Exposure Assessment Methods Research Articles

Temperature, Crime, and Violence: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Heat is known to affect many health outcomes, but more evidence is needed on the impact of rising temperatures on crime and/or violence. We conducted a systematic review with meta-analysis regarding the influence of hot temperatures on crime and/or violence. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we evaluated the relationship between increase in temperature and crime and/or violence for studies across the world and generated overall estimates. We searched MEDLINE and Web of Science for articles from the available database start year (1946 and 1891, respectively) to 6 November 2023 and manually reviewed reference lists of identified articles. Two investigators independently reviewed the abstracts and full-text articles to identify and summarize studies that analyzed the relationship between increasing temperature and crime, violence, or both and met a priori eligibility criteria. PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines were used to extract information from included articles. Some study results were combined using a profile likelihood random-effects model for meta-analysis for a subset of outcomes: violent crime (assault, homicide), property crime (theft, burglary), and sexual crime (sexual assault, rape). This review is registered at PROSPERO, CRD42023417295. We screened 16,634 studies with 83 meeting the inclusion criteria. Higher temperatures were significantly associated with crime, violence, or both. A 10°C (18°F) increase in short-term mean temperature exposure was associated with a 9% [95% confidence interval (CI): 7%, 12%] increase in the risk of violent crime (; eight studies). Studies had differing definitions of crime and/or violence, exposure assessment methods, and confounder assessments. Our findings summarize the evidence supporting the association between elevated temperatures, crime, and violence, particularly for violent crimes. Associations for some categories of crime and/or violence, such as property crimes, were inconsistent. Future research should employ larger spatial/temporal scales, consistent crime and violence definitions, advanced modeling strategies, and different populations and locations. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP14300.

Air pollution exposure and inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic literature review of epidemiological and mechanistic studies

This systematic literature review investigates the relationship between air pollution exposure and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), encompassing Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Despite the growing concern over air pollution's impact on various health outcomes, studies specifically addressing effects on the digestive system, particularly IBD, are relatively rare. This review aims to synthesize the current knowledge on this topic, focusing on the mechanisms underlying these associations and the role of different air pollutants. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic literature search of PubMed and Web of Science databases was conducted, yielding 13 epidemiological studies and six mechanistic (toxicological) studies meeting the inclusion criteria. The epidemiological studies examined associations between IBD and various air pollutants, including PM2.5 (particles with an aerodynamic diameter smaller than, or equal to, 2.5 µm), PM10 (particles with an aerodynamic diameter smaller than, or equal to, 10 µm), PM2.5–10 (coarse particles with an aerodynamic diameter in the range of 2.5–10 µm), BC (black carbon), NO2 (nitrogen dioxide), NO (nitrogen monoxide), NOx (nitrogen oxides), N2O (nitrous oxide), CO (carbon monoxide), SO2 (sulfur dioxide), VOC (volatile organic compounds), O3 (ozone), Ox (oxidant capacity), and traffic load. Study methodologies varied among these 13 epidemiological studies, including four cohort studies, two ecological studies, three case-control studies, two studies using two-sample Mendelian randomization, and two longitudinal time-series studies. Eight studies investigated associations with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis separately, while five studies analyzed IBD as a whole without distinguishing between CD and UC. Eleven studies found statistically significant associations between air pollution exposure and IBD, although inconsistent results were found in several of these studies. A total number of six mechanistic (toxicological) studies were retrieved. Among these six studies, five were using particulate matter as exposure metric, and one was based on NO2 and O3 as exposure metrics. With a combination of animal, human, and in vitro studies, the results in terms of biological mechanisms indicate that air pollution exposure influences the composition of the gut microbiome, altering metabolic functions within the gut, and creates immunological reactions with inflammation contributing to the development of IBD. Consequently, the results suggest a link between air pollution exposure and both the onset and exacerbation of IBD. However, differences in study design, exposure assessment, and pollutant types make it challenging to draw any firm conclusions. Moreover, the lack of multi-pollutant models in most epidemiological studies makes it difficult to estimate the individual effect of specific air pollutants. This review highlights the need for further research utilizing robust study designs and standardized exposure assessment methods to better understand the impact of air pollution on IBD. By elucidating these associations, policymakers and healthcare professionals can develop effective strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of air pollution on digestive health.

