Articles

COVID-19 pandemic modifies temperature and heat-related illness ambulance transport association in Japan: a nationwide observational study

During the COVID-19 pandemic, several illnesses were reduced. In Japan, heat-related illnesses were reduced by 22% compared to pre-pandemic period. However, it is uncertain as to what has led to this reduction...

Authors: Xerxes Seposo, Lina Madaniyazi, Chris Fook Sheng Ng, Masahiro Hashizume and Yasushi Honda

Prenatal ambient air pollution and maternal depression at 12 months postpartum in the MADRES pregnancy cohort

Depression is the leading cause of mental health-related morbidity and affects twice as many women as men. Hispanic/Latina women in the US have unique risk factors for depression and they have lower utilizatio...

Authors: Theresa M. Bastain, Thomas Chavez, Rima Habre, Ixel Hernandez-Castro, Brendan Grubbs, Claudia M. Toledo-Corral, Shohreh F. Farzan, Nathana Lurvey, Deborah Lerner, Sandrah P. Eckel, Fred Lurmann, Isabel Lagomasino and Carrie Breton

Association between ambient air pollutants and meteorological factors with SARS-CoV-2 transmission and mortality in India: an exploratory study

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic poses a serious public health concern worldwide. Certain regions of the globe were severely affected in terms of prevalence and mortality than other. Although t...

Authors: Sumit Aggarwal, Sivaraman Balaji, Tanvi Singh, Geetha R. Menon, Sandip Mandal, Jayaprakasam Madhumathi, Nupur Mahajan, Simran Kohli, Jasmine Kaur, Harpreet Singh, Kiran Rade and Samiran Panda

Pervasive structural racism in environmental epidemiology

Epistemological biases in environmental epidemiology prevent the full understanding of how racism’s societal impacts directly influence health outcomes. With the ability to focus on “place” and the totality of...

Authors: Melissa J. Perry, Suzanne Arrington, Marlaina S. Freisthler, Ifeoma N. Ibe, Nathan L. McCray, Laura M. Neumann, Patrick Tajanlangit and Brenda M. Trejo Rosas

Prenatal nitrosatable prescription drug intake, drinking water nitrate, and the risk of stillbirth: a register- and population-based cohort of Danish pregnancies, 1997–2017

Nitrosatable drugs commonly prescribed during pregnancy can react with nitrite to form N-nitroso compounds which have been associated with an increased risk of stillbirth. Whether maternal residential drinking wa...

Authors: Anne Marie Ladehoff Thomsen, Cecilia Høst Ramlau-Hansen, Jörg Schullehner, Ninna Hinchely Ebdrup, Zeyan Liew, Vanessa Coffman, Leslie Stayner, Birgitte Hansen and Jørn Olsen

Joint effect of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and secondhand smoke exposure on hypertension in non-smoking women of childbearing age: NHANES 2007-2014

Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) may increase the risk of hypertension in women of childbearing age, who may be exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS) simultaneously. Till now, few studies have investigated the joint eff...

Authors: Qianqian Shen, Qian Xu, Guoju Li, Lisheng Ren, Zhenhong Zhang, Yangting Zhang, Zhaoyi Zhong, Xiaona Li and Qiuzhen Wang

Role of epidemiology in risk assessment: a case study of five ortho-phthalates

The association between environmental chemical exposures and chronic diseases is of increasing concern. Chemical risk assessment relies heavily on pre-market toxicity testing to identify safe levels of exposur...

Authors: Maricel V. Maffini, Birgit Geueke, Ksenia Groh, Bethanie Carney Almroth and Jane Muncke

Occupational factors and miscarriages in the US fire service: a cross-sectional analysis of women firefighters

Evidence from previous studies suggests that women firefighters have greater risk of some adverse reproductive outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether women firefighters had greater risk...

Authors: Alesia M. Jung, Sara A. Jahnke, Leslie K. Dennis, Melanie L. Bell, Jefferey L. Burgess, Nattinee Jitnarin, Christopher M. Kaipust and Leslie V. Farland

Long-term exposure to road traffic noise and stroke incidence: a Danish Nurse Cohort study

Road traffic noise has been linked to increased risk of ischemic heart disease, yet evidence on stroke shows mixed results. We examine the association between long-term exposure to road traffic noise and incid...

