Harmful Environmental Exposures Research Articles

DEVELOPING A PROTOCOL TO ASSESS EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS AMONG OLDER ADULT WOMEN IN SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN

Abstract Environmental pollutants, including PFAS, phthalates, and parabens, contribute to the development of age-related diseases like cancer, cardiometabolic disease, and neurodegenerative diseases. Unfortunately, these chemicals are common in everyday exposures, including drinking water, personal care products (PCPs), non-stick cookware, and food packaging. Exposures to these pollutants may be high in communities that have encountered structural disadvantages; neighborhood disinvestment and decaying infrastructure can make exposures to these pollutants more likely, thus increasing the burden of age-related disease in these communities. Interventions that reduce exposures to these chemicals may prevent or delay the onset of age-related disease, especially in groups experiencing poorer health outcomes because of structural racism and discrimination. To explore the feasibility of a behavior change intervention for older adults that reduces exposure to harmful chemicals in PCPs, a protocol was developed to: 1) Assess attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors related to environmental pollutants via questionnaire; 2) Characterize individual-level ‘exposomes’, the unique mixture of chemicals a person encounters in their everyday lives, by wearing a silicone wristband; 3) Measure environmental exposures in serum. Data collection will begin in September 2023 among older adult women who have participated in the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN) at the Michigan site. Older adults have accrued environmental exposures across their lifetimes, likely in a way that reflects patterns of structural disadvantage. While structural solutions are necessary to address issues of health equity, behavior change efforts can work in tandem to reduce harmful environmental exposures to improve the health of older adults.

The Influence of the Exposome in the Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma, a Multicenter Case-Control Study.

The concept of exposome refers to the total of harmful and beneficial environmental exposures that can help predict the organism's biological responses over time. Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) from sun exposure has been recognized as the main etiological agent of skin cancer, and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is one most commonly associated with chronic exposure. However, in recent years, evidence suggests that lifestyle, environmental pollution, and contaminants in water and food can have an influence. To study the relationship between SCC and sun exposure, pollution, stress, and lifestyle in a Spanish cohort. A multicenter case-control study was carried out in which 13 dermatologists from different regions of Spain recruited cases and controls between April 2020 and August 2022. The group of cases were patients diagnosed with SCC and, as a control group, people who attended Dermatology consultations as companions with no history of skin cancer. A total of 62 patients with SCC and 126 controls were included (62.9% males, median age 76.46 (10.1) and 33.3%, median age 55.7 (15), respectively). The SCC group had experienced more outside work than the controls (75% vs. 22.4%, p < 0.001), less recreational exposure (sunbathing, p = 0.05, and outdoor sports, p = 0.01), and a lower annual income (p = 0.01), with an increase in tobacco exposure (p < 0.001), without differences in other carcinogens, such as ionizing radiation or chemical exposure. The control group had a higher daily screentime use (p < 0.001) and practiced more relaxation activities (p = 0.03). A higher linolenic acid intake and lower coffee consumption were the only dietary variables associated with SCC (p < 0.05). Some chronic medications (anxiolytics, antidepressants, beta-blockers, statins, hydrochlorothiazide, ACE inhibitors, metformin, and omeprazole) were also statistically associated with SCC. Statistical significance for all aforementioned variables was maintained in the multivariate analysis (p < 0.05). The study found a significant association between SCC and multiple exposome-related factors in addition to chronic sun exposure in the Spanish population. Primary prevention strategies should target specific populations, such as outdoor workers promoting sun-safe behaviors and stress-reducing activities, in addition to adequate skin photoprotection in patients under certain medications associated with SCC.