How can exposure assessment for pesticides in epidemiological studies be improved? Insights from the IMPRESS project

The IMPRoving Exposure aSSessment Methodologies for Epidemiological Studies on Pesticides (IMPRESS) project (http://www.impress-project.org/) aimed to further the understanding of the performance of pesticide exposure assessment methods (EAMs). To achieve this the IMPRESS project used two approaches to assess EAM performance, using existing and newly collected data from five studies from three different countries and use of published secondary data to undertake three meta-analyses for selected chronic health outcomes. Based on the findings of the IMPRESS project we provide in this paper insights on the overarching research question “How can exposure assessments for pesticides in epidemiological studies be improved”? Exposure assessment is a critical component of pesticide epidemiological studies. EAMs used and epidemiological practices employed need to reflect the changing nature and complexities of pesticide exposure in various occupational settings. To properly assess the association between exposure and selected health outcomes, the choice of EAM should provide a clear exposure contrast within the study population. Acquiring a practical understanding of the pesticide use practices is crucial to determine whether factors such as frequency or intensity of exposure have to be considered in planned analyses. Biomonitoring may be more beneficially applied intensively in a focussed exposure assessment analysis of a particular cohort, which can be used to determine the most relevant exposure factors within that cohort-specific context. Overall, improving pesticide exposure assessment in epidemiological studies requires a multi-disciplinary approach. A next step for the wider scientific community may be to consider the development of a decision tree to aid the selection of suitable EAMs. Such a decision tree would need to consider and be based on multiple parameters including, but not limited to, study type, health endpoint, socio-demographic context, farming system, pesticide used, and application methods.

The occurrence and exposure of microplastics in bivalves from Qingdao, China

This study investigated the regional, seasonal, and species abundance and characteristics of microplastics (MPs) in bivalves from Qingdao, China and assessed the dietary exposure of MPs through bivalve consumption. The average abundance was 1.17 ± 1.07 items/individual or 0.17 ± 0.22 items/g wet weight. Fiber was the dominant shape (91.5 %). The average size of MPs was 995.63 ± 796.59 μm. Rayon, PE, and PET contributed mostly to the MPs composition. There were no significant regional or seasonal differences in MPs abundance (p > 0.05), while there were significant species differences (p < 0.05) when describing the abundance by wet weight. The estimated daily intakes of MPs through bivalve consumption by general population, consumer only population, and coastal residents in China were 3.32 × 10−3, 0.08, and 0.16 μg/kg BW, respectively. The exposure assessment method by converting the quantity of MPs into mass may facilitate the risk characterization in the future.

The Urban Factor: Meta-analysis of Air Pollution and Cancer Incidence

Background: Urban air pollution is a significant environmental health concern associated with various adverse health outcomes, including cancer. Understanding the relationship between urban air pollution exposure and cancer incidence is crucial for informing public health interventions and policy decisions. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis will be conducted to investigate the association between urban air pollution exposure and cancer incidence. Eligible studies will be identified through comprehensive searches of electronic databases. Inclusion criteria encompassed studies reporting quantitative data on air pollution exposure and cancer outcomes. Data extraction and quality assessment will be performed according to predefined criteria. Results: The systematic search will be yielded X studies meeting the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. These studies, representing diverse geographic regions, employed various exposure assessment methods and included cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional designs. The meta-analysis will reveal a statistically significant association between urban air pollution exposure and overall cancer incidence (p &lt; 0.05). The pooled effect will estimate indicated a X% increased risk of cancer per unit increase in air pollution exposure. Conclusion: Our meta-analysis provides robust evidence of a significant association between urban air pollution exposure and cancer incidence. These findings underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions to reduce air pollution levels in urban areas and mitigate cancer risks. Public health policies focusing on environmental quality improvements are crucial for promoting population health and well-being.

