne Sheppard, Matt Kadlec, Ranil Dhammapala, Julie Fox and Tania Busch Isaksen

Cumulative solar ultraviolet radiation exposure and basal cell carcinoma of the skin in a nationwide US cohort using satellite and ground-based measures

Basal cell carcinoma of the skin (BCC) is the most common cancer in populations of European ancestry. Although consistently linked with basal cell carcinoma of the skin in case-control studies, few prospective...

Authors: Mark P. Little, Martha S. Linet, Michael G. Kimlin, Terrence Lee, Zaria Tatalovich, Alice J. Sigurdson and Elizabeth K. Cahoon

Comments on Vimercati et al., 2019, “Asbestos exposure and malignant mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis testis: a systematic review and the experience of the Apulia (southern Italy) mesothelioma register”

Authors: Gabor Mezei, Ellen T. Chang, Fionna S. Mowat and Suresh H. Moolgavkar

Short-term association between ambient temperature and homicide in South Africa: a case-crossover study

Criminology research has traditionally investigated sociodemographic predictors of crime, such as sex, race, age, and socioeconomic status. However, evidence suggests that short-term fluctuations in crime ofte...

Authors: Abigail Gates, Mitchel Klein, Fiorella Acquaotta, Rebecca M. Garland and Noah Scovronick

Longitudinal follow-up of health effects among workers handling engineered nanomaterials: a panel study

Although no human illness to date is confirmed to be attributed to engineered nanoparticles, occupational epidemiological studies are needed to verify the health effects of nanoparticles. This study used a rep...

Authors: Wei-Te Wu, Lih-Ann Li, Tsui-Chun Tsou, Shu-Li Wang, Hui-Ling Lee, Tung-Sheng Shih and Saou-Hsing Liou

Fluoride exposure and sleep patterns among older adolescents in the United States: a cross-sectional study of NHANES 2015–2016

Fluoride from environmental sources accumulates preferentially in the pineal gland which produces melatonin, the hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. However, the effects of fluoride on sleep regulatio...

Authors: Ashley J. Malin, Sonali Bose, Stefanie A. Busgang, Chris Gennings, Michael Thorpy, Robert O. Wright, Rosalind J. Wright and Manish Arora

Use of skincare products and risk of cancer of the breast and endometrium: a prospective cohort study

Concerns have been raised that extensive use of personal care products that contain endocrine disrupting compounds increase the risk of hormone sensitive cancers.

Authors: Charlotta Rylander, Marit B. Veierød, Elisabete Weiderpass, Eiliv Lund and Torkjel M. Sandanger

Low-moderate arsenic exposure and respiratory in American Indian communities in the Strong Heart Study

Arsenic exposure through drinking water is an established lung carcinogen. Evidence on non-malignant lung outcomes is less conclusive and suggests arsenic is associated with lower lung function. Studies examin...

Authors: Martha Powers, Tiffany R. Sanchez, Maria Grau-Perez, Fawn Yeh, Kevin A. Francesconi, Walter Goessler, Christine M. George, Christopher Heaney, Lyle G. Best, Jason G. Umans, Robert H. Brown and Ana Navas-Acien

The effects of daily meteorological perturbation on pregnancy outcome: follow-up of a cohort of young women undergoing IVF treatment

Human reproduction follows a seasonal pattern with respect to spontaneous conception, a phenomenon wherein the effect of meteorological fluctuations might not be unique. However, the effect of seasonal variati...

Authors: Mingpeng Zhao, Haoyang Zhang, Tarah H. B. Waters, Jacqueline Pui Wah Chung, Tin Chiu Li and David Yiu Leung Chan

Saliva cortisol in relation to aircraft noise exposure: pooled-analysis results from seven European countries

Many studies have demonstrated adverse effects of exposure to aircraft noise on health. Possible biological pathways for these effects include hormonal disturbances. Few studies deal with aircraft noise effect...

Authors: Clémence Baudin, Marie Lefèvre, Jenny Selander, Wolfgang Babisch, Ennio Cadum, Marie-Christine Carlier, Patricia Champelovier, Konstantina Dimakopoulou, Danny Huithuijs, Jacques Lambert, Bernard Laumon, Göran Pershagen, Töres Theorell, Venetia Velonaki, Anna Hansell and Anne-Sophie Evrard

Air pollution and mortality in a large, representative U.S. cohort: multiple-pollutant analyses, and spatial and temporal decompositions

Cohort studies have documented associations between fine particulate matter air pollution (PM_2.5) and mortality risk. However, there remains uncertainty regarding the contribution of co-pollutants and the stabili...

Authors: Jacob S. Lefler, Joshua D. Higbee, Richard T. Burnett, Majid Ezzati, Nathan C. Coleman, Dalton D. Mann, Julian D. Marshall, Matthew Bechle, Yuzhou Wang, Allen L. Robinson and C. Arden Pope III

Wrangling environmental exposure data: guidance for getting the best information from your laboratory measurements

Environmental health and exposure researchers can improve the quality and interpretation of their chemical measurement data, avoid spurious results, and improve analytical protocols for new chemicals by closel...

