Risk Factor For Health Effects Research Articles

Simultaneous detection of multiple mycotoxins in Radix Dipsaci and estimation of exposure risk for consumers

Like many traditional Chinese herbal medicines, preparations from Radix Dipsaci are at risk of contamination by harmful mycotoxins; however, there have been no reports of actual contamination. In this study, we developed an analytical method to simultaneously detect eight mycotoxins in Radix Dipsaci and estimate the exposure risk for consumers. We have developed an analytical method utilizing ultra-high performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry to accurately determine the levels of AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2, OTA, ZEN, T-2 and ST mycotoxins in 45 batches of Radix Dipsaci sourced from major medicinal herb markets across five regions in China. We also analyzed migration of mycotoxins from the raw herbs into water decoction. Based on these results and data on human consumption of the herbal medicine, we estimated risk of exposure and acceptable exposure limits to mycotoxins in the Radix Dipsaci using the “margin of exposure (MOE)” method. Of the 45 batches of Radix Dipsaci, 48.89% contained at least one of the eight mycotoxins, 24.44% contained one, 17.78% contained two and 6.67% contained three. The most frequent mycotoxins were aflatoxin B1, present in 35.56% of batches (at 0.25–34.84 μg/kg); aflatoxin G1, 15.56% (1.99–44.05 μg/kg); and ochratoxin A, 22.22% (16.11–143.38 μg/kg). These three mycotoxins transferred from the raw herb into water decoction at respective rates of 20.20%, 29.14%, and 24.80%. The 95th percentile values of the MOE risk factors for health effects of AFB1 were below 10,000 at high doses but above 10,000 at low doses of Radix Dipsaci long-term treatment. With the reduction in duration of exposure years, the MOE values of AFB1 and AFG1 gradually reverted to within the acceptable range. The mean, 50th, and 95th percentile values of the MOE risk factors for health effects of OTA exceeded 10,000 regardless of whether consumers received a low or high dose of Radix Dipsaci treatment for durations ranging from 1 to lifetime. Based on this exposure and a typical human diet, we have estimated the respective 20-year exposure limits for Radix Dipsaci to be 5.821 μg/kg, 4.035 μg/kg, and 56.073 μg/kg for the three mycotoxins under consideration. Contamination with multiple mycotoxins is frequently observed in Radix Dipsaci, and the three most prevalent contaminants have been found to leach into water decoctions, thereby posing a potential health hazard for individuals consuming this herbal preparation. This work highlights the need to monitor herbal medicines for mycotoxin contamination in order to protect consumers.

Reliability and Validity of Sedentary Behavior Questionnaire in Turkish Population: Evaluation of Psychometric Properties

Background: Inactivity and sedentary lifestyle are a well-known risk factors for health effects. Many questionnaires evaluate physical activity (PA) level; however, the evaluation of sedentary behavior needs more attention. Sedentary behavior questionnaire (SBQ) is a reliable, valid, and easy-to-administer tool. The current study aimed at cross-culturally adapting and assessing the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of SBQ. Methods: SBQ consists of 9 items related to sedentary lifestyle both on weekdays and weekends. SBQ was administrated to 235 participants with the attrition rate of 24%, followed by a repeated administration after 7 days to assess its reliability. Criterion-related validity was analyzed with the international physical activity questionnaire-short form (IPAQ-SF) within the construct validity of the SBQ. Test-retest reliability was assessed by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), while the Spearman rho was used for criterion-related validity. Results: The ICC scores for each parameter ranged from 0.388 to 0.771. The obtained results showed moderate to good test-retest reliability. The validity results of SBQ somewhat violated the standards, which are generally accepted. Items of SBQ “watching TV (including videos on VCD/DVD)”, “sitting and talking on the phone or being busy on the phone”, and “doing paperwork or computer work (office work, e-mails, paying bills, etc.)” correlated significantly with body mass index (BMI) (r = -0.138 to 0.247, P < 0.05). Conclusions: The SBQ had good reliability and acceptable validity to assess sedentary behaviors in a Turkish population.