Authors: Tom Cole-Hunter, Christian Dehlendorff, Heresh Amini, Amar Mehta, Youn-Hee Lim, Jeanette T. Jørgensen, Shuo Li, Rina So, Laust H. Mortensen, Rudi Westendorp, Barbara Hoffmann, Elvira V. Bräuner, Matthias Ketzel, Ole Hertel, Jørgen Brandt, Steen Solvang Jensen…

Correction to: Residential proximity to industrial combustion facilities and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma: a case-control study

Authors: Anjoeka Pronk, John R. Nuckols, Anneclaire J. De Roos, Matthew Airola, Joanne S. Colt, James R. Cerhan, Lindsay Morton, Wendy Cozen, Richard Severson, Aaron Blair, David Cleverly and Mary H. Ward

Long-term exposure to PM_2.5 and cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality in an Eastern Mediterranean country: findings based on a 15-year cohort study

Evidence concerning the impact of long-term exposure to fine Particulate Matter ≤2.5 μm (PM_2.5) on Cardio-Vascular Diseases (CVDs) for those people subject to ambient air pollution in developing countries remains...

Authors: Soheila Jalali, Mojgan Karbakhsh, Mehdi Momeni, Marzieh Taheri, Saeid Amini, Marjan Mansourian and Nizal Sarrafzadegan

Domestic use of pesticides during early periods of development and risk of testicular germ cell tumors in adulthood: a French nationwide case-control study

Testicular germ cell tumours (TGCT) are the most frequent cancers in young men in developed countries and their incidence rate has doubled worldwide over the past 40 years. Early life exposures to pesticides a...

Authors: Aurélie M. N. Danjou, Olivia Pérol, Astrid Coste, Elodie Faure, Rémi Béranger, Helen Boyle, Elodie Belladame, Lény Grassot, Matthieu Dubuis, Johan Spinosi, Liacine Bouaoun, Aude Fléchon, Louis Bujan, Véronique Drouineaud, Florence Eustache, Isabelle Berthaut…

Respiratory function declines in children with asthma associated with chemical species of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) in Nagasaki, Japan

The differential effects of PM_2.5 fractions on children’s lung function remain inconclusive. This study aimed to examine whether lung function in asthmatic children was associated with increased PM_2.5 fractions i...

Authors: Yoonhee Kim, Eun Ha Park, Chris Fook Sheng Ng, Yeonseung Chung, Kunio Hashimoto, Kasumi Tashiro, Hideki Hasunuma, Masataka Doi, Kei Tamura, Hiroyuki Moriuchi, Yuji Nishiwaki, Hwajin Kim, Seung-Muk Yi, Ho Kim and Masahiro Hashizume

Environmental health research needed to inform strategies, policies, and measures to manage the risks of anthropogenic climate change

Anthropogenic climate change is affecting population health and wellbeing worldwide. The two main policy options to prepare for and manage these risks are adaptation and mitigation; significantly increased inv...

Authors: Kristie L. Ebi

Industrial odour pollution and human health: a systematic review and meta-analysis

To conduct a systematic review to evaluate the association between residential or occupational short- and long–term exposure to odour pollution from industrial sources and the health status of the exposed popu...

Authors: Victor Guadalupe-Fernandez, Manuela De Sario, Simona Vecchi, Lisa Bauleo, Paola Michelozzi, Marina Davoli and Carla Ancona

Authors’ response to Ashley Roberts’ letter to the editor on aspartame and cancer

Authors: Philip J. Landrigan and Kurt Straif

Response to the publication by Landrigan PJ, Straif K. Aspartame and cancer – new evidence causation

Authors: Ashley Roberts

Climate change, extreme events, and increased risk of salmonellosis: foodborne diseases active surveillance network (FoodNet), 2004-2014

Infections with nontyphoidal Salmonella cause an estimated 19,336 hospitalizations each year in the United States. Sources of infection can vary by state and include animal and plant-based foods, as well as envir...

Authors: Michele E. Morgado, Chengsheng Jiang, Jordan Zambrana, Crystal Romeo Upperman, Clifford Mitchell, Michelle Boyle, Amy R. Sapkota and Amir Sapkota

Mixture toxicity, cumulative risk, and environmental justice in United States federal policy, 1980–2016

Toxic chemicals — “toxicants” — have been studied and regulated as single entities, and, carcinogens aside, almost all toxicants, single or mixed and however altered, have been thought harmless in very low dos...

Authors: Robert Hunt Sprinkle and Devon C. Payne-Sturges

Environmental asbestos exposure and clustering of malignant mesothelioma in community: a spatial analysis in a population-based case–control study

Neighborhood exposure to asbestos increases the risk of developing malignant mesothelioma (MM) in residents who live near asbestos mines and asbestos product plants. The area of Casale Monferrato (Northwest It...

