Articles

Short-term exposure to air pollution and hospital admission for pneumonia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Air pollution is a major issue that poses a health threat worldwide. Although several studies investigated the adverse effects of air pollution on various diseases, few have directly demonstrated the effects o...

Authors: Jeong Yee, Young Ah Cho, Hee Jeong Yoo, Hyunseo Yun and Hye Sun Gwak

Sex-dependent dysregulation of human neutrophil responses by bisphenol A

In the present study, we aimed to investigate selected functions of human neutrophils exposed to bisphenol A (BPA) under in vitro conditions. As BPA is classified among xenoestrogens, we compared its action an...

Authors: Wioletta Ratajczak-Wrona, Marzena Garley, Malgorzata Rusak, Karolina Nowak, Jan Czerniecki, Katarzyna Wolosewicz, Milena Dabrowska, Slawomir Wolczynski, Piotr Radziwon and Ewa Jablonska

Metabolomic signatures of the long-term exposure to air pollution and temperature

Long-term exposures to air pollution has been reported to be associated with inflammation and oxidative stress. However, the underlying metabolic mechanisms remain poorly understood.

Authors: Feiby L. Nassan, Rachel S. Kelly, Anna Kosheleva, Petros Koutrakis, Pantel S. Vokonas, Jessica A. Lasky-Su and Joel D. Schwartz

Long-term effects of fine particulate matter exposure on the progression of arterial stiffness

Prior studies have investigated the association of PM_2.5 exposure with arterial stiffness measured by ankle-brachial index (ABI) and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), of which conclusions are inconsiste...

Authors: Dianqin Sun, Yue Liu, Jie Zhang, Jia Liu, Zhiyuan Wu, Mengyang Liu, Xia Li, Xiuhua Guo and Lixin Tao

Prenatal metal mixtures and child blood pressure in the Rhea mother-child cohort in Greece

Child blood pressure (BP) is predictive of future cardiovascular risk. Prenatal exposure to metals has been associated with higher BP in childhood, but most studies have evaluated elements individually and mea...

Authors: Caitlin G. Howe, Katerina Margetaki, Marina Vafeiadi, Theano Roumeliotaki, Marianna Karachaliou, Manolis Kogevinas, Rob McConnell, Sandrah P. Eckel, David V. Conti, Maria Kippler, Shohreh F. Farzan and Leda Chatzi

Preconception air pollution exposure and glucose tolerance in healthy pregnant women in a middle-income country

Preconception exposure to air pollution has been associated with glucose tolerance during pregnancy. However, the evidence in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) is under debate yet. Therefore, this study ...

Authors: Moslem Lari Najafi, Mehdi Zarei, Ali Gohari, Leyla Haghighi, Hafez Heydari and Mohammad Miri

Synergistic health effects of air pollution, temperature, and pollen exposure: a systematic review of epidemiological evidence

Exposure to heat, air pollution, and pollen are associated with health outcomes, including cardiovascular and respiratory disease. Studies assessing the health impacts of climate change have considered increas...

Authors: Susan C. Anenberg, Shannon Haines, Elizabeth Wang, Nicholas Nassikas and Patrick L. Kinney

DNA methylation of insulin-like growth factor 2 and H19 cluster in cord blood and prenatal air pollution exposure to fine particulate matter

The IGF2 (insulin-like growth factor 2) and H19 gene cluster plays an important role during pregnancy as it promotes both foetal and placental growth. We investigated the association between cord blood DNA methyl...

Authors: Congrong Wang, Michelle Plusquin, Akram Ghantous, Zdenko Herceg, Rossella Alfano, Bianca Cox and Tim S. Nawrot

The effects of everyday-life exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on biological age indicators

Further knowledge on modifiable aging risk factors is required to mitigate the increasing burden of age-related diseases in a rapidly growing global demographic of elderly individuals. We explored the effect o...

Authors: Sofia Pavanello, Manuela Campisi, Giuseppe Mastrangelo, Mirjam Hoxha and Valentina Bollati

Prenatal exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances and thyroid hormone concentrations in cord plasma in a Chinese birth cohort

Evidence of associations between prenatal exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and fetal thyroid hormones (THs) is controversial, and few studies have estimated the associations, while addressing the ...