Are metals and pyrene levels additional factors playing a pivotal role in air pollution-induced inflammation in taxi drivers?

This study aimed to evaluate which xenobiotic (As, Hg, Pb or pyrenes) is primarily responsible for the inflammatory process in taxi drivers. Multiple regression analysis showed that Hg is the main xenobiotic responsible for the increase of cytokine levels. These associations suggest that co-exposure to pollutants could be a risk factor for health effects.

Evaluation register study feasibility using maternal smoking as a risk factor in Finland

Introduction Maternal exposures have been associated with birth outcomes and health effects later in life. Despite the well-known health effects of smoking, many knowledge gaps remain concerning prenatal exposure to maternal smoking. Our aims are (1) to summarize existing literature on maternal smoking as a risk factor for health effects in early life; (2) to assess the feasibility of a register based epidemiological study in Finland; and (3) to identify maternal smoking induced health effects in early life as a case study by using national heath registers. Methods A systematic literature review was conducted to identify relevant health endpoints. The needed study size was calculated for cohort and case-control design (α = 5%; study power = 90%). The smoking prevalence during pregnancy was estimated to be 15%. The study population comprises all 1.6 million births in Finland in 1987-2013. Results Childhood cancer, congenital malformations, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), stillbirth and other birth outcomes (preterm birth, low birth weight, small for gestational age) were identified as most relevant. Cohort design was shown to be more appropriate than case-control design for a Finnish register-based epidemiological study on the above endpoints. The cohort of all births in Finland in 1987 or later is big enough to investigate SIDS and the four birth outcomes with sufficient statistical power. The cohort is only sufficiently big for stillbirths with α = 10%. For the other health endpoint the available cohort is expected to be too small to reach a sufficient statistical power. Conclusions Finnish health registers are a promising source for health data for epidemiological studies. For a low prevalence of exposure in combination with rare outcomes the Finnish population register establishment is probably too small for sufficient statistical strength. International collaborations are needed to tackle this issue and increase the available study size and statistical reliability.

Comparison of Household Air Pollution (HAP) Levels between Open Fire and Improved Stoves, Rural Western Kenya

Nearly 3 billion people worldwide use solid fuel as their main household fuel source; household air pollution (HAP) from burning biomass fuels is a risk factor for health effects including respirat...

Factors Increasing Vulnerability to Health Effects before, during and after Floods

Identifying the risk factors for morbidity and mortality effects pre-, during and post-flood may aid the appropriate targeting of flood-related adverse health prevention strategies. We conducted a systematic PubMed search to identify studies examining risk factors for health effects of precipitation-related floods, among Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) member countries. Research identifying flood-related morbidity and mortality risk factors is limited and primarily examines demographic characteristics such as age and gender. During floods, females, elderly and children appear to be at greater risk of psychological and physical health effects, while males between 10 to 29 years may be at greater risk of mortality. Post-flood, those over 65 years and males are at increased risk of physical health effects, while females appear at greater risk of psychological health effects. Other risk factors include previous flood experiences, greater flood depth or flood trauma, existing illnesses, medication interruption, and low education or socio-economic status. Tailoring messages to high-risk groups may increase their effectiveness. Target populations differ for morbidity and mortality effects, and differ pre-, during, and post-flood. Additional research is required to identify the risk factors associated with pre- and post-flood mortality and post-flood morbidity, preferably using prospective cohort studies.