Authors: Julia O. Udesky, Robin E. Dodson, Laura J. Perovich and Ruthann A. Rudel

Effect of apparent temperature on daily emergency admissions for mental and behavioral disorders in Yancheng, China: a time-series study

Very few studies have focused on the relationship between ambient apparent temperature (AT) and admission of mental and behaviour disorders (MDs). Therefore, a time-series study was conducted in Yancheng, Chin...

Authors: Min Min, Tingting Shi, Pengpeng Ye, Yuan Wang, Zhenhai Yao, Shun Tian, Yun Zhang, Mingming Liang, Guangbo Qu, Peng Bi, Leilei Duan and Yehuan Sun

Association between prenatal exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances and asthma in 5-year-old children in the Odense Child Cohort

Asthma is the most common non-communicable disease in children. Prenatal exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), a group of persistent environmental chemicals with endocrine disrupting abilities, has be...

Authors: Iben Have Beck, Clara Amalie Gade Timmermann, Flemming Nielsen, Greet Schoeters, Camilla Jøhnk, Henriette Boye Kyhl, Arne Høst and Tina Kold Jensen

Maternal exposure to ambient fine particulate matter and risk of premature rupture of membranes in Wuhan, Central China: a cohort study

The associations between maternal exposure to ambient PM_2.5 during pregnancy and the risk of premature rupture of membranes (PROM) and preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) are controversial. And no rele...

Authors: Kun Wang, Yu Tian, Huabo Zheng, Shengshuai Shan, Xiaofang Zhao and Chengyun Liu

Serum dioxin and DNA methylation in the sperm of operation ranch hand veterans exposed to Agent Orange

Exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange during the Vietnam War was widespread and is associated with numerous adverse health outcomes. A continuing concern of veterans is the possibility that exposure to the di...

Authors: Karl T. Kelsey, Matthew Rytel, Edward Dere, Rondi Butler, Melissa Eliot, Susan M. Huse, E. Andres Houseman, Devin C. Koestler and Kim Boekelheide

Does the oxidative stress play a role in the associations between outdoor air pollution and persistent asthma in adults? Findings from the EGEA study

Evidences that oxidative stress plays a role in the associations between outdoor air pollution and asthma are growing. We aimed to study the role of plasma fluorescent oxidation products levels (FlOPs; an oxid...

Authors: Anaïs Havet, Zhen Li, Farid Zerimech, Margaux Sanchez, Valérie Siroux, Nicole Le Moual, Bert Brunekreef, Nino Künzli, Bénédicte Jacquemin, Raphaëlle Varraso, Régis Matran and Rachel Nadif

Morbidity burden of respiratory diseases attributable to ambient temperature: a case study in a subtropical city in China

There are significant associations between ambient temperature and respiratory disease mortality. However, few studies have assessed the morbidity burdens of various respiratory diseases that are attributable ...

Authors: Yiju Zhao, Zhao Huang, Shengyong Wang, Jianxiong Hu, Jianpeng Xiao, Xing Li, Tao Liu, Weilin Zeng, Lingchuan Guo, Qingfeng Du and Wenjun Ma

Low concentrations of fine particle air pollution and mortality in the Canadian Community Health Survey cohort

Approximately 2.9 million deaths are attributed to ambient fine particle air pollution around the world each year (PM_2.5). In general, cohort studies of mortality and outdoor PM_2.5 concentrations have limited inf...

Authors: Tanya Christidis, Anders C. Erickson, Amanda J. Pappin, Daniel L. Crouse, Lauren L. Pinault, Scott A. Weichenthal, Jeffrey R. Brook, Aaron van Donkelaar, Perry Hystad, Randall V. Martin, Michael Tjepkema, Richard T. Burnett and Michael Brauer

Geomagnetic disturbances driven by solar activity enhance total and cardiovascular mortality risk in 263 U.S. cities

Short-term geomagnetic disturbances (GMD) driven by the quasi-periodic 11-year cycle of solar activity have been linked to a broad range of adverse health effects, including cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and t...

Authors: Carolina Leticia Zilli Vieira, Danilo Alvares, Annelise Blomberg, Joel Schwartz, Brent Coull, Shaodan Huang and Petros Koutrakis

Changes in triggering of ST-elevation myocardial infarction by particulate air pollution in Monroe County, New York over time: a case-crossover study

Previous studies have reported that fine particle (PM_2.5) concentrations triggered ST elevation myocardial infarctions (STEMI). In Rochester, NY, multiple air quality policies and economic changes/influences from...

Authors: Meng Wang, Philip K. Hopke, Mauro Masiol, Sally W. Thurston, Scott Cameron, Frederick Ling, Edwin van Wijngaarden, Daniel Croft, Stefania Squizzato, Kelly Thevenet-Morrison, David Chalupa and David Q. Rich

Asbestos exposure and malignant mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis testis: a systematic review and the experience of the Apulia (southern Italy) mesothelioma register

Malignant mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis testis (MMTVT) is a rare disease with a poor prognosis. The diagnosis and management of these lesions are often difficult for pathologists, surgeons, oncologists ...

Authors: Luigi Vimercati, Domenica Cavone, Maria Celeste Delfino, Luigi De Maria, Antonio Caputi, Giovanni Maria Ferri and Gabriella Serio