Articles

Desert dust outbreaks and respiratory morbidity in Athens, Greece

Ambient particulate matter (PM) has an adverse effect on respiratory morbidity. Desert dust outbreaks contribute to increased PM levels but the toxicity of desert dust mixed with anthropogenic pollutants needs...

Authors: Stavroula-Myrto Trianti, Evangelia Samoli, Sophia Rodopoulou, Klea Katsouyanni, Spyros A. Papiris and Anna Karakatsani

The association between ambient fine particulate matter and incident adenocarcinoma subtype of lung cancer

Adenocarcinoma (AC) is the most common lung cancer among non-smokers, but few studies have assessed the effect of PM_2.5 on AC among never smokers. The purpose of this study was to assess the association between a...

Authors: Lida Gharibvand, W. Lawrence Beeson, David Shavlik, Raymond Knutsen, Mark Ghamsary, Samuel Soret and Synnove F. Knutsen

Buccal mucosa micronuclei counts in relation to exposure to low dose-rate radiation from the Chornobyl nuclear accident and other medical and occupational radiation exposures

Ionizing radiation is a well-known carcinogen. Chromosome aberrations, and in particular micronuclei represent an early biological predictor of cancer risk. There are well-documented associations of micronucle...

Authors: D. Bazyka, S. C. Finch, I. M. Ilienko, O. Lyaskivska, I. Dyagil, N. Trotsiuk, N. Gudzenko, V. V. Chumak, K. M. Walsh, J. Wiemels, M. P. Little and L.B. Zablotska

Ancient water bottle use and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure among California Indians: a prehistoric health risk assessment

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are the main toxic compounds in natural bitumen, a fossil material used by modern and ancient societies around the world. The adverse health effects of PAHs on modern hu...

Authors: Sabrina B. Sholts, Kevin Smith, Cecilia Wallin, Trifa M. Ahmed and Sebastian K. T. S. Wärmländer

Impact of phthalate and BPA exposure during in utero windows of susceptibility on reproductive hormones and sexual maturation in peripubertal males

Phthalates and BPA are endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) widely used in consumer products. Evidence suggests that phthalate and BPA exposure alters steroid hormone levels in adults, while in utero exposure...

Authors: Deborah J. Watkins, Brisa N. Sánchez, Martha Maria Téllez-Rojo, Joyce M. Lee, Adriana Mercado-García, Clara Blank-Goldenberg, Karen E. Peterson and John D. Meeker

Prenatal exposure to antifungal medication may change anogenital distance in male offspring: a preliminary study

Vaginal candidiasis is frequent among pregnant women and it is treated with anti-fungal medication (conazoles). Conazoles have anti-androgenic properties and prenatal exposure in rodents is associated with a s...

Authors: Djamilla Madelung Mogensen, Maria Bergkvist Pihl, Niels E. Skakkebæk, Helle Raun Andersen, Anders Juul, Henriette Boye Kyhl, Shanna Swan, David Møbjerg Kristensen, Marianne Skovager Andersen, Dorte Vesterholm Lind and Tina Kold Jensen

Household cereal crop harvest and children’s nutritional status in rural Burkina Faso

Reduction of child undernutrition is one of the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. Achievement of this goal may be made more difficult in some settings by climate change through adverse impact on agricult...

Authors: Kristine Belesova, Antonio Gasparrini, Ali Sié, Rainer Sauerborn and Paul Wilkinson

A re-assessment of the safety of silver in household water treatment: rapid systematic review of mammalian in vivo genotoxicity studies

Despite poor evidence of their effectiveness, colloidal silver and silver nanoparticles are increasingly being promoted for treating potentially contaminated drinking water in low income countries. Recently, h...

Authors: Lorna Fewtrell, Batsirai Majuru and Paul R. Hunter

Erratum to: Pesticide exposures and chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology: an epidemiologic review

Authors: Mathieu Valcke, Marie-Eve Levasseur, Agnes Soares da Silva and Catharina Wesseling

Long-term exposure to ambient ultrafine particles and respiratory disease incidence in in Toronto, Canada: a cohort study

Little is known about the long-term health effects of ambient ultrafine particles (<0.1 μm) (UFPs) including their association with respiratory disease incidence. In this study, we examined the relationship be...