Understanding and assessing demographic (in)equity resulting from extreme heat and direct sunlight exposure due to lack of tree canopies in Norfolk, VA using agent-based modeling

Prolonged exposure to extreme heat and direct sunlight can result in illness and death. In urban areas of dense concentrations of pavement, buildings, and other surfaces that absorb and retain heat, harmful environmental exposures to extreme heat and direct sunlight for residents can occur on a daily basis during certain parts of the year. Tree canopies provide shade and help to cool the environment, making mature trees with large canopies a simple and effective way to reduce urban heat and avoid direct sunlight. We develop a demographically representative agent-based model to understand the extent to which different demographics of residents in Norfolk, VA are (in)equitably shaded from direct sunlight and extreme heat conditions during a walk on a clear summer day. In the model each agent represents a different resident of Norfolk, VA. We use the model to assess the extent to which the city’s tree planting plan will be effective in remediating any existing inequities. Our results show that inequitable conditions exist for residents at (1) different education levels, (2) different income levels, and (3) living in different census tracts. Norfolk’s Tree Planting Program effectively reduces the distance residents of all demographics walk in extreme heat and are exposed to direct sunlight. However, residents of the city at lower income levels still experience statistically significantly more extreme heat and direct sunlight exposure due to a lack of tree canopies in summer months than those at higher income levels.

Transcriptomic profiling reveals differential cellular response to copper oxide nanoparticles and polystyrene nanoplastics in perfused human placenta

The growing nanoparticulate pollution (e.g. engineered nanoparticles (NPs) or nanoplastics) has been shown to pose potential threats to human health. In particular, sensitive populations such as pregnant women and their unborn children need to be protected from harmful environmental exposures. However, developmental toxicity from prenatal exposure to pollution particles is not yet well studied despite evidence of particle accumulation in human placenta. Our study aimed to investigate how copper oxide NPs (CuO NPs; 10–20 nm) and polystyrene nanoplastics (PS NPs; 70 nm) impact on gene expression in ex vivo perfused human placental tissue. Whole genome microarray analysis revealed changes in global gene expression profile after 6 h of perfusion with sub-cytotoxic concentrations of CuO (10 µg/mL) and PS NPs (25 µg/mL). Pathway and gene ontology enrichment analysis of the differentially expressed genes suggested that CuO and PS NPs trigger distinct cellular response in placental tissue. While CuO NPs induced pathways related to angiogenesis, protein misfolding and heat shock responses, PS NPs affected the expression of genes related to inflammation and iron homeostasis. The observed effects on protein misfolding, cytokine signaling, and hormones were corroborated by western blot (accumulation of polyubiquitinated proteins) or qPCR analysis. Overall, the results of the present study revealed extensive and material-specific interference of CuO and PS NPs with placental gene expression from a single short-term exposure which deserves increasing attention. In addition, the placenta, which is often neglected in developmental toxicity studies, should be a key focus in the future safety assessment of NPs in pregnancy.

A modular systematic review of antenatal interventions targeting modifiable environmental exposures in improving low birth weight

BackgroundLow birth weight (LBW) increases the risk of short- and long-term morbidity and mortality from early life to adulthood. Despite research effort to improve birth outcomes the progress has been slow. ObjectiveThis systematic search and review of English language scientific literature on clinical trials aimed to compare the efficacy antenatal interventions to reduce environmental exposures including a reduction of toxins exposure, and improving sanitation, hygiene, and health-seeking behaviors, which target pregnant women to improve birth outcomes. MethodsWe performed eight systematic searches in MEDLINE (OvidSP), Embase (OvidSP), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (Wiley Cochrane Library), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Wiley Cochrane Library), CINAHL Complete (EbscoHOST) between 17 March 2020 and 26 May 2020. ResultsFour documents identified describe interventions to reduce indoor air pollution: two randomised controlled trials (RCTs), one systematic review and meta-analysis (SRMA) on preventative antihelminth treatment and one RCT on antenatal counselling against unnecessary caesarean section. Based on the published literature, interventions to reduce indoor air pollution (LBW: RR: 0.90 [0.56, 1.44], PTB: OR: 2.37 [1.11, 5.07]) or preventative antihelminth treatment (LBW: RR: 1.00 [0.79, 1.27], PTB: RR: 0.88 [0.43, 1.78]) are not likely to reduce the risk of LBW or Preterm birth (PTB). Data is insufficient on antenatal counselling against caesarian-sections. For other interventions, there is lack of published research data from RCTs. ConclusionsWe conclude that there is a paucity of evidence from RCT on interventions that modify environmental risk factors during pregnancy to potentially improve birth outcomes. Magic bullets approach might not work and that it would be important to study the effect of the broader interventions, particularly in LMIC settings. Global interdisciplinary action to reduce harmful environmental exposures, is likely to help to reach global targets for LBW reduction and sustainably improve long-term population health.