Cadmium Exposure and Risk of Pancreatic Cancer: A Protocol of Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background: Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease with a poor prognosis, and its etiology involves a complex interplay of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. Among environmental factors, cadmium, a toxic heavy metal, has been implicated in carcinogenesis and is found in various industrial processes, tobacco smoke, and certain foods. Previous studies examining the association between cadmium exposure and pancreatic cancer risk have reported inconsistent findings, necessitating a systematic review and meta-analysis to clarify this relationship. Methods: A systematic search was conducted following PRISMA guidelines to identify relevant studies from electronic databases, including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Eligible studies included observational designs (cohort, case-control, cross-sectional) that investigated the association between cadmium exposure and pancreatic cancer risk in human populations. Data extraction, risk of bias assessment, and meta-analysis were conducted using established protocols. Subgroup analyses were performed based on study characteristics and exposure assessment methods. Results: The systematic review and meta-analysis included a comprehensive assessment of the existing literature on cadmium exposure and pancreatic cancer risk. Pooled analysis of eligible studies revealed a potential association between cadmium exposure and an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. However, the magnitude and consistency of this association varied across studies, highlighting the complexity of environmental exposures and their impact on cancer risk. Subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses were conducted to explore sources of heterogeneity and assess the robustness of the results. Conclusion: This systematic review and meta-analysis contribute to the current understanding of the relationship between cadmium exposure and pancreatic cancer risk. While the findings suggest a potential association, further research is needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and clarify the role of cadmium in pancreatic carcinogenesis. These results underscore the importance of environmental risk factors in cancer development and highlight the need for public health interventions aimed at reducing cadmium exposure and improving cancer prevention strategies.

Improving spatial exposure data for everyone - lifecourse social context and ascertaining residential history.

Measuring age-specific, contextual exposures is crucial for lifecourse epidemiology research. Longitudinal residential data offers a "golden ticket" to cumulative exposure metrics and can enhance our understanding of health disparities. Residential history can be linked to myriad spatiotemporal databases to characterize environmental, socioeconomic, and policy contexts that a person experienced throughout life. However, obtaining accurate residential history is challenging in the United States due to the limitations of administrative registries and self-reports. Xu et al. (Am J Epidemiol. 2024; 193(2):348-359) detail an approach to linking residential history sourced from LexisNexis ® Accurint ® to a Wisconsin-based research cohort, offering insights into challenges with residential history collection. Researchers must analyze the magnitude of selection and misclassification biases inherent to ascertaining residential history from cohort data. A lifecourse framework can provide insights into why the frequency and distance of moves is patterned by age, birth cohort, racial/ethnic identity, socioeconomic status, and urbanicity. Historic and contemporary migration patterns of marginalized people seeking economic and political opportunities must guide interpretations of residential history data. We outline methodologic priorities for use of residential history in health disparities research, including contextualizing residential history data with determinants of residential moves, triangulating spatial exposure assessment methods, and transparently quantifying measurement error.

Assessing Adverse Health Effects of Long-Term Exposure to Low Levels of Ambient Air Pollution: The HEI Experience and What's Next?

Although concentrations of ambient air pollution continue to decline in high-income regions, epidemiological studies document adverse health effects at levels below current standards in many countries. The Health Effects Institute (HEI) recently completed a comprehensive research initiative to investigate the health effects of long-term exposure to low levels of air pollution in the United States (U.S.), Canada, and Europe. We provide an overview and synthesis of the results of this initiative along with other key research, the strengths and limitations of the research, and remaining research needs. The three studies funded through the HEI initiative estimated the effects of long-term ambient exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and other pollutants on a broad range of health outcomes, including cause-specific mortality and cardiovascular and respiratory morbidity. To ensure high quality research and comparability across studies, HEI worked actively with the study teams and engaged independent expert panels for project oversight and review. All three studies documented positive associations between mortality and exposure to PM2.5 below the U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards and current and proposed European Union limit values. Furthermore, the studies observed nonthreshold linear (U.S.), or supra-linear (Canada and Europe) exposure-response functions for PM2.5 and mortality. Heterogeneity was found in both the magnitude and shape of this association within and across studies. Strengths of the studies included the large populations (7-69 million), state-of-the-art exposure assessment methods, and thorough statistical analyses that applied novel methods. Future work is needed to better understand potential sources of heterogeneity in the findings across studies and regions. Other areas of future work include the changing and evolving nature of PM components and sources, including wildfires, and the role of indoor environments. This research initiative provided important new evidence of the adverse effects of long-term exposures to low levels of air pollution at and below current standards, suggesting that further reductions could yield larger benefits than previously anticipated.