Authors: Scott Weichenthal, Li Bai, Marianne Hatzopoulou, Keith Van Ryswyk, Jeffrey C. Kwong, Michael Jerrett, Aaron van Donkelaar, Randall V. Martin, Richard T. Burnett, Hong Lu and Hong Chen

Use of mobile and cordless phones and change in cognitive function: a prospective cohort analysis of Australian primary school children

Some previous studies have suggested an association between children’s use of mobile phones (MPs)/cordless phones (CPs) and development of cognitive function. We evaluated possible longitudinal associations be...

Authors: Chhavi Raj Bhatt, Geza Benke, Catherine L. Smith, Mary Redmayne, Christina Dimitriadis, Anna Dalecki, Skye Macleod, Malcolm R. Sim, Rodney J. Croft, Rory Wolfe, Jordy Kaufman and Michael J. Abramson

Erratum to: Ozone and childhood respiratory disease in three US cities: evaluation of effect measure modification by neighborhood socioeconomic status using a Bayesian hierarchical approach

Authors: Cassandra R. O’ Lenick, Howard H. Chang, Michael R. Kramer, Andrea Winquist, James A. Mulholland, Mariel D. Friberg and Stefanie Ebelt Sarnat

The aquaglyceroporin AQP9 contributes to the sex-specific effects of in utero arsenic exposure on placental gene expression

Sex-specific factors play a major role in human health and disease, including responses to environmental stresses such as toxicant exposure. Increasing evidence suggests that such sex differences also exist du...

Authors: Emily F. Winterbottom, Devin C. Koestler, Dennis Liang Fei, Eric Wika, Anthony J. Capobianco, Carmen J. Marsit, Margaret R. Karagas and David J. Robbins

Air pollution, cardiovascular endpoints and susceptibility by stress and material resources: a systematic review of the evidence

Evidence shows that both the physical and social environments play a role in the development of cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this systematic review is two-fold: First, we summarize research from the ...

Authors: Christina H. Fuller, Karla R. Feeser, Jeremy A. Sarnat and Marie S. O’Neill

Short-term air pollution exposure decreases lung function: a repeated measures study in healthy adults

Daily changes in ambient concentrations of particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and ozone are associated with increased cardiopulmonary morbidity and mortality, with the lungs and their function being a vulnera...

Authors: Luc Int Panis, Eline B Provost, Bianca Cox, Tijs Louwies, Michelle Laeremans, Arnout Standaert, Evi Dons, Luc Holmstock, Tim Nawrot and Patrick De Boever

Serum levels of environmental pollutants is a risk factor for breast cancer in Inuit: a case control study

Environmental Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) can alter the hormone homeostasis by mimicking, interfering or blocking the function of hormones; moreover POPs are hypothesized to modify the risk of breast ...

Authors: Maria Wielsøe, Peder Kern and Eva Cecilie Bonefeld-Jørgensen

Household air pollution from cooking and risk of adverse health and birth outcomes in Bangladesh: a nationwide population-based study

Household air pollution (HAP) from cooking with solid fuels has become a leading cause of death and disability in many developing countries including Bangladesh. We assess the association between HAP and risk ...

Authors: Md Nuruzzaman Khan, Cherri Zhang B. Nurs, M. Mofizul Islam, Md Rafiqul Islam and Md Mizanur Rahman

Comparison of methods for calculating the health costs of endocrine disrupters: a case study on triclosan

Socioeconomic analysis is currently used in the Europe Union as part of the regulatory process in Regulation Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH), with the aim of assessing and manag...

Authors: Radka Prichystalova, Jean-Baptiste Fini, Leonardo Trasande, Martine Bellanger, Barbara Demeneix and Laura Maxim

The short term burden of ambient fine particulate matter on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Ningbo, China

Numerous studies have found associations between ambient fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) and increased mortality risk. However, little evidence is available on associations between PM_2.5 and years of life lost (Y...

Authors: Guoxing Li, Jing Huang, Guozhang Xu, Xiaochuan Pan, Xujun Qian, Jiaying Xu, Yan Zhao, Tao Zhang, Qichen Liu, Xinbiao Guo and Tianfeng He

Newborn sex-specific transcriptome signatures and gestational exposure to fine particles: findings from the ENVIRONAGE birth cohort

Air pollution exposure during pregnancy has been associated with adverse birth outcomes and health problems later in life. We investigated sex-specific transcriptomic responses to gestational long- and short-t...