Authors: C. Airoldi, C. Magnani, F. Lazzarato, D. Mirabelli, S. Tunesi and D. Ferrante

Reanalysis of the association between reduction in long-term PM_2.5 concentrations and improved life expectancy

Much of the current evidence of associations between long-term PM_2.5 and health outcomes relies on national or regional analyses using exposures derived directly from regulatory monitoring data. These findings co...

Authors: Sun-Young Kim, Arden C. Pope III, Julian D. Marshall, Neal Fann and Lianne Sheppard

Impact of long-term exposure to PM_2.5 and temperature on coronavirus disease mortality: observed trends in France

The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) began in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and was declared a global pandemic on 11 March 2020. This study aimed to assess the effects of temperature and long-term ex...

Authors: Anastase Tchicaya, Nathalie Lorentz, Hichem Omrani, Gaetan de Lanchy and Kristell Leduc

What agro-input dealers know, sell and say to smallholder farmers about pesticides: a mystery shopping and KAP analysis in Uganda

Pesticides can have negative effects on human and environmental health, especially when not handled as intended. In many countries, agro-input dealers sell pesticides to smallholder farmers and are supposed to...

Authors: Philipp Staudacher, Curdin Brugger, Mirko S. Winkler, Christian Stamm, Andrea Farnham, Ruth Mubeezi, Rik I. L. Eggen and Isabel Günther

Long-term personal air pollution exposure and risk for acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Urban air pollution is involved in the progress of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Its potential role on the devastating event of Acute Exacerbation of IPF (AE-IPF) needs to be clarified. This study exami...

Authors: Ioannis Tomos, Konstantina Dimakopoulou, Effrosyni D. Manali, Spyros A. Papiris and Anna Karakatsani

Associations of acrylamide with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in American adults: a nationwide cross-sectional study

Acrylamide (AA) is a toxicant to humans, but the association between AA exposure and the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remains unclear. In this study, our objective is to examine the cross-...

Authors: Zhening Liu, Jinghua Wang, Shenghui Chen, Chengfu Xu and Yu Zhang

Associations between polyfluoroalkyl substance and organophosphate flame retardant exposures and telomere length in a cohort of women firefighters and office workers in San Francisco

Environmental chemical exposures can affect telomere length, which in turn has been associated with adverse health outcomes including cancer. Firefighters are occupationally exposed to many hazardous chemicals...

Authors: Cassidy Clarity, Jessica Trowbridge, Roy Gerona, Katherine Ona, Michael McMaster, Vincent Bessonneau, Ruthann Rudel, Heather Buren and Rachel Morello-Frosch

Multigenerational endometriosis : consequence of fetal exposure to diethylstilbestrol ?

Endometriosis, which affects 10–15 % of women of reproductive age, is an estrogen-driven condition influenced by environmental and genetic factors. Exposition to estrogen-like endocrine-disrupting chemicals (E...

Authors: Laura Gaspari, Marie-Odile Soyer-Gobillard, Françoise Paris, Nicolas Kalfa, Samir Hamamah and Charles Sultan

Human-Biomonitoring derived exposure and Daily Intakes of Bisphenol A and their associations with neurodevelopmental outcomes among children of the Polish Mother and Child Cohort Study

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an industrial chemical mostly used in the manufacture of plastics, resins and thermal paper. Several studies have reported adverse health effects with BPA exposures, namely metabolic disor...

Authors: Mercè Garí, Rebecca Moos, Daniel Bury, Monika Kasper-Sonnenberg, Agnieszka Jankowska, Aleksandra Andysz, Wojciech Hanke, Dennis Nowak, Stephan Bose-O’Reilly, Holger M. Koch and Kinga Polanska

Quantifying the short-term effects of air pollution on health in the presence of exposure measurement error: a simulation study of multi-pollutant model results

Most epidemiological studies estimate associations without considering exposure measurement error. While some studies have estimated the impact of error in single-exposure models we aimed to quantify the effec...

Authors: Dimitris Evangelopoulos, Klea Katsouyanni, Joel Schwartz and Heather Walton

Short-term PM_2.5 and cardiovascular admissions in NY State: assessing sensitivity to exposure model choice

Air pollution health studies have been increasingly using prediction models for exposure assessment even in areas without monitoring stations. To date, most studies have assumed that a single exposure model is...