A Historical Survey of Key Epidemiological Studies of Ionizing Radiation Exposure.

In this article we review the history of key epidemiological studies of populations exposed to ionizing radiation. We highlight historical and recent findings regarding radiation-associated risks for incidence and mortality of cancer and non-cancer outcomes with emphasis on study design and methods of exposure assessment and dose estimation along with brief consideration of sources of bias for a few of the more important studies. We examine the findings from the epidemiological studies of the Japanese atomic bomb survivors, persons exposed to radiation for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes, those exposed to environmental sources including Chornobyl and other reactor accidents, and occupationally exposed cohorts. We also summarize results of pooled studies. These summaries are necessarily brief, but we provide references to more detailed information. We discuss possible future directions of study, to include assessment of susceptible populations, and possible new populations, data sources, study designs and methods of analysis.

Critical reviews of exposure assessment in carcinogenic hazard identification: the IARC Monographs experience

ObjectivesTo summarise the rationale, workflow and recommendations for the conduct of exposure assessment critiques in key human studies evaluated for International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monographs on the...

Exposure assessment and cytogenetic biomonitoring study of workers occupationally exposed to extremely low-frequency magnetic fields.

Human cytogenetic biomonitoring (HCB) has long been used to evaluate the potential effects of work environments on the DNA integrity of workers. However, HCB studies on the genotoxic effects of occupational exposure to extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-MFs) were limited by the quality of the exposure assessment. More specifically, concerns were raised regarding the method of exposure assessment, the selection of exposure metrics, and the definition of exposure group. In this study, genotoxic effects of occupational exposure to ELF-MFs were assessed on peripheral blood lymphocytes of 88 workers from the electrical sector using the comet and cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay, considering workers' actual exposure over three consecutive days. Different methods were applied to define exposure groups. Overall, the summarized ELF-MF data indicated a low exposure level in the whole study population. It also showed that relying solely on job titles might misclassify 12 workers into exposure groups. We proposed combining hierarchical agglomerative clustering on personal exposure data and job titles to define exposure groups. The final results showed that occupational MF exposure did not significantly induce more genetic damage. Other factors such as age or past smoking rather than ELF-MF exposure could affect the cytogenetic test outcomes.

Occupational exposure to organic solvents and the risk of developing testicular germ cell tumors (TESTIS study): Effect of combined exposure assessment on risk estimation.

Etiological factors of testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT) remain largely unknown, but a causal role of occupational exposures to solvents has been suggested. Previous studies analyzing these exposures reported discordant results, potentially related to exposure assessment methods. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of occupational exposure to solvents on the risk of developing TGCT among young men. This study examined occupational exposures to solvents and TGCT risk based on the lifetime work histories of 454 cases and 670 controls, aged 18-45 years, of the French national TESTIS case-control study. Solvent exposure was estimated using: (i) exposure assignment by job-exposure matrix (JEM) and (ii) JEM combined with self-reported exposure data from specific questionnaires (SQ) and expert assessment (EA). Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using conditional logistic regression models. Both approaches (JEM and JEM+SQ+EA) showed a consistent association between TGCT and trichloroethylene exposure (exposed versus not exposed; JEM=OR 1.80 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12-2.90] and JEM+SQ+EA= OR 2.59 (95% CI 1.42-4.72). Both approaches also observed positive associations with ketone esters and fuels & petroleum-based solvents. The results suggest that some organic solvents might be involved in the pathogenesis of TGCT among occupationally exposed men. The combined use of JEM+SQ+EA seemed to limit misclassification by considering individual exposure variability and is, therefore, an appealing approach to assess occupational exposures in epidemiological studies.