Authors: Hong Liang, Ziliang Wang, Maohua Miao, Youping Tian, Yan Zhou, Sheng Wen, Yao Chen, Xiaowei Sun and Wei Yuan

Answer to Böhmert et al

I thank Böhmert et al. for their commentary of my review, although their criticisms suggest a misunderstanding of its aims and scope. It does not discuss their comprehensive model per se, but as the latest for...

Authors: Maël Dieudonné

Response to the “Letter to the Editor” by Alfred Körblein, “Short term increase in low birthweight babies after Fukushima”

Authors: Hagen Scherb and Keiji Hayashi

In utero and peripubertal metals exposure in relation to reproductive hormones and sexual maturation and progression among boys in Mexico City

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) such as metals have been reported to alter circulating reproductive hormone concentrations and pubertal development in animals. However, the relationship has rarely been i...

Authors: Pahriya Ashrap, John D. Meeker, Brisa N. Sánchez, Niladri Basu, Marcela Tamayo-Ortiz, Maritsa Solano-González, Adriana Mercado-García, Martha M. Téllez-Rojo, Karen E. Peterson and Deborah J. Watkins

Response to the “letter to the editor” by Sani Rachman Soleman et al., “spatiotemporal association of low birth weight with Cs-137 deposition at the prefecture level in Japan after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accidents”

We thank Sani Rachman Soleman et al. for three specific points of criticism concerning our investigation of the ecological association between low birth weight (LBW) and radioactive contamination in Japan afte...

Authors: Hagen Scherb and Keiji Hayashi

Causal perception is central in electromagnetic hypersensitivity - a commentary on “Electromagnetic hypersensitivity: a critical review of explanatory hypotheses’’

We highly welcome and appreciate the paper of Dieudonné, 2020 (https://​doi.​org/​10.​1186/​s12940-020-00602-0 ) on the important but frequently neglected topic of hypersensitivity towards electromagnetic fields (E...

Authors: Christoph Boehmert, Michael Witthöft and Omer Van den Bergh

Letter to the editor regarding “spatiotemporal association of low birth weight with Cs-137 deposition at the prefecture level in Japan after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accidents”

In the previous report, association between increased low birth weight prevalence and radiocesium deposition after 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster was found. However, the statistical analyses therein raised se...

Authors: Sani Rachman Soleman, Tomoko Fujitani and Kouji H. Harada

Short term increase in low birth weight babies after Fukushima

An analysis of low birth weight (LBW) births in ten contaminated prefectures of Japan, 1995–2018, finds a statistically significant increase in the LBW proportion in 2012–2013, but no increase after 2013. In t...

Authors: Alfred Körblein

Mortality in Yusho patients exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated dibenzofurans: a 50-year retrospective cohort study

In 1968, the Yusho incident resulted in accidental exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and related compounds in Japan. This study updated the risk of mortality ...

Authors: Daisuke Onozuka, Yuko Nakamura, Gaku Tsuji and Masutaka Furue

The use of a bed with an insulating system of electromagnetic fields improves immune function, redox and inflammatory states, and decrease the rate of aging

The immune system, as a homeostatic system, is an excellent marker of health and has also been proposed as an indicator of the rate of aging. The base of the age-related changes in the immune system, “immunose...

Authors: E. Díaz-Del Cerro, C. Vida, I. Martínez de Toda, J. Félix and M. De la Fuente

Environmental chemicals, breast cancer progression and drug resistance

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common causes of cancer in the world and the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women. Mortality is associated mainly with the development of metastases. Identifi...

Authors: Meriem Koual, Céline Tomkiewicz, German Cano-Sancho, Jean-Philippe Antignac, Anne-Sophie Bats and Xavier Coumoul

Social inequalities in heat-attributable mortality in the city of Turin, northwest of Italy: a time series analysis from 1982 to 2018

Understanding context specific heat-health risks in urban areas is important, especially given anticipated severe increases in summer temperatures due to climate change effects. We investigate social inequalit...

Authors: Marta Ellena, Joan Ballester, Paola Mercogliano, Elisa Ferracin, Giuliana Barbato, Giuseppe Costa and Vijendra Ingole

Update on human exposure to glyphosate, with a complete review of exposure in children

Glyphosate, a commonly used pesticide, has been the topic of much debate. The effects of exposure to glyphosate remains a contentious topic. This paper provides an update to the existing literature regarding l...

