Articles

An overview of methods to address distinct research questions on environmental mixtures: an application to persistent organic pollutants and leukocyte telomere length

Numerous methods exist to analyze complex environmental mixtures in health studies. As an illustration of the different uses of mixture methods, we employed methods geared toward distinct research questions co...

Authors: Elizabeth A. Gibson, Yanelli Nunez, Ahlam Abuawad, Ami R. Zota, Stefano Renzetti, Katrina L. Devick, Chris Gennings, Jeff Goldsmith, Brent A. Coull and Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou

Thyroid hormone levels associate with exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated biphenyls in adults exposed as children

Michigan residents were directly exposed to endocrine-disrupting compounds, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB). A growing body of evidence suggests that exposure to certain endocr...

Authors: Sarah W. Curtis, Metrecia L. Terrell, Melanie H. Jacobson, Dawayland O. Cobb, Victoria S. Jiang, Michael F. Neblett, Sabrina A. Gerkowicz, Jessica B. Spencer, M. Elizabeth Marder, Dana Boyd Barr, Karen N. Conneely, Alicia K. Smith and Michele Marcus

Potential role of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as mediators of cardiovascular effects from combustion particles

Air pollution is the most important environmental risk factor for disease and premature death, and exposure to combustion particles from vehicles is a major contributor. Human epidemiological studies combined ...

Authors: Jørn A. Holme, Bendik C. Brinchmann, Magne Refsnes, Marit Låg and Johan Øvrevik

Personal carbon monoxide exposure, respiratory symptoms, and the potentially modifying roles of sex and HIV infection in rural Uganda: a cohort study

Most of the global burden of pollution-related morbidity and mortality is believed to occur in resource-limited settings, where HIV serostatus and sex may influence the relationship between air pollution expos...

Authors: Crystal M. North, Piers MacNaughton, Peggy S. Lai, Jose Vallarino, Samson Okello, Bernard Kakuhikire, Alexander C. Tsai, Marcia C. Castro, Mark J. Siedner, Joseph G. Allen and David C. Christiani

Impact of the warm summer 2015 on emergency hospital admissions in Switzerland

Only a few studies have examined the impact of a particular heat event on morbidity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the warm summer 2015 on emergency hospital admissions (EHA) in Switzerla...

Authors: Martina S. Ragettli, Ana M. Vicedo-Cabrera, Benjamin Flückiger and Martin Röösli

Long-term exposure to air pollution and hospitalization for dementia in the Rome longitudinal study

Few studies have explored the role of air pollution in neurodegenerative processes, especially various types of dementia. Our aim was to evaluate the association between long-term exposure to air pollution and...

Authors: Francesco Cerza, Matteo Renzi, Claudio Gariazzo, Marina Davoli, Paola Michelozzi, Francesco Forastiere and Giulia Cesaroni

Cumulative asbestos exposure and mortality from asbestos related diseases in a pooled analysis of 21 asbestos cement cohorts in Italy

Despite the available information on cancer risk, asbestos is used in large areas in the world, mostly in the production of asbestos cement. Moreover, questions are raised regarding the shape of the dose respo...

Authors: Ferdinando Luberto, Daniela Ferrante, Stefano Silvestri, Alessia Angelini, Francesco Cuccaro, Anna Maria Nannavecchia, Enrico Oddone, Massimo Vicentini, Francesco Barone-Adesi, Tiziana Cena, Dario Mirabelli, Lucia Mangone, Francesca Roncaglia, Orietta Sala, Simona Menegozzo, Roberta Pirastu…

Acute effects of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) on hospital admissions for cardiovascular disease in Beijing, China: a time-series study

Air pollution and cardiovascular disease are increasing problems in China. However, the short-term association between fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is not well documented. The ...

Authors: Endawoke Amsalu, Tianqi Wang, Haibin Li, Yue Liu, Anxin Wang, Xiangtong Liu, Lixin Tao, Yanxia Luo, Feng Zhang, Xinghua Yang, Xia Li, Wei Wang and Xiuhua Guo

CYP1A1 methylation mediates the effect of smoking and occupational polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons co-exposure on oxidative DNA damage among Chinese coke-oven workers

Multiple factors, including co-exposure between lifestyle and environmental risks, are important in susceptibility to oxidative DNA damage. However, the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. This study...