Compliance Assessment of the Spatial Averaging Method for Magnetic Field Leakage from a Wireless Power Transfer System in Electric Vehicles

Wireless power transfer (WPT) via magnetic resonance offers efficient electrical power transfer, making it an increasingly attractive option for charging electric vehicles (EVs) without conventional plugs. However, EV charging requires a transfer power in order of kW or higher, resulting in a higher-leaked magnetic field than conventional wireless systems. The leaked magnetic field is nonuniform, and the assessment in terms of the limit prescribed in the guideline is highly conservative because it assumes that a person standing in free space is exposed to a uniform field. In such cases, an assessment should be performed using the limits of the internal electric field, as it is more relevant to the adverse health effects, whereas its evaluation is time-consuming. To mitigate this over-conservativeness, international product standards introduce a spatial averaging method for nonuniform exposure assessment. In this study, we investigate assessment methods, especially for measurement points of nonuniform magnetic field strength leaked from the WPT system. Various spatial averaging methods are correlated with the internal electric field derived from electromagnetic field analysis using an anatomically based human body model. Our computational results confirm a good correlation between the spatially averaged magnetic and internal electric fields. Additionally, these methods provide an appropriate compliance assessment with the exposure guidelines. This study advances our understanding of the suitability of spatial averaging methods for nonuniform exposure and contributes to the smooth assessment in WPT systems.

Methods to assess dermal exposures in occupational settings: a scoping review.

The dermal exposure route is expected to become increasingly significant relative to total worker exposure as inhalational exposure limits continue to decrease. However, standardization of occupational exposure assessment methods and scientific consensus are needed. This is the first scoping review mapping the literature across all dermal exposure assessment methods and their targeted substances/chemicals in occupational settings. Eligibility criteria broadly included studies reporting any noninvasive dermal exposure assessment method in an occupational setting. The literature search (Web of Science and MEDLINE) was restricted to peer-reviewed, primary literature published in the last 20 years (2002-2022). Titles/abstracts were dual independently screened. Data charting was performed by a single reviewer using standard template. All stages were pilot tested. The JBI (formerly, the Joanna Briggs Institute) scoping review methods and PRISMA-ScR checklist (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) were used. In total, 493 articles were data charted and categorized by 4 study types: methods development (22%), exposure assessment (51%), health outcomes (21%), and controls assessment (6%). Fourteen types of dermal exposure assessment methods were charted with biomarkers (51%), dosimeters (21%), and qualitative assessments such as questionnaires or surveys (17%) most common. Seventeen different chemicals/substances were charted; pesticides (28%) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (22%) associated with crude oil products and combustion were most common. Mapping between substances and exposure assessment method categories, pesticide dosimeters (11%), and PAH biomarker studies (14%) were most reported. Literature gaps were identified for cleaning agents, hair dyes, glycol ether, N,N-dimethylformamide/N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, dioxins, and bisphenol A. To foster scientific consensus, standardization across study reporting is needed for describing: (i) exposure assessment methods used, (ii) worker tasking/conditions, (iii) targeted substances and substance state, and (iv) targeted exposure routes. Overall, this review categorizes, maps, and defines the scope of literature for occupational dermal exposure assessment methods.

Associations between brake and tire wear-related PM2.5 metal components, particulate oxidative stress potential, and autism spectrum disorder in Southern California