Authors: Ellen Winckelmans, Karen Vrijens, Maria Tsamou, Bram G. Janssen, Nelly D. Saenen, Harry A. Roels, Jos Kleinjans, Wouter Lefebvre, Charlotte Vanpoucke, Theo M. de Kok and Tim S. Nawrot

Blood pressure in young adulthood and residential greenness in the early-life environment of twins

Previous research shows that, besides risk factors in adult life, the early-life environment can influence blood pressure and hypertension in adults. However, the effects of residential traffic exposure and re...

Authors: Esmée M Bijnens, Tim S Nawrot, Ruth JF Loos, Marij Gielen, Robert Vlietinck, Catherine Derom and Maurice P Zeegers

Mobile phone use, school electromagnetic field levels and related symptoms: a cross-sectional survey among 2150 high school students in Izmir

Health outcomes of electromagnetic fields (EMF) from mobile phones and their base stations are of concern. Conducting multidisciplinary research, targeting children and exploring dose-response are recommended....

Authors: Raika Durusoy, Hür Hassoy, Ahmet Özkurt and Ali Osman Karababa

Genome-wide DNA methylation at birth in relation to in utero arsenic exposure and the associated health in later life

In utero arsenic exposure may alter fetal developmental programming by altering DNA methylation, which may result in a higher risk of disease in later life. We evaluated the association between in utero arseni...

Authors: Akhilesh Kaushal, Hongmei Zhang, Wilfried J. J. Karmaus, Todd M. Everson, Carmen J. Marsit, Margaret R. Karagas, Shih-Fen Tsai, Hui-Ju Wen and Shu-Li Wang

Pesticide exposures and chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology: an epidemiologic review

The main causes of chronic kidney disease (CKD) globally are diabetes and hypertension but epidemics of chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) occur in Central America, Sri Lanka, India and beyond. ...

Authors: Mathieu Valcke, Marie-Eve Levasseur, Agnes Soares da Silva and Catharina Wesseling

Human biomonitoring from an environmental justice perspective: supporting study participation of women of Turkish and Moroccan descent

Environmental justice research shows how socially disadvantaged groups are more exposed and more vulnerable to environmental pollution. At the same time, these groups are less represented and, thus, less visib...

Authors: Bert Morrens, Elly Den Hond, Greet Schoeters, Dries Coertjens, Ann Colles, Tim S. Nawrot, Willy Baeyens, Stefaan De Henauw, Vera Nelen and Ilse Loots

Prenatal bisphenol a exposure and dysregulation of infant hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function: findings from the APrON cohort study

Animal models show that prenatal bisphenol A (BPA) exposure leads to sexually dimorphic disruption of the neuroendocrine system in offspring, including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) neuroendocrine s...

Authors: Gerald F Giesbrecht, Maede Ejaredar, Jiaying Liu, Jenna Thomas, Nicole Letourneau, Tavis Campbell, Jonathan W Martin and Deborah Dewey

Distributions and determinants of urinary biomarkers of organophosphate pesticide exposure in a prospective Spanish birth cohort study

Prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides (OPs) has been associated with impaired child development. Pesticide exposure determinants need to be studied in order to identify sources and pathways of pestic...

Authors: Sabrina Llop, Mario Murcia, Carmen Iñiguez, Marta Roca, Llúcia González, Vicent Yusà, Marisa Rebagliato and Ferran Ballester

Monitoring urban beaches with qPCR vs. culture measures of fecal indicator bacteria: Implications for public notification

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has established methods for testing beach water using the rapid quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method, as well as “beach action values” so that ...

Authors: Samuel Dorevitch, Abhilasha Shrestha, Stephanie DeFlorio-Barker, Cathy Breitenbach and Ira Heimler

A chronology of ratios between black smoke and PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 in the context of comparison of air pollution epidemiology concentration-response functions

For many air pollution epidemiological studies in Europe, ‘black smoke’ (BS) was the only measurement available to quantify ambient particulate matter (PM), particularly for exposures prior to the mid-1990s wh...

Authors: Mathew R. Heal and Iain J. Beverland

Prenatal chlorpyrifos leads to autism-like deficits in C57Bl6/J mice

Children are at daily risk for exposure to organophosphate insecticides, of which the most common is chlorpyrifos (CPF). Exposure of pregnant women to CPF was linked to decreased birth weight, abnormal reflexe...

Authors: Anat Lan, Michal Kalimian, Benjamin Amram and Ora Kofman

Nicotine, aerosol particles, carbonyls and volatile organic compounds in tobacco- and menthol-flavored e-cigarettes

We aimed to assess the content of electronic cigarette (EC) emissions for five groups of potentially toxic compounds that are known to be present in tobacco smoke: nicotine, particles, carbonyls, volatile orga...

