Associations between obstructive sleep apnea and sleep characteristics with chronic kidney disease in rural Pennsylvania.

Study Objectives: To examine the association between moderate-severe obstructive sleep apnea (msOSA) and sleep characteristics with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in a population of rural and urban adults in Pennsylvania.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of 23,643 adults who underwent polysomnography (PSG) at a rural healthcare system in Pennsylvania between 2009 and 2019. Serum creatinine was abstracted from electronic health records to calculate estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).

Associations of salivary aldosterone levels during pregnancy with maternal blood pressure and birth weight-for-gestational age in a Mexico City birth cohort.

Objective: To determine associations of maternal salivary aldosterone with blood pressure (BP) in pregnancy and infant birth weight-for-gestational age (BWGA).

Methods: We measured maternal salivary aldosterone, BP and BWGA z-scores in 471 Mexico City pregnancy cohort participants and performed multivariable linear regression of BP and BWGA on log-aldosterone levels.

Results: Log-aldosterone was positively associated with diastolic BP (β = 0.

Clearing the air: a review of the effects of air pollution on dialysis outcomes.

Purpose Of Review: An evolving body of literature indicates exposure to air pollutants is associated with adverse health outcomes in dialysis patients. As the prevalence of kidney disease increases, understanding the role of environmental agents on the health of dialysis patients is critical to reducing global morbidity and mortality.

Recent Findings: We identified 16 publications that investigated associations between pollutants including particulate matter (PM 2.

Genomic surveillance reveals dynamic shifts in the connectivity of COVID-19 epidemics.

The maturation of genomic surveillance in the past decade has enabled tracking of the emergence and spread of epidemics at an unprecedented level. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, genomic data revealed that local epidemics varied considerably in the frequency of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) lineage importation and persistence, likely due to a combination of COVID-19 restrictions and changing connectivity. Here, we show that local COVID-19 epidemics are driven by regional transmission, including across international boundaries, but can become increasingly connected to distant locations following the relaxation of public health interventions.

A State-of-the-Science Review of Interactions of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) with Renal Transporters in Health and Disease: Implications for Population Variability in PFAS Toxicokinetics.

Background: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are ubiquitous in the environment and have been shown to cause various adverse health impacts. In animals, sex- and species-specific differences in PFAS elimination half-lives have been linked to the activity of kidney transporters. However, PFAS molecular interactions with kidney transporters are still not fully understood.

Prenatal Metal Exposures and Associations with Kidney Injury Biomarkers in Children.

Prenatal exposure to arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb) may be nephrotoxic, yet limited studies have examined subclinical kidney injury biomarkers in children. We assessed whether metal exposure in the second trimester (2T), a crucial time of kidney development, is associated with altered urine kidney injury and function biomarkers in preadolescent children. Analyses included 494 children participating in a birth cohort study in Mexico City.

A cross-validation based approach for estimating specific gravity in elementary-school aged children using a nonlinear model.

Environmental research often relies on urinary biomarkers which require dilution correction to accurately measure exposures. Specific gravity (SG) and creatinine (UCr) are commonly measured urinary dilution factors. Epidemiologic studies may assess only one of these measures, making it difficult to pool studies that may otherwise be able to be combined.

Non-essential and essential trace element mixtures and kidney function in early pregnancy - A cross-sectional analysis in project viva.

Some trace elements are established nephrotoxicants, yet their associations with kidney function remain understudied in the context of pregnancy, a time of substantial change in kidney physiology and function. We aimed to estimate the individual and joint associations of trace element mixtures with maternal kidney function during the 1st trimester of pregnancy (mean 9.7 gestational weeks).

Prenatal and early childhood critical windows for the association of nephrotoxic metal and metalloid mixtures with kidney function.

Introduction: As renal development and maturation processes begin in utero and continue through early childhood, sensitive developmental periods arise during which metal exposures can program subclinical nephrotoxicity that manifests later in life. We used novel dentine biomarkers of established nephrotoxicants including arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), and lithium (Li), and their mixtures, to identify critical windows of exposure-associated kidney function alterations in preadolescents.

Methods: Participants included 353 children in the Programming Research in Obesity Growth, Environment and Social Stressors (PROGRESS) longitudinal birth cohort study based in Mexico City.

Wastewater sequencing uncovers early, cryptic SARS-CoV-2 variant transmission.