Modeling the Health Benefits of Superblocks across the City of Los Angeles

Superblocks can help to transform urban areas into pedestrian-centric neighborhoods. First launched in Barcelona, Spain, they are expected to reduce harmful environmental exposures, increase green space access and thereby provide substantial health benefits. However, few studies have examined the practicality and likely benefits of implementing Superblocks in other metropolitan areas. We developed a methodological framework to build a generalizable City of Los Angeles (LA) Superblocks Model and evaluate the predicted health benefits that would follow such an intervention. We derived and used five rules to guide the choice of arterial streets and candidate blocks and the choice of major bounding streets that could facilitate mobility across the metropolitan area. We next used the BenMap-CE model to perform a quantitative assessment of the health and economic benefits that would accompany five scenarios that would transform 5–50% of the residential areas in the City of LA to Superblocks. We found that the creation of superblocks resulted in significant reductions in hospital admissions and significant economic savings. The benefits were strongest when 5–10% of residential areas were transformed, but rapidly decreased as the threshold reached 30%. These results will help stakeholders determine the optimal balance between reduced car traffic and improved health outcomes. Moreover, we illustrated how to develop a Superblocks model for a highly versatile and populated metropolitan area like the City of LA and how the model can be used to assess the potential health benefits and benchmark the relationship between the scale of the Superblock implementation and the accompanying health benefits moving forward.

Novel Approaches for the Application of Herbs for Skin Care.

Skin is the largest non-parenchymal organ of the human body. It constitutes a natural barrier against pathogens and harmful environmental exposures and contributes to the human body's homeostasis. Conditions affecting the skin range from infections and injury to autoimmune diseases and cancer. Herbs have been used to treat dermatological conditions for a long time. Traditional approaches to delivering herbs to the skin include ointments, gels, creams, and lotions. However, poor lipophilicity or hydrophilicity in most herbal preparations results in limited bioavailability and poor penetration, restricting their effectiveness. Nanotechnology-based approaches have major potential, showing more promising results in enhancing transdermal penetration than traditional approaches. This review article summarizes such advances and sheds light on future directions in using nanotechnology-based strategies.

Principal Component Pursuit for Pattern Identification in Environmental Mixtures.

Environmental health researchers often aim to identify sources or behaviors that give rise to potentially harmful environmental exposures. We adapted principal component pursuit (PCP)-a robust and well-established technique for dimensionality reduction in computer vision and signal processing-to identify patterns in environmental mixtures. PCP decomposes the exposure mixture into a low-rank matrix containing consistent patterns of exposure across pollutants and a sparse matrix isolating unique or extreme exposure events. We adapted PCP to accommodate nonnegative data, missing data, and values below a given limit of detection (LOD). We simulated data to represent environmental mixtures of two sizes with increasing proportions and three noise structures. We applied PCP-LOD to evaluate its performance in comparison with principal component analysis (PCA). We next applied principal component pursuit with limit of detection (PCP-LOD) to an exposure mixture of 21 persistent organic pollutants (POPs) measured in 1,000 U.S. adults from the 2001-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). We applied singular value decomposition to the estimated low-rank matrix to characterize the patterns. PCP-LOD recovered the true number of patterns through cross-validation for all simulations; based on an a priori specified criterion, PCA recovered the true number of patterns in 32% of simulations. PCP-LOD achieved lower relative predictive error than PCA for all simulated data sets with up to 50% of the data . When 75% of values were , PCP-LOD outperformed PCA only when noise was low. In the POP mixture, PCP-LOD identified a rank-three underlying structure and separated 6% of values as extreme events. One pattern represented comprehensive exposure to all POPs. The other patterns grouped chemicals based on known structure and toxicity. PCP-LOD serves as a useful tool to express multidimensional exposures as consistent patterns that, if found to be related to adverse health, are amenable to targeted public health messaging. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP10479.