Authors: Yanli Liu, Xuejing Li, Bin Zhang, Ye Fu, Aimin Yang, Hongjie Zhang, Huitao Zhang, Yingying Niu, Jisheng Nie and Jin Yang

Correction to: Exposure to arsenic in utero is associated with various types of DNA damage and micronuclei in newborns: a birth cohort study

Following publication of the original article [1], the author reported that incorrect version of Tables 1, 3, 5 and 6 were published.

Authors: Panida Navasumrit, Krittinee Chaisatra, Jeerawan Promvijit, Varabhorn Parnlob, Somchamai Waraprasit, Chalida Chompoobut, Ta Thi Binh, Doan Ngoc Hai, Nguyen Duy Bao, Nguyen Khac Hai, Kyoung-Woong Kim, Leona D. Samson, Joseph H. Graziano, Chulabhorn Mahidol and Mathuros Ruchirawat

Neurocognitive impact of metal exposure and social stressors among schoolchildren in Taranto, Italy

Metal exposure is a public health hazard due to neurocognitive effects starting in early life. Poor socio-economic status, adverse home and family environment can enhance the neurodevelopmental toxicity due to...

Authors: Roberto G. Lucchini, Stefano Guazzetti, Stefano Renzetti, Michele Conversano, Giuseppa Cagna, Chiara Fedrighi, Augusto Giorgino, Marco Peli, Donatella Placidi, Silvia Zoni, Giovanni Forte, Costanza Majorani, Anna Pino, Oreste Senofonte, Francesco Petrucci and Alessandro Alimonti

Susceptibility of prediabetes to the health effect of air pollution: a community-based panel study with a nested case-control design

Recent studies suggest that people with diabetes or who are at risk of developing diabetes, i.e. prediabetic (preDM), are potentially susceptible to air pollution, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear ...

Authors: Yiqun Han, Yanwen Wang, Weiju Li, Xi Chen, Tao Xue, Wu Chen, Yunfei Fan, Xinghua Qiu and Tong Zhu

Associations between short-term exposure to gaseous pollutants and pulmonary heart disease-related mortality among elderly people in Chengdu, China

Pulmonary heart disease (PHD) has become a global burden, especially in low- and middle-income countries. However, very few studies have assessed the influence of air pollution on PHD. This is the first study ...

Authors: Jianyu Chen, Jie Zeng, Chunli Shi, Ruicong Liu, Rong Lu, Suling Mao and Li Zhang

Urinary trace metals, maternal circulating angiogenic biomarkers, and preeclampsia: a single-contaminant and mixture-based approach

Exposures to toxic metals and deficiencies in essential metals disrupt placentation and may contribute to preeclampsia. However, effects of exposure to combinations of metals remain unknown.

Authors: Paige A. Bommarito, Stephani S. Kim, John D. Meeker, Rebecca C. Fry, David E. Cantonwine, Thomas F. McElrath and Kelly K. Ferguson

The association of early-life exposure to ambient PM_2.5 and later-childhood height-for-age in India: an observational study

Children in India are exposed to high levels of ambient fine particulate matter (PM_2.5). However, population-level evidence of associations with adverse health outcomes from within the country is limited. The aim...

Authors: Dean Spears, Sagnik Dey, Sourangsu Chowdhury, Noah Scovronick, Sangita Vyas and Joshua Apte

Using web data to improve surveillance for heat sensitive health outcomes

Elevated and prolonged exposure to extreme heat is an important cause of excess summertime mortality and morbidity. To protect people from health threats, some governments are currently operating syndromic sur...

Authors: Jihoon Jung, Christopher K. Uejio, Chris Duclos and Melissa Jordan

Population allocation at the housing unit level: estimates around underground natural gas storage wells in PA, OH, NY, WV, MI, and CA

Spatially accurate population data are critical for determining health impacts from many known risk factors. However, the utility of the increasing spatial resolution of disease mapping and environmental expos...

Authors: Drew R. Michanowicz, Samuel R. Williams, Jonathan J. Buonocore, Sebastian T. Rowland, Katherine E. Konschnik, Shaun A. Goho and Aaron S. Bernstein

Assessing the national capacity for disaster research response (DR2) within the NIEHS Environmental Health Sciences Core Centers

Disaster research response (DR2) is necessary to answer scientific questions about the environmental health impacts of disasters and the effectiveness of response and recovery strategies. This research explore...

Authors: Nicole A. Errett, Erin N. Haynes, Nancy Wyland, Ali Everhart, Claire Pendergrast and Edith A. Parker

Biomass fuel as a risk factor for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The link between use of solid biomass fuel (wood, charcoal, coal, dung, and crop residues) for cooking and/or heating and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is inconclusive.