As SARS-CoV-2 continues to spread and evolve, detecting emerging variants early is critical for public health interventions. Inferring lineage prevalence by clinical testing is infeasible at scale, especially in areas with limited resources, participation, or testing/sequencing capacity, which can also introduce biases. SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentration in wastewater successfully tracks regional infection dynamics and provides less biased abundance estimates than clinical testing.

Maternal Phthalates Exposure and Blood Pressure during and after Pregnancy in the PROGRESS Study.

Background: Phthalate exposure is ubiquitous and may affect biological pathways related to regulators of blood pressure. Given the profound changes in vasculature during pregnancy, pregnant women may be particularly susceptible to the potential effects of phthalates on blood pressure.

Objectives: We examined associations of phthalate exposure during pregnancy with maternal blood pressure trajectories from mid-pregnancy through 72 months postpartum.

Prenatal and Early Childhood Exposure to Lead and Repeated Measures of Metabolic Syndrome Risk Indicators From Childhood to Preadolescence.

Exposure to lead (Pb) during the early life stages has been associated with the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Longitudinal studies of Pb exposure in critical developmental windows in children are limited. Our study included 601 mother-child dyads from the PROGRESS (Programming Research in Obesity, Growth, Environment and Social Stressors) birth cohort.

Association of Manganese Biomarker Concentrations with Blood Pressure and Kidney Parameters among Healthy Adolescents: NHANES 2013-2018.

Deficiency or excess exposure to manganese (Mn), an essential mineral, may have potentially adverse health effects. The kidneys are a major organ of Mn site-specific toxicity because of their unique role in filtration, metabolism, and excretion of xenobiotics. We hypothesized that Mn concentrations were associated with poorer blood pressure (BP) and kidney parameters such as estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and albumin creatinine ratio (ACR).

A Scoping Review of Life-Course Psychosocial Stress and Kidney Function.

Increased exposure to maternal psychosocial stress during gestation and adverse neonatal environments has been linked to alterations in developmental programming and health consequences in offspring. A programmed low nephron endowment, among other altered pathways of susceptibility, likely increases the vulnerability to develop chronic kidney disease in later life. Our aim in this scoping review was to identify gaps in the literature by focusing on understanding the association between life-course exposure to psychosocial stress, and the risk of reduced kidney function.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patterns of attendance at emergency departments in two large London hospitals: an observational study.

Background: Hospitals in England have undergone considerable change to address the surge in demand imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact of this on emergency department (ED) attendances is unknown, especially for non-COVID-19 related emergencies.

Methods: This analysis is an observational study of ED attendances at the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (ICHNT).

Critical windows of perinatal particulate matter (PM) exposure and preadolescent kidney function.

Air pollution exposure, especially particulate matter ≤2.5 μm in diameter (PM), is associated with poorer kidney function in adults and children. Perinatal exposure may occur during susceptible periods of nephron development.

Early childhood fluoride exposure and preadolescent kidney function.

Background: Early-life renal maturation is susceptible to nephrotoxic environmental chemicals. Given the widespread consumption of fluoride and the global obesity epidemic, our main aim was to determine whether childhood fluoride exposure adversely affects kidney function in preadolescence, and if adiposity status modifies this association.

Methods: Our study included 438 children from the PROGRESS cohort.

Nephrotoxic Metal Mixtures and Preadolescent Kidney Function.

Exposure to metals including lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and arsenic (As), may impair kidney function as individual toxicants or in mixtures. However, no single medium is ideal to study multiple metals simultaneously. We hypothesized that multi-media biomarkers (MMBs), integrated indices combining information across biomarkers, are informative of adverse kidney function.

Metal exposure and bone remodeling during pregnancy: Results from the PROGRESS cohort study.

Pregnancy is characterized by high bone remodeling and might be a window of susceptibility to the toxic effects of metals on bone tissue. The aim of this study was to assess associations between metals in blood [lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd)and arsenic (As)] and bone remodeling during pregnancy. We studied pregnant woman from the PROGRESS Cohort (Programming Research in Obesity, Growth, and Environment and Social Stress).

Prenatal blood lead levels and reduced preadolescent glomerular filtration rate: Modification by body mass index.

Background: For the developing kidney, the prenatal period may represent a critical window of vulnerability to environmental insults resulting in permanent nephron loss. Given that the majority of nephron formation is complete in the 3rd trimester, we set out to test whether 1) prenatal lead exposure is associated with decreased preadolescent kidney function and 2) whether preadolescent obesity acts synergistically with early life lead exposure to reduce kidney function.

Methods: Our study included 453 mother-child pairs participating in the PROGRESS birth cohort.