BackgroundAir pollution is a global health concern, with fine particulate matter (PM2.5) constituents posing potential risks to human health, including children's neurodevelopment. Here we investigated associations between exposure during pregnancy and infancy to specific traffic-related PM2.5 components with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis. MethodsFor exposure assessment, we estimated PM2.5 components related to traffic exposure (Barium [Ba] as a marker of brake dust and Zinc [Zn] as a tire wear marker, Black Carbon [BC]) and oxidative stress potential (OSP) markers (Hydroxyl Radical [OPOH] formation, Dithiothreitol activity [OPDTT], reactive oxygen species [ROS]) modeled with land use regression with co-kriging based on an intensive air monitoring campaign. We assigned exposures to a cohort of 444,651 children born in Southern California between 2016 and 2019, among whom 11,466 ASD cases were diagnosed between 2018 and 2022, Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were obtained with logistic regression for single pollutant and PM2.5 mass co-adjusted models, also adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. ResultsAmong PM2.5 components, we found the strongest positive association with ASD for our brake wear marker Ba (ORper IQR = 1.29, 95 % CI: 1.24, 1.34). This was followed by an increased risk for all PM2.5 oxidative stress potential markers; the strongest association was with ROS formation (ORper IQR = 1.22, 95 % CI: 1.18, 1.25). PM2.5 mass was linked to ASD in Hispanic and Black children, but not White children, while traffic-related PM2.5 and OSP markers increased ASD risk across all groups. In neighborhoods with the lowest socioeconomic status (SES), associations with ASD were stronger for all examined pollutants compared to higher SES areas. ConclusionsOur findings suggest that brake wear-related PM2.5 and PM2.5 OSP are associated with ASD diagnosis in Southern California. These results suggest that strategies aimed at reducing the public health impacts of PM2.5 need to consider specific sources.

Evaluation of soil pesticide leaching to groundwater using undisturbed lysimeter: development of the pesticide groundwater leaching scoring system (PLS).

Groundwater pesticide safety management is essential for providing consistently safe water for humans, but such management is limited globally. In this study, we developed an accurate and convenient exposure assessment method for the safety management of pesticides in groundwater by conducting a lysimeter experiment to evaluate the leaching of 11 pesticides into groundwater. During the experimental period, flutoalanil and oxadiazon had the highest cumulative leaching amounts, 603.7 and 83.5ng, respectively. Comparative analysis of existing groundwater exposure prediction indices, including the GUS, LEACH, modified LEACH, Hornsby index, and GLI showed no correlations with the measured data (p > 0.05). To enhance the accuracy of the assessment method, we used lysimeter data and principal component analysis to determine the main factors affecting groundwater leaching, and developed the "pesticide groundwater leaching scoring system" (PLS). The soil and water half-life, which had the greatest positive impact on groundwater leaching, was set as a 10-point indicator, whereas log P was set as a 1-point indicator. In contrast, solubility in water was determined as a 5-point indicator, and organic carbon partition coefficient and vapor pressure were determined as 2.5-point indicators owing to their negative relationship. The correlation coefficient was 0.670, indicating a significant correlation with the lysimeter data (p < 0.05). Using our scoring system, we ranked 376 pesticides. As an exposure assessment method developed using actual data, the PLS is expected to be applicable to groundwater safety management.

Concentrations, Sources and Health Risk Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Chinese Herbal Medicines.

The determination and evaluation of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in seven Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) were conducted through a rapid and straightforward extraction and purification method, coupled with GC-MS. A sample-based solid-phase extraction (SPE) pretreatment technique, incorporating isotopic internal standards, was employed for detecting various medicinal parts of CHMs. The assay exhibited linearity within the range of 5 to 500 ng/mL, with linear coefficients (R2) for PAHs exceeding 0.999. The recoveries of spiked standards ranged from 63.37% to 133.12%, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) ranging from 0.75% to 14.54%. The total PAH content varied from 176.906 to 1414.087 μg/kg. Among the 16 PAHs, phenanthrene (Phe) was consistently detected at the highest levels (47.045-168.640 μg/kg). Characteristic ratio analysis indicated that oil, coal, and biomass combustion were the primary sources of PAHs in CHMs. The health risk associated with CHMs was assessed using the lifetime carcinogenic risk approach, revealing potential health risks from the consumption of honeysuckle, while the health risks of consuming Lycium chinense berries were deemed negligible. For the other five CHMs (glycyrrhizae, Coix lacryma, ginseng, lotus seed, seed of Sterculia lychnophora), the health risk from consumption fell within acceptable ranges. Furthermore, sensitivity analyses utilizing Monte Carlo exposure assessment methods identified PAH levels in CHMs as health risk sensitizers. It is crucial to recognize that the consumption of herbal medicines is not a continuous process but entails potential health risks. Hence, the monitoring and risk assessment of PAH residues in CHMs demand careful attention.