Authors: Mike Z. He, Vivian Do, Siliang Liu, Patrick L. Kinney, Arlene M. Fiore, Xiaomeng Jin, Nicholas DeFelice, Jianzhao Bi, Yang Liu, Tabassum Z. Insaf and Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou

Human detection thresholds of DC, AC, and hybrid electric fields: a double-blind study

In the course of the ongoing transition of electric energy systems, transmission corridors are often upgraded to higher voltages and other technologies leading to another quality of human exposure. The study a...

Authors: Michael Kursawe, Dominik Stunder, Thomas Krampert, Andrea Kaifie, Sarah Drießen, Thomas Kraus and Kathrin Jankowiak

Environmental epidemiology in a crossfire

Two tendencies have emerged in environmental epidemiology that hamper the translation of research findings into prevention of environmental hazards. One is the increased focus on highlighting weaknesses of epi...

Authors: Ruth A. Etzel, Philippe Grandjean and David M. Ozonoff

Toolkit for detecting misused epidemiological methods

Critical knowledge of what we know about health and disease, risk factors, causation, prevention, and treatment, derives from epidemiology. Unfortunately, its methods and language can be misused and improperly...

Authors: Colin L. Soskolne, Shira Kramer, Juan Pablo Ramos-Bonilla, Daniele Mandrioli, Jennifer Sass, Michael Gochfeld, Carl F. Cranor, Shailesh Advani and Lisa A. Bero

Ultrafine particle levels measured on board short-haul commercial passenger jet aircraft

Airline crew members report adverse health effects during and after inhalation exposure to engine oil fumes sourced to the air supply system onboard commercial and military aircraft. Most investigations into t...

Authors: Susan Michaelis, Tristan Loraine and C. V. Howard

Bisphenol-A exposure and risk of breast and prostate cancer in the Spanish European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine disruptor that it is present in numerous products of daily use. The aim of this study was to assess the potential association of serum BPA concentrations and the risk of incid...

Authors: Elena Salamanca-Fernández, Miguel Rodríguez-Barranco, Pilar Amiano, Josu Delfrade, Maria Dolores Chirlaque, Sandra Colorado, Marcela Guevara, Ana Jimenez, Juan Pedro Arrebola, Fernando Vela, Nicolás Olea, Antonio Agudo and Maria-José Sánchez

Commentary: Novel strategies and new tools to curtail the health effects of pesticides

Flaws in the science supporting pesticide risk assessment and regulation stand in the way of progress in mitigating the human health impacts of pesticides. Critical problems include the scope of regulatory tes...

Authors: Charles Benbrook, Melissa J. Perry, Fiorella Belpoggi, Philip J. Landrigan, Michelle Perro, Daniele Mandrioli, Michael N. Antoniou, Paul Winchester and Robin Mesnage

Endocrine disrupting chemical-associated hair product use during pregnancy and gestational age at delivery: a pilot study

Prenatal endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) exposure has been associated with increased risk of preterm birth. Non-Hispanic Black women have higher incidence of preterm birth compared to other racial/ethnic g...

Authors: Emma V. Preston, Victoria Fruh, Marlee R. Quinn, Michele R. Hacker, Blair J. Wylie, Karen O’Brien, Shruthi Mahalingaiah and Tamarra James-Todd

Short term physician visits and medication prescriptions for allergic disease associated with seasonal tree, grass, and weed pollen exposure across the United States

While year-round exposure to pollen is linked to a large burden of allergic diseases, location-specific risk information on pollen types and allergy outcomes are limited. We characterize the relationship betwe...

Authors: Shubhayu Saha, Ambarish Vaidyanathan, Fiona Lo, Claudia Brown and Jeremy J. Hess

Development of health-based exposure limits for radiofrequency radiation from wireless devices using a benchmark dose approach

Epidemiological studies and research on laboratory animals link radiofrequency radiation (RFR) with impacts on the heart, brain, and other organs. Data from the large-scale animal studies conducted by the U.S....

Authors: Uloma Igara Uche and Olga V. Naidenko

Acute health effects associated with satellite-determined cyanobacterial blooms in a drinking water source in Massachusetts

The occurrence of cyanobacterial blooms in freshwater presents a threat to human health. However, epidemiological studies on the association between cyanobacterial blooms in drinking water sources and human he...

Authors: Jianyong Wu, Elizabeth D. Hilborn, Blake A. Schaeffer, Erin Urquhart, Megan M. Coffer, Cynthia J. Lin and Andrey I. Egorov

Effects of exposure to surrounding green, air pollution and traffic noise with non-accidental and cause-specific mortality in the Dutch national cohort

Everyday people are exposed to multiple environmental factors, such as surrounding green, air pollution and traffic noise. These exposures are generally spatially correlated. Hence, when estimating association...