Authors: Christina Gillezeau, Wil Lieberman-Cribbin and Emanuela Taioli

Health consequences of drought in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region: hotspot areas and needed actions

Over the past four decades, drought episodes in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) of the of the World Health Organization (WHO) have gradually become more widespread, prolonged and frequent. We aimed to m...

Authors: Saverio Bellizzi, Chris Lane, Mohamed Elhakim and Pierre Nabeth

Incident cardiovascular disease and particulate matter air pollution in South Korea using a population-based and nationwide cohort of 0.2 million adults

While many studies reported the association between long-term exposure to particulate matter air pollution (PM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD), few studies focused on incidence with relatively high-dose expo...

Authors: Ok-Jin Kim, Soo Hyun Lee, Si-Hyuck Kang and Sun-Young Kim

Climate factors and gestational diabetes mellitus risk – a systematic review

Current and projected increases in global temperatures and extreme climate events have led to heightened interest in the impact of climate factors (i.e. ambient temperature, season/seasonality, and humidity) o...

Authors: Emma V. Preston, Claudia Eberle, Florence M. Brown and Tamarra James-Todd

Association between coarse particulate matter and inflammatory and hemostatic markers in a cohort of midlife women

Exposure to particulate matter air pollution has been associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality; however, most studies have focused on fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) exposure and CVD. ...

Authors: Emilie Davis, Brian Malig, Rachel Broadwin, Keita Ebisu, Rupa Basu, Ellen B. Gold, Lihong Qi, Carol A. Derby, Sung Kyun Park and Xiangmei (May) Wu

Association of ambient air pollution with cardiovascular disease risks in people with type 2 diabetes: a Bayesian spatial survival analysis

Evidence is limited on excess risks of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) associated with ambient air pollution in diabetic populations. Survival analyses without considering the spatial structure and possible spa...

Authors: Pei-Fang Su, Fei-Ci Sie, Chun-Ting Yang, Yu-Lin Mau, Shihchen Kuo and Huang-Tz Ou

Epigenome-wide association study for pesticide (Permethrin and DEET) induced DNA methylation epimutation biomarkers for specific transgenerational disease

Permethrin and N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) are the pesticides and insect repellent most commonly used by humans. These pesticides have been shown to promote the epigenetic transgenerational inheritance o...

Authors: Jennifer L. M. Thorson, Daniel Beck, Millissia Ben Maamar, Eric E. Nilsson and Michael K. Skinner

Immune biomarkers link air pollution exposure to blood pressure in adolescents

Childhood exposure to air pollution contributes to cardiovascular disease in adulthood. Immune and oxidative stress disturbances might mediate the effects of air pollution on the cardiovascular system, but the...

Authors: Mary Prunicki, Nicholas Cauwenberghs, Jennifer Arthur Ataam, Hesam Movassagh, Juyong Brian Kim, Tatiana Kuznetsova, Joseph C. Wu, Holden Maecker, Francois Haddad and Kari Nadeau

The dietary risk index system: a tool to track pesticide dietary risks

For years the United States Department of Agriculture’s Pesticide Data Program and the United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency have published annual or quarterly data on pesticide residues in foods. Both progra...

Authors: Charles M. Benbrook and Donald R. Davis

Exposure to Perflouroalkyl acids and foetal and maternal thyroid status: a review

Exposure to perfluorinated-alkyl-acids (PFAAs) is ubiquitous. PFAAs are hormone-disrupting compounds that are strongly suspected to affect mother-child-health such as fetal growth. Thyroid disruption is a plau...

Authors: Sophie A. H. Boesen, Manhai Long, Maria Wielsøe, Vicente Mustieles, Mariana F. Fernandez and Eva C. Bonefeld-Jørgensen

Can climatic factors explain the differences in COVID-19 incidence and severity across the Spanish regions?: An ecological study

Environmental factors play a central role in seasonal epidemics. SARS-CoV-2 infection in Spain has shown a heterogeneous geographical pattern This study aimed to assess the influence of several climatic factor...