Long-term exposure to residential surrounding greenness and incidence of diabetes: A prospective cohort study

Exposure to residential greenness might affect population health through increasing physical activity and social engagement, improving mental health, and reducing harmful environmental exposure. However, evidence on the association of greenness with risk of diabetes is still controversial. In this study, we recruited a total of 22,535 participants aged ≥18 years from Yinzhou District, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China to investigate the associations between residential greenness and risk of diabetes incidence. Residential greenness was estimated using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), and Vegetation Continuous Field (VCF). We also calculated cumulative average NDVI, EVI and VCF values, and changes in NDVI, EVI and VCF during the follow-up period. We used Cox proportional hazards models controlling for demographic characteristics, lifestyles, individual socioeconomic status, history of diseases and particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5) to examine hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) and assessed physical activity, body mass index (BMI) or PM2.5 as potential mediators. During 84,992.64 person-years of follow-up, a total of 1,154 incident cases of diabetes occurred. In multivariable models, living in the highest quartile of cumulative average NDVI, EVI and VCF within 250-m buffer was associated with 57% (HR = 0.43, 95% CI: 0.36, 0.52), 62% (HR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.32, 0.45), and 55% (HR = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.38, 0.54) reduction in diabetes risk compared with the lowest quartile, respectively. Results remained similar for NDVI, EVI, and VCF within 500-m and 1000-m buffers. Stratified analyses showed stronger association for residential greenness and diabetes among older people. The association between greenness and diabetes did not appear to be mediated by physical activity, PM2.5 or BMI. Our findings suggested that higher residential greenness was significantly associated with lower risk of diabetes.

IDH2: A novel biomarker for environmental exposure in blood circulatory system disorders.

As the risk of harmful environmental exposure is increasing, it is important to find suitable targets for the diagnosis and treatment of the diseases caused. Isocitrate dehydrogenase 2 (IDH2) is an enzyme located in the mitochondria; it plays an important role in numerous cell processes, including maintaining redox homeostasis, participating in the tricarboxylic acid cycle and indirectly taking part in the transmission of the oxidative respiratory chain. IDH2 mutations promote progression in acute myeloid leukemia, glioma and other diseases. The present review mainly summarizes the role and mechanism of IDH2 with regard to the biological effects, such as the mitophagy and apoptosis of animal or human cells, caused by environmental pollution such as radiation, heavy metals and other environmental exposure factors. The possible mechanisms of these biological effects are described in terms of IDH2 expression, reduced nicotine adenine dinucleotide phosphate content and reactive oxygen species level, among other variables. The impact of environmental pollution on human health is increasingly attracting attention. IDH2 may therefore become useful as a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target for environmental exposure-induced diseases.

Heavy metals and neurodevelopment of children in low and middle-income countries: A systematic review.