Authors: Samson Okello, Suzan Joan Akello, Emmanuel Dwomoh, Emmanuel Byaruhanga, Christopher Kenneth Opio, Ruyang Zhang, Kathleen E. Corey, Winnie R. Muyindike, Ponsiano Ocama and David D. Christiani

Exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides and risk of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline in an older population: a prospective analysis from the Canadian Study of Health and Aging

Little attention has been paid to neurotoxicants on the risk of dementia. Exposure to known neurotoxicants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine (OC) pesticides is suspected to have adver...

Authors: Thierry Comlan Marc Medehouenou, Pierre Ayotte, Pierre-Hugues Carmichael, Edeltraut Kröger, René Verreault, Joan Lindsay, Éric Dewailly, Suzanne L. Tyas, Alexandre Bureau and Danielle Laurin

Smoking-induced risk of future cardiovascular disease is partly mediated by cadmium in tobacco: Malmö Diet and Cancer Cohort Study

Smoking is a strong risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and causes exposure to cadmium, which is a pro-atherosclerotic metal. Cadmium exposure has also been shown to increase the risk of CVD, even aft...

Authors: Huiqi Li, Björn Fagerberg, Gerd Sallsten, Yan Borné, Bo Hedblad, Gunnar Engström, Lars Barregard and Eva M. Andersson

Temperature as a risk factor of emergency department visits for acute kidney injury: a case-crossover study in Seoul, South Korea

Previous studies show that escalations in ambient temperature are among the risk factors for acute kidney injury (AKI). However, it has not been adequately studied in our location, Seoul, South Korea. In this ...

Authors: Satbyul Estella Kim, Hyewon Lee, Jayeun Kim, Young Kyu Lee, Minjin Kang, Yasuaki Hijioka and Ho Kim

Issues with incorrect computing of population attributable fraction (PAF) in a global perspective on coal-fired power plants and burden of lung cancer

All observational studies are liable to confounding and Levin’s formula becomes useless in practice for unbiasedly estimating PAF. With respect to causal interpretation of PAF in public health setting, unbiase...

Authors: Ahmad Khosravi and Mohammad Ali Mansournia

Prenatal plasma concentrations of Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances and neuropsychological development in children at four years of age

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are persistent pollutants and have endocrine disruptive and neurotoxic effects. The association between maternal PFAS concentrations and neuropsychological...

Authors: Jinbo Niu, Hong Liang, Youping Tian, Wei Yuan, Hong Xiao, Hui Hu, Xiaowei Sun, Xiuxia Song, Sheng Wen, Li Yang, Yanfeng Ren and Maohua Miao

Estimation and application of population attributable fraction in ecological studies

Estimation of population attributable fraction (PAF) requires unbiased relative risk (RR) by using either Levin’s or Miettinen’s formula, on which decision depends on the available exposure information in refe...

Authors: Cheng-Kuan Lin and Szu-Ta Chen

Exposure to arsenic in utero is associated with various types of DNA damage and micronuclei in newborns: a birth cohort study

Growing evidence indicates that in utero arsenic exposures in humans may increase the risk of adverse health effects and development of diseases later in life. This study aimed to evaluate potential health ris...

Authors: Panida Navasumrit, Krittinee Chaisatra, Jeerawan Promvijit, Varabhorn Parnlob, Somchamai Waraprasit, Chalida Chompoobut, Ta Thi Binh, Doan Ngoc Hai, Nguyen Duy Bao, Nguyen Khac Hai, Kyoung-Woong Kim, Leona D. Samson, Joseph H. Graziano, Chulabhorn Mahidol and Mathuros Ruchirawat

The USA lags behind other agricultural nations in banning harmful pesticides

The United States of America (USA), European Union (EU), Brazil and China are four of the largest agricultural producers and users of agricultural pesticides in the world. Comparing the inclination and ability...

Authors: Nathan Donley

Relations between air pollution and vascular development in 5-year old children: a cross-sectional study in the Netherlands

Air pollution has been shown to promote cardiovascular disease in adults. Possible mechanisms include air pollution induced changes in arterial wall function and structure. Atherosclerotic vascular disease is ...