Authors: Pedro Muñoz Cacho, José L. Hernández, Marcos López-Hoyos and Víctor M. Martínez-Taboada

Aryl-hydrocarbon receptor binding and the incidence of type 2 diabetes: the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil)

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) may cause diabetes, in part through aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) binding. Ensuing mitochondrial dysfunction is postulated to mediate this effect. We aim to investigate t...

Authors: Bruce B. Duncan, Cristina D. Castilhos, Paula A. Bracco, Maria I. Schmidt, Sora Kang, Suyeol Im, Hong-Kyu Lee, Álvaro Vigo and Youngmi K. Pak

Biomarkers of environmental manganese exposure and associations with childhood neurodevelopment: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Although prior studies showed a correlation between environmental manganese (Mn) exposure and neurodevelopmental disorders in children, the results have been inconclusive. There has yet been no consistent biom...

Authors: Weiwei Liu, Yongjuan Xin, Qianwen Li, Yanna Shang, Zhiguang Ping, Junxia Min, Catherine M. Cahill, Jack T. Rogers and Fudi Wang

Perfluoroalkyl substances are associated with elevated blood pressure and hypertension in highly exposed young adults

Residents in a large area of North-Eastern Italy were exposed to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) via drinking water. Studies on the association between PFAS and blood pressure levels are limited, and results ...

Authors: Gisella Pitter, Maryam Zare Jeddi, Giulia Barbieri, Massimo Gion, Aline S. C. Fabricio, Francesca Daprà, Francesca Russo, Tony Fletcher and Cristina Canova

Correlation between exposure to fine particulate matter and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in Shanghai, China

Association between fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) is inconsistent and appears to change in each trimester. We aim to investigate the association of exposure to ambi...

Authors: Xiujuan Su, Yan Zhao, Yingying Yang and Jing Hua

Drug use disorder following early life exposure to tetrachloroethylene (PCE)-contaminated drinking water: a retrospective cohort study

Many studies of adults with occupational exposure to solvents such as tetrachloroethylene (PCE) have shown adverse effects on cognition, mood and behavioral problems. Much less is known about neurotoxic effect...

Authors: Ann Aschengrau, Alexandra Grippo, Michael R. Winter, Margaret G. Shea, Roberta F. White and Richard Saitz

Associations between prenatal maternal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and birth outcomes among pregnant women in San Francisco

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are used in consumer products for their water repellent and flame retardant properties, respectively. However, there is widespread pr...

Authors: Stephanie M. Eick, Elizabeth K. Hom Thepaksorn, Monika A. Izano, Lara J. Cushing, Yunzhu Wang, Sabrina Crispo Smith, Songmei Gao, June-Soo Park, Amy M. Padula, Erin DeMicco, Linda Valeri, Tracey J. Woodruff and Rachel Morello-Frosch

Comparison of life loss per death attributable to ambient temperature among various development regions: a nationwide study in 364 locations in China

Several studies have investigated the associations between ambient temperature and years of life lost (YLLs), but few focused on the difference of life loss attributable to temperature among different socioeco...

Authors: Siqi Chen, Yize Xiao, Maigeng Zhou, Chunliang Zhou, Min Yu, Biao Huang, Yanjun Xu, Tao Liu, Jianxiong Hu, Xiaojun Xu, Lifeng Lin, Ruying Hu, Zhulin Hou, Junhua Li, Donghui Jin, Mingfang Qin…

Maternal urinary concentrations of organophosphate ester metabolites: associations with gestational weight gain, early life anthropometry, and infant eating behaviors among mothers-infant pairs in Rhode Island

Organophosphate esters (OPEs)—used as flame retardants and plasticizers—are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes such as reduced fecundity and live births and increased preterm delivery. OPEs may interfe...

Authors: Kathryn A. Crawford, Nicola Hawley, Antonia M. Calafat, Nayana K. Jayatilaka, Rosemary J. Froehlich, Phinnara Has, Lisa G. Gallagher, David A. Savitz, Joseph M. Braun, Erika F. Werner and Megan E. Romano

A family of partial-linear single-index models for analyzing complex environmental exposures with continuous, categorical, time-to-event, and longitudinal health outcomes

Statistical methods to study the joint effects of environmental factors are of great importance to understand the impact of correlated exposures that may act synergistically or antagonistically on health outco...