BackgroundThe presence of harmful environmental exposures, which disproportionately affects low-and-middle income countries (LMICs), contributes to >25% of deaths and diseases worldwide and detrimentally affects child neurodevelopment. Few resources succinctly summarize the existing literature on this topic. Our objective is to systematically review and characterize the evidence regarding the relationship between heavy metals and neurodevelopment of children in LMICs.MethodsWe conducted a medical librarian-curated search on multiple online databases to identify articles that included individuals <18 years living in a LMIC, quantitatively measured exposure to a heavy metal (either prenatal or postnatal), and used a standardized measurement of neurodevelopment (i.e. cognitive, language, motor, and behavior). Reviews, editorials, or case studies were excluded. Results were analyzed qualitatively, and quality was assessed.ResultsOf the 18,043 screened articles, 298 full-text articles were reviewed, and 100 articles met inclusion criteria. The included studies represented data from 19 LMICs, only one of which was classified as a low-income country. Ninety-four percent of postnatal lead and all postnatal manganese studies showed a negative association with metal exposure and neurodevelopment, which were the strongest relationships among the metals studied. Postnatal exposure of mercury was associated with poor neurodevelopment in only half of studies. Limited data on postnatal arsenic and cadmium suggests an association with worse neurodevelopment. Findings were mixed for prenatal arsenic and lead, although some evidence supports that the neurotoxicity of lead was amplified in the presence of manganese.Conclusions and potential impactWe found that lead and manganese appear to consistently have a detrimental effect on the neurodevelopment of children, and more evidence is needed for mercury, arsenic, and cadmium. Better characterization of these effects can motivate and inform prioritization of much needed international policies and programs to reduce heavy metal exposures for young children within LMICs.

Changes in miR-124-1, miR-212, miR-132, miR-134, and miR-155 Expression Patterns after 7,12-Dimethylbenz(a)anthracene Treatment in CBA/Ca Mice.

Specific gene and miRNA expression patterns are potential early biomarkers of harmful environmental carcinogen exposures. The aim of our research was to develop an assay panel by using several miRNAs for the rapid screening of potential carcinogens. The expression changes of miR-124-1, miR-212, miR-132, miR-134, and miR-155 were examined in the spleen, liver, and kidneys of CBA/Ca mice, following the 20 mg/bwkg intraperitoneal 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) treatment. After 24 h RNA was isolated, the miRNA expressions were analyzed by a real-time polymerase chain reaction and compared to a non-treated control. DMBA induced significant changes in the expression of miR-134, miR-132, and miR-124-1 in all examined organs in female mice. Thus, miR-134, miR-132, and miR-124-1 were found to be suitable biomarkers for the rapid screening of potential chemical carcinogens and presumably to monitor the protective effects of chemopreventive agents.

Personal Protective Equipment for COVID-19 and Beyond: Occupational and Environmental Exposure Considerations in Primary Care.

In this reflection piece, the authors describe a hypertension follow-up visit and draw attention to an often overlooked aspect of a patient's health: their occupational and environmental history. For years, physicians and clinicians have understood and treated disease secondary to conspicuously harmful environmental exposures; the impacts of everyday exposures on patient health are less understood and appreciated. This article specifically addresses the critical question of how primary care physicians and clinicians can think about, and address, occupational and environmental health hazards in their assessment and treatment of chronic disease in patients. We present 3 strategies that primary care physicians and clinicians can adopt to better account for environmental and occupational risks: good history taking, advising or advocacy, and education.

Queering Environmental Justice: Unequal Environmental Health Burden on the LGBTQ+ Community.

The LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/-sexual, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual, and all subsects) population has been the target of federal and state discriminatory policies leading to high levels of institutional discrimination in the housing, employment, and health sectors. Social determinants of health such as housing conditions, economic opportunities, and access to health care may negatively and disproportionately affect the LGBTQ+ population and reduce their capacity to respond to environmental harm (e.g., obtaining necessary medical care). Social determinants of health have been shown to be associated with unequal harmful environmental exposure, primarily along lines of race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. However, chronic diseases, such as respiratory diseases, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, associated with environmental exposure have been shown to occur in higher rates in the LGBTQ+ population than in the cisgender, heterosexual population. We explore how environmental exposures may disproportionately affect the LGBTQ+ population through examples of environmental exposures, health risks that have been linked to environmental exposures, and social institutions that could affect resilience to environmental stressors for this population. We provide recommendations for policymakers, public health officials, and researchers. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(1):79-87. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306406).

Targeting the epigenome to treat neurodegenerative diseases or delay their onset: a perspective

Targeting the epigenome to treat neurodegenerative diseases or delay their onset: a perspective

Improving Molybdenum and Sulfur Vitrification in Borosilicate Nuclear Waste Glasses Using Phosphorus: Structural Insights from NMR.