Authors: Anna-Maria Ntarladima, Ilonca Vaartjes, Diederick E. Grobbee, Martin Dijst, Oliver Schmitz, Cuno Uiterwaal, Geertje Dalmeijer, Cornelis van der Ent, Gerard Hoek and Derek Karssenberg

Maternal exposure to ambient fine particulate matter and fetal growth in Shanghai, China

Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is not only a major determinant of perinatal morbidity and mortality but also leads to adverse health effects in later life. Over the past decade, numerous studies have indicated...

Authors: Zhijuan Cao, Lulu Meng, Yan Zhao, Chao Liu, Yingying Yang, Xiujuan Su, Qingyan Fu, Dongfang Wang and Jing Hua

Hospital, health, and community burden after oil refinery fires, Richmond, California 2007 and 2012

Emergency Departments experience a significant census burst after disasters. The aim of this study is to describe patient presentations at Emergency Departments in Contra Costa County, California following che...

Authors: Linda L. Remy, Ted Clay, Vera Byers and Paul E. Rosenfeld

Correction to: Letter to the editor regarding “safety of safety evaluation of pesticides: developmental neurotoxicity of chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-methyl” by Mie et al. (environmental health. 2018. 17:77)

Following publication of the original article

Authors: Daland R. Juberg, Alan M. Hoberman, Sue Marty, Catherine A. Picut and Donald G. Stump

Two-step approach for assessing the health effects of environmental chemical mixtures: application to simulated datasets and real data from the Navajo Birth Cohort Study

There is increasing interest in examining the consequences of simultaneous exposures to chemical mixtures. However, a consensus or recommendations on how to appropriately select the statistical approach analyz...

Authors: Li Luo, Laurie G. Hudson, Johnnye Lewis and Ji-Hyun Lee

Assessment of total, ligand-induced peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ ligand activity in serum

Humans are exposed to a complex mixture of environmental chemicals that impact bone and metabolic health, and traditional exposure assessments struggle to capture these exposure scenarios. Peroxisome prolifera...

Authors: Lariah Edwards, James Watt, Thomas F. Webster and Jennifer J. Schlezinger

Fetal growth in environmental epidemiology: mechanisms, limitations, and a review of associations with biomarkers of non-persistent chemical exposures during pregnancy

Non-persistent chemicals, such as phthalates, environmental phenols, organophosphate pesticides, and others, are challenging to study because of their ubiquity in the environment, diverse exposure routes, and ...

Authors: Elizabeth M. Kamai, Thomas F. McElrath and Kelly K. Ferguson

Historical evidence of glyphosate exposure from a US agricultural cohort

In response to the recent review by Gillezeau et al., The evidence of human exposure to glyphosate: A review, Environmental Health 1/19/19, here we report additional glyphosate biomonitoring data from a repositor...

Authors: Melissa J. Perry, Daniele Mandrioli, Fiorella Belpoggi, Fabiana Manservisi, Simona Panzacchi and Courtney Irwin

Challenging dominant breast cancer research agendas: perspectives on the outcomes of the interagency breast cancer and environment research coordinating committee

As breast cancer rates increase globally, there is growing scientific consensus that greater understanding of the causes of breast cancer is needed to better prevent its occurrence. Genetics accounts for a sma...

Authors: Lauren Richter

Applying a cumulative risk framework to drinking water assessment: a commentary

The health risks of drinking water contaminants and the economic benefits of drinking water standards are typically assessed one chemical at a time, an approach that misses the health impacts of co-occurring c...

Authors: Tasha Stoiber, Alexis Temkin, David Andrews, Chris Campbell and Olga V. Naidenko

Assessing the magnitude and uncertainties of the burden of selected diseases attributable to extreme heat and extreme precipitation under a climate change scenario in Michigan for the period 2041–2070

Extreme heat (EH) and extreme precipitation (EP) events are expected to increase with climate change in many parts of the world. Characterizing the potential future morbidity and mortality burden of EH and EP ...

Authors: Carina J. Gronlund, Lorraine Cameron, Claire Shea and Marie S. O’Neill

Considerations in the use of different spirometers in epidemiological studies

Spirometric lung function measurements have been proven to be excellent objective markers of respiratory morbidity. The use of different types of spirometers in epidemiological and clinical studies may present...

Authors: Edith B. Milanzi, Gerard H. Koppelman, Marieke Oldenwening, Sonja Augustijn, Bernadette Aalders-de Ruijter, Martijn Farenhorst, Judith M. Vonk, Marjan Tewis, Bert Brunekreef and Ulrike Gehring

A tensor product quasi-Poisson model for estimating health effects of multiple ambient pollutants on mortality

People are exposed to mixtures of highly correlated gaseous, liquid and solid pollutants. However, in previous studies, the assessment of air pollution effects was mainly based on single-pollutant models or wa...