Authors: Yuyan Wang, Yinxiang Wu, Melanie H. Jacobson, Myeonggyun Lee, Peng Jin, Leonardo Trasande and Mengling Liu

Sustainable solutions to mitigate occupational heat strain – an umbrella review of physiological effects and global health perspectives

Climate change is set to exacerbate occupational heat strain, the combined effect of environmental and internal heat stress on the body, threatening human health and wellbeing. Therefore, identifying effective...

Authors: Nathan B. Morris, Ollie Jay, Andreas D. Flouris, Ana Casanueva, Chuansi Gao, Josh Foster, George Havenith and Lars Nybo

Using three statistical methods to analyze the association between exposure to 9 compounds and obesity in children and adolescents: NHANES 2005-2010

Various risk factors influence obesity differently, and environmental endocrine disruption may increase the occurrence of obesity. However, most of the previous studies have considered only a unitary exposure ...

Authors: Bangsheng Wu, Yi Jiang, Xiaoqing Jin and Li He

Perinatal oral exposure to low doses of bisphenol A, S or F impairs immune functions at intestinal and systemic levels in female offspring mice

Bisphenol A (BPA), one of the highest-volume chemicals produced worldwide, has been identified as an endocrine disruptor. Many peer-reviewing studies have reported adverse effects of low dose BPA exposure, par...

Authors: Yann Malaisé, Corinne Lencina, Christel Cartier, Maïwenn Olier, Sandrine Ménard and Laurence Guzylack-Piriou

Particulate matter and emergency visits for asthma: a time-series study of their association in the presence and absence of wildfire smoke in Reno, Nevada, 2013–2018

Health risks due to particulate matter (PM) from wildfires may differ from risk due to PM from other sources. In places frequently subjected to wildfire smoke, such as Reno, Nevada, it is critical to determine...

Authors: Daniel Kiser, William J. Metcalf, Gai Elhanan, Brendan Schnieder, Karen Schlauch, Andrew Joros, Craig Petersen and Joseph Grzymski

Greenness, civil environment, and pregnancy outcomes: perspectives with a systematic review and meta-analysis

Various maternal conditions, especially in utero conditions and prenatal exposure to environments with air pollution and greenness, have been reviewed to address the enhancement and prevention of susceptibilit...

Authors: Kyung Ju Lee, Hyemi Moon, Hyo Ri Yun, Eun Lyeong Park, Ae Ran Park, Hijeong Choi, Kwan Hong and Juneyoung Lee

The effect of exposure to particulate matter during pregnancy on lower respiratory tract infection hospitalizations during first year of life

Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) in early life, including pneumonia, bronchitis and bronchiolitis, can lead to decreased lung function, persistent lung damage and increased susceptibility to various r...

Authors: Sharon Goshen, Lena Novack, Offer Erez, Maayan Yitshak-Sade, Itai Kloog, Alexandra Shtein and Eilon Shany

Environmental health literacy and household air pollution-associated symptoms in Kenya: a cross-sectional study

Household air pollution (HAP) is a significant source of the global burden of disease. Our objective was to evaluate the association between environmental health literacy (EHL), a domain of health literacy (HL...

Authors: Jill Raufman, Deanna Blansky, David W. Lounsbury, Esther Wairimu Mwangi, Qing Lan, Jordi Olloquequi and H. Dean Hosgood III

Concentrations of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances and blood glucose in pregnant women

Evidence on the association between exposure to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and blood glucose concentrations in pregnant women is inconsistent. This study aimed to examine the associa...

Authors: Yanfeng Ren, Longmei Jin, Fen Yang, Hong Liang, Zhaofeng Zhang, Jing Du, Xiuxia Song, Maohua Miao and Wei Yuan

Dibutyl phthalate promotes juvenile Sertoli cell proliferation by decreasing the levels of the E3 ubiquitin ligase Pellino 2

A previous study showed that dibutyl phthalate (DBP) exposure disrupted the growth of testicular Sertoli cells (SCs). In the present study, we aimed to investigate the potential mechanism by which DBP promotes...

Authors: Tan Ma, Jiwei Hou, Yuan Zhou, Yusheng Chen, Jiayin Qiu, Jiang Wu, Jie Ding, Xiaodong Han and Dongmei Li