Reclaiming residual fissile materials from spent nuclear fuel rods results in highly radioactive waste that must be immobilized in durable materials to protect the biosphere from harmful environmental exposure. The glasses typically used for this purpose are less effective at incorporating highly charged cations than cations in lower oxidation states. Molybdenum and sulfur solubilities in model aluminoborosilicate nuclear glasses were studied using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The extent of molybdenum and sulfur incorporation was significantly improved by doping the glasses with phosphorus, a high-field-strength cation capable of competing with Mo6+ and S6+ for oxygen, resulting in more oxygen sharing and a higher degree of Mo and S integration into the glass network. The addition of 3 mol % each of molybdenum and sulfur to phosphorus-free glasses led to the separation of crystalline sodium molybdates and sodium sulfates, whereas the replacement of 5 mol % SiO2 by P2O5 resulted in complete Mo and S incorporation into the glass, enhancing their respective loading limits by several times. NMR spectroscopy indicates that this improvement originates from the availability of chain phosphates as binding sites. This work demonstrates the value of using phosphate additives to improve Mo and S integration in nuclear glasses, providing insight into its specific structural role and foundational understanding for further development as a material design principle.

Generational differences in cognitive function in middle‐aged to older adults

AbstractBackgroundCognitive impairment and dementia are major health concerns. While the number of cases is expected to increase with the aging populations, recent research shows that age‐specific dementia prevalence rates are declining. This may be due to reduced risks of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and harmful environmental exposures and healthier lifestyles. Given the decades‐long preclinical phase of dementia, detection of early cognitive changes might improve future treatment and prevention methods. However, research on generational differences in cognitive function in middle‐aged to older adults is limited. The aim of this study was to determine whether individuals from more recent generations show better cognitive function.MethodThis cross‐sectional study is based on data from 4439 participants from the Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study (EHLS) and Beaver Dam Offspring Study (BOSS), two studies of adults in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. Each participant’s birth year was used to assign a birth cohort (1901‐1924: Greatest Generation; 1925‐1945: Silent Generation; 1946‐1964: Baby Boom Generation; 1965‐1984: Generation X). Cognitive function was assessed by Trail‐making Test A and B (TMTA, TMTB). We used multivariable linear regression models adjusted for age and sex to determine birth cohort (generational) differences in TMT performance. We repeated models adjusting for education.ResultIn preliminary analyses, TMTA performance was better in more recent generations as compared to the Greatest Generation (Silent: ‐26.88 seconds (s); 95 % confidence interval (CI) ‐30.60,‐23.15; Baby Boom: ‐25.70s; 95% CI ‐30.64,‐20.77; Generation X: ‐17.82s; 95% CI ‐24.37,‐11.27). Performance on TMTB showed larger generational differences as compared to the Greatest Generation: Silent: ‐50.04s; 95% CI ‐58.11,‐41.97; Baby Boom: ‐63.38s; 95% CI ‐73.83,‐52.93; Generation X: ‐43.53s; 95% CI ‐57.23,‐29.83. Although education levels differed by generation, including education did not change these patterns.ConclusionThis study suggests better processing speed and executive function performance among more recent generations even when adjusting for educational levels. This implies that future burdens of cognitive decline and dementia may be lower than currently estimated. The difference also suggests that there are modifiable risk factors that may help to explain the etiology of cognitive decline and provide potential pathways for healthy brain aging and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

Longitudinal atopic dermatitis endotypes: An atopic march paradigm that includes Black children