Editorial

It has been discussed whether Indoor Air like the society ISIAQ is to dominated by Nordic researchers. This is true, if we look at the major conferences held or planned. Four (out of 10) Indoor Air conferences and two (out of nine) Healthy Building conferences has or will be held in Nordic countries (the next Indoor Air conference is in Copenhagen next summer). Both series started in Scandinavia, Indoor Air in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1978, and Healthy Buildings in Stockholm, Sweden in 1988. It is also true if we look at number of delegates at these conferences, or membership in ISIAQ. The small Nordic countries have dominated. This was due to the necessity in these cold countries to save energy (reduce ventilation!), and the pioneering work and leadership by, e.g. Ib Andersen, Thomas Lindvall, and Ole Fanger. An important factor has also been the possibility to conduct truly multidisciplinary studies (e.g. involving at least medicine and engineering). This has obviously been easier in Nordic countries than elsewhere. The Nordic dominance can also be seen in the list of the most highly cited paper for each of the past 5 years. For 4 years, the paper has come from Nordic countries. 2002 – Meklin, T., Husman, T., Vepsäläinen, A., Vahteristo, M., Koivisto, J., Halla-Aho, J., Hyvärinen, A., Moschandreas, D. and Nevalainen, A. (2002) Indoor air microbes and respiratory symptoms of children in moisture damaged and reference schools, Indoor Air, 12 (Issue 3, September 2002), 175–183. (28 citations) 2003 – Daisey, J.M., Angell, W.J. and Apte, M.G. (2003) Indoor air quality, ventilation and health symptoms in schools: an analysis of existing information, Indoor Air, 13 (Issue 1, March 2003), 53–64. (42 citations) 2004 – Bornehag, C.G., Sundell, J., Bonini, S., Custovic, A., Malmberg, P., Skerfving, S., Sigsgaard, T. and Verhoeff, A. (2004) Dampness in buildings as a risk factor for health effects, EUROEXPO: a multidisciplinary review of the literature (1998–2000) on dampness and mite exposure in buildings and health effects, Indoor Air, 14 (Issue 4, August 2004), 243–257. (32 citations) 2005 – Afshari, A., Matson, U. and Ekberg, L.E. (2005) Characterization of indoor sources of fine and ultrafine particles: a study conducted in a full-scale chamber, Indoor Air, 15 (Issue 2, April 2005), 141–150. (20 citations) 2006 – Wolkoff, P., Wilkins, C.K., Clausen, P.A. and Nielsen, G.D. (2006) Organic compounds in office environments – sensory irritation, odor, measurements and the role of reactive chemistry, Indoor Air, 16 (Issue 1, February 2006), 7–19. (11 citations) Today, all regions are involved in saving energy, and new topics like the indoor spread of SARS, the worldwide increase in allergies etc. have resulted in a greater interest from around the world. New multidisciplinary scientific groups are working together in, e.g. East Asia (Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea). At the same time funding for IAQ-health research is getting more limited in the Nordic countries (and has been limited in North America for some time), meaning a shift in importance from Nordic countries and North America to East Asia. This shift is clear when looking at published articles in Indoor Air for the past few years. This trend will most possibly continue. At the IAQVEC 2007 conference recently held (October 2007) in Sendai, Japan a meeting was held for students (Masters, PhD, and Post Doc) in our field. More than 100 students were registered, and most of them are on the photo. A true part of the future of IAQ sciences.

Dampness in buildings as a risk factor for health effects, EUROEXPO: a multidisciplinary review of the literature (1998-2000) on dampness and mite exposure in buildings and health effects.

The scientific literature on health effects from dampness in buildings, including mite exposure over the period 1998-2000 has been reviewed by an European group (EUROEXPO) of eight scientists in experience from medicine, epidemiology, toxicology and engineering. Forty studies deemed relevant have been the foundation for the conclusions. Dampness in buildings is a risk factor for health effects among atopics and non-atopics both in domestic and in public environments. However, the literature is not conclusive in respect of causative agents, e.g. mites, microbiological agents and organic chemicals from degraded building materials. There is a strong need for more multidisciplinary studies including expertise from all relevant areas. A general conclusion from the work was that there is a strong need for multidisciplinary reviews in scientific journals of articles dealing with associations between indoor environmental factors and health effects. There is good evidence for a true association between dampness in buildings and health. As the causative factors behind this association are not known, the main focus in practical investigations should be on finding out and remediate the reasons for the humidity problem.