Authors: Mi-Sun Lee, Ryan F. LeBouf, Youn-Suk Son, Petros Koutrakis and David C. Christiani

Biological effects of exposure to static electric fields in humans and vertebrates: a systematic review

High-voltage direct current (HVDC) lines are the technology of choice for the transport of large amounts of energy over long distances. The operation of these lines produces static electric fields (EF), but th...

Authors: Anne-Kathrin Petri, Kristina Schmiedchen, Dominik Stunder, Dagmar Dechent, Thomas Kraus, William H. Bailey and Sarah Driessen

Variability and predictors of urinary concentrations of organophosphate flame retardant metabolites among pregnant women in Rhode Island

Organophospate flame retardants (PFRs) are chemicals of emerging concern due to restrictions on polybrominated diphenyl ether flame retardant formulations. We describe the occurrence, variability, and predicto...

Authors: Megan E. Romano, Nicola L. Hawley, Melissa Eliot, Antonia M. Calafat, Nayana K. Jayatilaka, Karl Kelsey, Stephen McGarvey, Maureen G. Phipps, David A. Savitz, Erika F. Werner and Joseph M. Braun

The protracted waste crisis and physical health of workers in Beirut: a comparative cross-sectional study

Since July 2015, Lebanon has been experiencing a waste management crisis. Dumpsites in inhabited areas and waste burning have emerged due to the waste accumulation, further adding to the gravity of the situati...

Authors: Rami Z. Morsi, Rawan Safa, Serge F. Baroud, Cherine N. Fawaz, Jad I. Farha, Fadi El-Jardali and Monique Chaaya

Hospitalizations for heat-stress illness varies between rural and urban areas: an analysis of Illinois data, 1987–2014

The disease burden due to heat-stress illness (HSI), which can result in significant morbidity and mortality, is expected to increase as the climate continues to warm. In the United States (U.S.) much of what ...

Authors: Jyotsna S. Jagai, Elena Grossman, Livia Navon, Apostolis Sambanis and Samuel Dorevitch

Environmental pollutants, a possible etiology for premature ovarian insufficiency: a narrative review of animal and human data

Because only 25% of cases of premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) have a known etiology, the aim of this review was to summarize the associations and mechanisms of the impact of the environment on this pathol...

Authors: Pauline Vabre, Nicolas Gatimel, Jessika Moreau, Véronique Gayrard, Nicole Picard-Hagen, Jean Parinaud and Roger D. Leandri

Ozone and childhood respiratory disease in three US cities: evaluation of effect measure modification by neighborhood socioeconomic status using a Bayesian hierarchical approach

Ground-level ozone is a potent airway irritant and a determinant of respiratory morbidity. Susceptibility to the health effects of ambient ozone may be influenced by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors, such ...

Authors: Cassandra R. O’ Lenick, Howard H. Chang, Michael R. Kramer, Andrea Winquist, James A. Mulholland, Mariel D. Friberg and Stefanie Ebelt Sarnat

Maternal urinary phthalates and sex-specific placental mRNA levels in an urban birth cohort

Prenatal urinary concentrations of phthalates in women participants in an urban birth cohort were associated with outcomes in their children related to neurodevelopment, autoimmune disease risk, and fat mass a...

Authors: Jennifer J. Adibi, Jessie P. Buckley, Myoung Keun Lee, Paige L. Williams, Allan C. Just, Yaqi Zhao, Hari K. Bhat and Robin M. Whyatt

Effects of extreme temperatures on cardiovascular emergency hospitalizations in a Mediterranean region: a self-controlled case series study

Cold spells and heatwaves increase mortality. However little is known about the effect of heatwaves or cold spells on cardiovascular morbidity. This study aims to assess the effect of cold spells and heatwaves...

Authors: Anna Ponjoan, Jordi Blanch, Lia Alves-Cabratosa, Ruth Martí-Lluch, Marc Comas-Cufí, Dídac Parramon, María del Mar Garcia-Gil, Rafel Ramos and Irene Petersen

Lead exposure at firing ranges—a review

Lead (Pb) is a toxic substance with well-known, multiple, long-term, adverse health outcomes. Shooting guns at firing ranges is an occupational necessity for security personnel, police officers, members of the...