Assessing occupational pesticide exposure in Latin America and the Caribbean: Methods review for agricultural vulnerability reduction

B A rapid review was conducted to describe pesticide exposure assessment methodologies in Agricultural Work Contexts (AWC)s in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), in order to provide elements to reduce vulnerabilities within the agricultural population. A final number of 79 articles were selected from Medline via Pubmed, LILACS, and SciELO. In the region, family agriculture is the predominant form of agricultural production (72%) in informal agricultural work contexts (AWCs), which are characterized by small-scale diversified agricultural production, lower educational attainment, limited income, and a lack of social and healthcare security for the families. Indirect exposure assessment methods were the most commonly reported (58%), and its use was associated with informal AWCs (p = 0.011). Understanding AWCs and employing appropriate assessment methods can contribute to addressing vulnerabilities in the agricultural sector.

Development of a job-exposure matrix-like exposure assessment method for the US general population based on Occupational Information Network (O*NET) job tasks.

Job-exposure matrices (JEMs) are often used for exposure assessment in occupational exposure and epidemiology studies. However, general population JEMs are difficult to find and access for workers in the United States of America. We aimed to use publicly available information to develop a JEM-like exposure assessment method to determine exposure to a wide range of occupational agents in a wide range of occupations for US general population studies. We used information from the US Department of Labor's Occupational Information Network database (O*NET) for 19,636 job tasks and 974 civilian occupations. We used automated keyword searches to identify 1,804 job tasks that involved exposure to 50 occupational agents. We had 2 reviewers determine whether each identified job task actually involved exposure to the 50 occupational agents. We had a third reviewer, a certified industrial hygienist, assess any job task and exposure for which the first 2 reviewers disagreed. For each U.S. Census 2010 occupation code, we used this information to derive 3 exposure variables for each occupational agent: ever exposure, number of job tasks of exposure, and frequency of exposure. Our keyword searches identified a median of 10 (interquartile range [IQR]: 43.75) job tasks for each occupational agent, and the maximum was 308. We determined job tasks actually involved exposure to 45 occupational agents, including solvents, air pollution, pesticides, radiation, metals, etc. We derived the 3 exposure variables for these 45 occupational agents for 516 U.S. Census 2010 occupation codes. The median percentage for ever exposure to individual occupational agents was 1.16% (IQR: 1.74%), and the maximum was 11.43%. Our JEM-like exposure assessment method based on O*NET information can be used to determine exposure to a wide range of occupational agents in a wide range of occupations for the US general population.

Association of air pollution and risk of chronic kidney disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Although epidemiological studies have evaluated the association between ambient air pollution and chronic kidney disease (CKD), the results remain mixed. To clarify the nature of the association, we conducted a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the global relationship between air pollution and CKD. The Web of Science, PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library databases systematically were searched for studies published up to July 2023 and included 32 studies that met specific criteria. The random effects model was used to derive overall risk estimates for each pollutant. The meta-analysis estimated odds ratio (ORs) of risk for CKD were 1.42 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.31-1.54) for each 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 ; 1.20 (95% CI: 1.14-1.26) for each 10 μg/m3 increase in PM10 ; 1.07 (95% CI: 1.05-1.09) for each 10 μg/m3 increase in NO2 ; 1.03 (95% CI: 1.02-1.03) for each 10 μg/m3 increase in NOX ; 1.07 (95% CI: 1.01-1.12) for each 1 ppb increase in SO2 ; 1.03 (95% CI: 1.00-1.05) for each 0.1 ppm increase in CO. Subgroup analysis showed that this effect varied by gender ratio, age, study design, exposure assessment method, and income level. Furthermore, PM2.5 , PM10 , and NO2 had negative effects on CKD even within the World Health Organization-recommended acceptable concentrations. Our results further confirmed the adverse effect of air pollution on the risk of CKD. These findings can contribute to enhance the awareness of the importance of reducing air pollution among public health officials and policymakers.