Authors: Li-Jun Xu, Shuang-Quan Shen, Li Li, Ting-Ting Chen, Zhi-Ying Zhan and Chun-Quan Ou

Carbon monoxide and risk of outpatient visits due to cause-specific diseases: a time-series study in Yichang, China

Previous studies showed inconsistent results on risk of increased outpatient visits for cause-specific diseases associated with ambient carbon monoxide (CO).

Authors: Yu Wang, Chengye Yao, Chengzhong Xu, Xinying Zeng, Maigeng Zhou, Yun Lin, Pei Zhang and Peng Yin

Estimating policy-relevant health effects of ambient heat exposures using spatially contiguous reanalysis data

Regional National Weather Service (NWS) heat advisory criteria in New York State (NYS) were based on frequency of heat events estimated by sparse monitoring data. These may not accurately reflect temperatures ...

Authors: Temilayo E. Adeyeye, Tabassum Z. Insaf, Mohammad Z. Al-Hamdan, Seema G. Nayak, Neil Stuart, Stephen DiRienzo and William L. Crosson

Particulate air pollution on cardiovascular mortality in the tropics: impact on the elderly

Air pollution has a significant health impact. Most data originate from temperate regions. We aim to study the health impact of air pollution, particularly among the elderly, in a tropical region.

Authors: Jonathan Yap, Yixiang Ng, Khung Keong Yeo, Anders Sahlén, Carolyn Su Ping Lam, Vernon Lee and Stefan Ma

Para-occupational exposure to pesticides, PON1 polymorphisms and hypothyroxinemia during the first half of pregnancy in women living in a Mexican floricultural area

Adequate maternal thyroxine (T4) concentrations during the first half of pregnancy are fundamental to the embryo’s or fetus’ neural development. Organophosphate pesticides (OP) can act as thyroid disruptors an...

Authors: Luisa Torres-Sánchez, Ricardo Gamboa, Susana Bassol-Mayagoitia, Claudia Huesca-Gómez, Martha Patricia Nava, Jennifer Illian Vázquez-Potisek, Leticia Yáñez-Estrada, Rebeca Mejía-Saucedo and Julia Blanco-Muñoz

Letter to the editor re: the CDC blood lead reference value for children

Authors: Perry Gottesfeld and Deborah A. Cory-Slechta

Methods to account for uncertainties in exposure assessment in studies of environmental exposures

Accurate exposure estimation in environmental epidemiological studies is crucial for health risk assessment. Failure to account for uncertainties in exposure estimation could lead to biased results in exposure...

Authors: You Wu, F. Owen Hoffman, A. Iulian Apostoaei, Deukwoo Kwon, Brian A. Thomas, Racquel Glass and Lydia B. Zablotska

Screening of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL)-associated SNPs and the assessment of its genetic susceptibility

The aim of this study was to screen for noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL)-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and to construct genetic risk prediction models for NIHL in a Chinese population.

Authors: Xuhui Zhang, Yaqin Ni, Yi Liu, Lei Zhang, Meibian Zhang, Xinyan Fang, Zhangping Yang, Qiang Wang, Hao Li, Yuyong Xia and Yimin Zhu

Response to Juberg et al.

Authors: Axel Mie, Christina Rudén and Philippe Grandjean

A repeated measures study of phenol, paraben and Triclocarban urinary biomarkers and circulating maternal hormones during gestation in the Puerto Rico PROTECT cohort

Prenatal exposure to some phenols and parabens has been associated with adverse birth outcomes. Hormones may play an intermediate role between phenols and adverse outcomes. We examined the associations of phen...

Authors: Amira M. Aker, Kelly K. Ferguson, Zaira Y. Rosario, Bhramar Mukherjee, Akram N. Alshawabkeh, Antonia M. Calafat, José F. Cordero and John D. Meeker

Fluoride exposure and pubertal development in children living in Mexico City

Previous animal and ecological studies have provided evidence for an earlier sexual maturation in females in relation to fluoride exposure; however, no epidemiological studies have examined the association bet...

Authors: Yun Liu, Martha Téllez-Rojo, Howard Hu, Brisa N. Sánchez, E. Angeles Martinez-Mier, Niladri Basu, Adriana Mercado-García, Maritsa Solano-González and Karen E. Peterson