Authors: Mark A. S. Laidlaw, Gabriel Filippelli, Howard Mielke, Brian Gulson and Andrew S. Ball

Indoor air pollution and its association with poor lung function, microalbuminuria and variations in blood pressure among kitchen workers in India: a cross-sectional study

The present study is an attempt to explore the association between kitchen indoor air pollutants and physiological profiles in kitchen workers with microalbuminuria (MAU) in north India (Lucknow) and south Ind...

Authors: Amarnath Singh, Chandrasekharan Nair Kesavachandran, Ritul Kamal, Vipin Bihari, Afzal Ansari, Parappurath Abdul Azeez, Prem Narain Saxena, Anil Kumar KS and Altaf Hussain Khan

Parental exposures to occupational asthmagens and risk of autism spectrum disorder in a Danish population-based case-control study

Environmental exposures and immune conditions during pregnancy could influence development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in offspring. However, few studies have examined immune-triggering exposures in rela...

Authors: Alison B. Singer, Igor Burstyn, Malene Thygesen, Preben Bo Mortensen, M. Daniele Fallin and Diana E. Schendel

Occupational exposures and determinants of ultrafine particle concentrations during laser hair removal procedures

Occupational exposures to ultrafine particles in the plume generated during laser hair removal procedures, the most commonly performed light based cosmetic procedure, have not been thoroughly characterized. Ac...

Authors: Emily J. Eshleman, Mallory LeBlanc, Lisa B. Rokoff, Yinyin Xu, Rui Hu, Kachiu Lee, Gary S. Chuang, Gary Adamkiewicz and Jaime E. Hart

Quantifying the impact of current and future concentrations of air pollutants on respiratory disease risk in England

Estimating the long-term health impact of air pollution in a spatio-temporal ecological study requires representative concentrations of air pollutants to be constructed for each geographical unit and time peri...

Authors: Francesca Pannullo, Duncan Lee, Lucy Neal, Mohit Dalvi, Paul Agnew, Fiona M. O’Connor, Sabyasachi Mukhopadhyay, Sujit Sahu and Christophe Sarran

Erratum to: Transcriptome profile analysis reflects rat liver and kidney damage following chronic ultra-low dose Roundup exposure

Authors: Robin Mesnage, Matthew Arno, Manuela Costanzo, Manuela Malatesta, Gilles-Eric Séralini and Michael N. Antoniou

Association between blood lead and blood pressure: a population-based study in Brazilian adults

Environmental lead exposure among adults may increase blood pressure and elevate the risk of hypertension. The availability of data on blood lead levels (BLL) in adult Brazilian population is scarce and popula...

Authors: Ana Carolina Bertin de Almeida Lopes, Ellen Kovner Silbergeld, Ana Navas-Acien, Rachel Zamoiski, Airton da Cunha Martins Jr., Alissana Ester Iakmiu Camargo, Mariana Ragassi Urbano, Arthur Eumann Mesas and Monica Maria Bastos Paoliello

Exploring associations between prenatal solvent exposures and teenage drug and alcohol use: a retrospective cohort study

Investigating the effects of prenatal and childhood exposures on behavioral health outcomes in adolescence is challenging given the lengthy period between the exposure and outcomes. We conducted a retrospectiv...

Authors: Lisa G. Gallagher, Thomas F. Webster and Ann Aschengrau

Cross-sectional study of social behaviors in preschool children and exposure to flame retardants

Children are exposed to flame retardants from the built environment. Brominated diphenyl ethers (BDE) and organophosphate-based flame retardants (OPFRs) are associated with poorer neurocognitive functioning in...

Authors: Shannon T. Lipscomb, Megan M. McClelland, Megan MacDonald, Andres Cardenas, Kim A. Anderson and Molly L. Kile

The mouse mammary gland as a sentinel organ: distinguishing ‘control’ populations with diverse environmental histories

There are numerous examples of laboratory animals that were inadvertently exposed to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) during the process of conducting experiments. Controlling contaminations in the labora...

Authors: SriDurgaDevi Kolla, Aastha Pokharel and Laura N. Vandenberg

Exposure to phthalates and bisphenol A are associated with atopic dermatitis symptoms in children: a time-series analysis

Despite increasing evidence on the relationship between exposure to phthalates and bisphenol A with allergies and asthma, reports on atopic dermatitis (AD) with these chemicals are few. We assessed the associa...

Authors: Eun-Hye Kim, Byoung-Hak Jeon, Jihyun Kim, Young-Min Kim, Youngshin Han, Kangmo Ahn and Hae-Kwan Cheong