The atopic march has been studied mostly in White populations, biasing our current paradigms. We sought to define the atopic march in Black and White children and explore mechanisms for racial differences. Utilizing the Mechanisms of Progression of Atopic Dermatitis to Asthma in Children (MPAACH) cohort (n= 601), we assessed longitudinal sensitization, food allergy (FA), allergic rhinitis, risk of asthma development (through the Pediatric Asthma Risk Score), Scoring for Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD), transepidermal water loss, skin filaggrin (FLG) expression, exposures, and genetic heritability to define AD progression endotypes in Black and White children. White MPAACH children were more likely to be sensitized to aero and food allergens (P= .0001) and over 3 times more likely to develop FA and/or allergic rhinitis (AR) without asthma risk (P< .0001). In contrast, Black children were over 6 times more likely to proceed to high asthma risk without FA, sensitization, or AR (P< .0001). White children had higher lesional and nonlesional transepidermal water loss (both P< .001) as well as decreased nonlesional keratinocyte FLG expression (P= .02). Black children had increased genetic heritability for asthma risk and higher rates of exposures to secondhand smoke and traffic-related air pollution. Black and White children with AD have distinct allergic trajectories defined by different longitudinal endotypes. Black children exhibit higher asthma risk despite a more intact skin barrier and less sensitization, FA, and AR. White children have less asthma risk, despite a more dysfunctional skin barrier, and more FA, AR, and sensitization. The observed racial differences are likely due in part to increased genetic heritability for asthma risk and harmful environmental exposures in Black children. Collectively, our findings provide a new paradigm for an atopic march that is inclusive of Black children.

Women's Understanding of Windows of Susceptibility and the Role of the Environment in Breast Cancer Risk.

Emerging evidence suggests women who are exposed to harmful environmental exposures, especially during certain critical periods across the lifespan, may increase their breast cancer risk. Such windows of susceptibility (WoS) occur throughout a woman's lifetime, during which she is especially vulnerable to the effects of harmful environmental exposures. This interaction makes the reduction of harmful environmental toxicants during those time periods a priority for community health promotion. Communicating about environmental exposures and their impact on women's health requires an assessment of sense-making around, and understanding of, the link between breast cancer and the environment. To that end, focus groups were conducted to assess the themes that emerge when women make sense of (a) their own breast cancer risk, (b) the environment-cancer connection, and (c) WoS. Results provide insight into how women understand these issues which can inform messaging strategies focused on reducing harmful environmental exposures. Implications are discussed within the context of communication efforts tailored to educate women, particularly mothers with daughters in the prepubertal and pubertal WoS who are particularly vulnerable to harmful environmental exposures.

Principal component pursuit for exposure pattern recognition: an application to persistent organic pollutants and leukocyte telomere length

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Environmental health (EH) researchers often aim to identify sources that drive potentially harmful environmental exposures. We have adapted Principal Component Pursuit (PCP), a robust dimensionality reduction algorithm, to pattern recognition in EH. PCP decomposes the exposure matrix into consistent patterns of chemical exposure while separately isolating unique or infrequent outlying exposure events. We further tailored PCP for EH by adding: (1) a non-negativity constraint to enhance interpretability of identified patterns, (2) procedures to accommodate missingness, and (3) a separate penalty for observations below the limit of detection. METHODS: We began with an exposure mixture of 21 dioxins, furans, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), collectively referred to as persistent organic pollutants (POPs), measured in 1,000 U.S. adults from the 2001-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). We applied PCP to this mixture to identify exposure patterns and investigated the association between identified patterns and leukocyte telomere length (LTL), a biomarker associated with chronic disease. We used pattern scores from PCP in linear regression models to evaluate their association with LTL, adjusting for potential confounders. RESULTS:PCP identified four patterns representing the overall exposure matrix: pattern 1 was characterized by dioxins, pattern 2 by furans, pattern 3 by higher-weight PCBs, while pattern 4 was driven by lower-weight PCBs including two mono-ortho PCBs. In adjusted models, we observed no association between patterns 1, 2, or 3 and LTL. We observed on average a 0.017 (95% CI: 0.000, 0.034) unit increase in log-LTL per one standard deviation increase in the exposure profile described by pattern 4. CONCLUSIONS:PCP can serve as a useful and robust technique that can accommodate missing values and values below the limit of detection to identify exposure patterns that are amenable to public health messaging and research. KEYWORDS: Mixtures, Mixtures analysis, Chemical exposures, Environmental epidemiology