Authors: Jochem O. Klompmaker, Nicole A. H. Janssen, Lizan D. Bloemsma, Marten Marra, Erik Lebret, Ulrike Gehring and Gerard Hoek

Exposure to environmental phenols and parabens, and relation to body mass index, eczema and respiratory outcomes in the Norwegian RHINESSA study

Many phenols and parabens are applied in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and food, to prevent growth of bacteria and fungi. Whether these chemicals affect inflammatory diseases like allergies and overweight is larg...

Authors: Hilde Kristin Vindenes, Cecilie Svanes, Stein Håkon Låstad Lygre, Francisco Gomez Real, Tamar Ringel-Kulka and Randi Jacobsen Bertelsen

Correction to: Associations between prenatal exposure to cadmium and lead with neural tube defect risks are modified by single-nucleotide polymorphisms of fetal MTHFR and SOD2: a case–control study

Authors: Mengyuan Liu, Jinhui Yu, Zaiming Su, Ying Sun, Yaqiong Liu, Qing Xie, Zhiwen Li, Linlin Wang, Jie Zhang, Lei Jin and Aiguo Ren

Exposure to arsenic at different life-stages and DNA methylation meta-analysis in buccal cells and leukocytes

Arsenic (As) exposure through drinking water is a global public health concern. Epigenetic dysregulation including changes in DNA methylation (DNAm), may be involved in arsenic toxicity. Epigenome-wide associa...

Authors: Anne K. Bozack, Philippe Boileau, Linqing Wei, Alan E. Hubbard, Fenna C. M. Sillé, Catterina Ferreccio, Johanna Acevedo, Lifang Hou, Vesna Ilievski, Craig M. Steinmaus, Martyn T. Smith, Ana Navas-Acien, Mary V. Gamble and Andres Cardenas

Portable HEPA filter air cleaner use during pregnancy and children’s behavior problem scores: a secondary analysis of the UGAAR randomized controlled trial

Developmental exposure to particulate matter (PM) air pollution may impair children’s behaviors. Our objectives were to quantify the impact of reducing indoor PM using portable HEPA filter air cleaners during ...

Authors: Undarmaa Enkhbat, Enkhjargal Gombojav, Chimeglkham Banzrai, Sarangerel Batsukh, Buyantushig Boldbaatar, Enkhtuul Enkhtuya, Chimedsuren Ochir, David C. Bellinger, Bruce P. Lanphear, Lawrence C. McCandless and Ryan W. Allen

Association of indoor microbial aerosols with respiratory symptoms among under-five children: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Despite the recognition of the importance of indoor microbial exposures on children’s health, the role of different microbial agents in development and aggravation of respiratory symptoms and diseases is only ...

Authors: Adekunle Gregory Fakunle, Nkosana Jafta, Rajen N. Naidoo and Lidwien A. M. Smit

Mixture effects of prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and polybrominated diphenyl ethers on maternal and newborn telomere length

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are endocrine disrupting chemicals with widespread exposures across the U.S. given their abundance in consumer products. PF...

Authors: Stephanie M. Eick, Dana E. Goin, Lara Cushing, Erin DeMicco, June-Soo Park, Yunzhu Wang, Sabrina Smith, Amy M. Padula, Tracey J. Woodruff and Rachel Morello-Frosch

Dose–response evaluation of urinary cadmium and kidney injury biomarkers in Chinese residents and dietary limit standards

Cadmium (Cd) is a common heavy metal that mainly causes renal damage. There is a lack of research on the large-scale and systematic evaluation of the association between urinary Cd (U-Cd) and various effect bi...

Authors: Ying Qing, Jiaqi Yang, Yuanshen Zhu, Yongzhen Li, Weiwei Zheng, Min Wu and Gengsheng He

Associations between exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances and body fat evaluated by DXA and MRI in 109 adolescent boys

Exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) has been associated with changes in body mass index and adiposity, but evidence is inconsistent as study design, population age, follow-up periods and exposure lev...

Authors: Mathilde Lolk Thomsen, Louise Scheutz Henriksen, Jeanette Tinggaard, Flemming Nielsen, Tina Kold Jensen and Katharina M. Main

Effects of air pollution exposure on social behavior: a synthesis and call for research

There is a growing literature from both epidemiologic and experimental animal studies suggesting that exposure to air pollution can lead to neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. Here, we suggest t...

Authors: Chelsea A. Weitekamp and Hans A. Hofmann