Serum per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) levels and health-related biomarkers in a pilot study of skiers in New England.

Background: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), synthetic chemicals with adverse health effects, are used extensively in consumer products. Ski waxes, applied to the base of skis, contain up to 100% PFAS by mass, but exposure and health effects are poorly characterized.

Objectives: Our objectives were to quantify serum PFAS concentrations among skiers and explore associations with reported ski wax use and biomarkers of cardiometabolic, thyroid, and immune health.

Evaluation of VTE, MACE, and Serious Infections Among Patients with RA Treated with Baricitinib Compared to TNFi: A Multi-Database Study of Patients in Routine Care Using Disease Registries and Claims Databases.

Introduction: The aim of this work is to evaluate baricitinib safety with respect to venous thromboembolism (VTE), major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), and serious infection relative to tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Patients with RA from 14 real-world data sources (three disease registries, eight commercial and three government health insurance claims databases) in the United States (n = 9), Europe (n = 3), and Japan (n = 2) were analyzed using a new user active comparator design. Propensity score matching (1:1) controlled for potential confounding.

Waxing activity as a potential source of exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other environmental contaminants among the US ski and snowboard community.

Background: Skiers and snowboarders apply waxes and solvents to their equipment to enhance glide across the snow. Waxing results in exposures to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and particulate matter, which have been associated with adverse health effects among professional wax technicians in Scandinavia. However, little is known about exposure among people who participate at other levels of sport, including recreationally, in other regions.

Inter-method reliability of silicone exposome wristbands and urinary biomarker assays in a pregnancy cohort.

Silicone wristbands act as passive environmental samplers capable of detecting and measuring concentrations of a variety of chemicals. They offer a noninvasive method to collect complex exposure data in large-scale epidemiological studies. We evaluated the inter-method reliability of silicone wristbands and urinary biomarkers in the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study.

Chemical exposures assessed via silicone wristbands and endogenous plasma metabolomics during pregnancy.

Background: Metabolomics is a promising method to investigate physiological effects of chemical exposures during pregnancy, with the potential to clarify toxicological mechanisms, suggest sensitive endpoints, and identify novel biomarkers of exposures.

Objective: Investigate the influence of chemical exposures on the maternal plasma metabolome during pregnancy.

Methods: Data were obtained from participants (n = 177) in the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study, a prospective pregnancy cohort.

Association of Cesarean Delivery and Formula Supplementation with the Stool Metabolome of 6-Week-Old Infants.

Cesarean delivery and formula feeding have both been implicated as important factors associated with perturbations to the infant gut microbiome. To investigate the functional metabolic response of the infant gut microbial milieu to these factors, we profiled the stool metabolomes of 121 infants from a US pregnancy cohort study at approximately 6 weeks of life and evaluated associations with delivery mode and feeding method. Multivariate analysis of six-week stool metabolomic profiles indicated discrimination by both delivery mode and diet.

Use of Exposomic Methods Incorporating Sensors in Environmental Epidemiology.

Purpose Of Review: The exposome is a recently coined concept that comprises the totality of nongenetic factors that affect human health. It is recognized as a major conceptual advancement in environmental epidemiology, and there is increased demand for technologies that capture the spatial, temporal, and chemical variability of exposures across individuals (i.e.

Periconceptional and prenatal exposure to metal mixtures in relation to behavioral development at 3 years of age.

Background: Behavioral effects of prenatal exposure to mixtures of essential and toxic metals are incompletely understood.

Methods: We investigated neurodevelopmental effects of prenatal metal exposures in the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study, a prospective birth cohort. We measured metals (As, Cu, Mn, Pb, Se, Zn) in maternal prenatal and postnatal toenails and infant toenails, reflecting exposures during periconception and early pregnancy, mid pregnancy, and late pregnancy and early neonatal life, respectively.

Assessment of Multipollutant Exposures During Pregnancy Using Silicone Wristbands.

Silicone wristbands can assess multipollutant exposures in a non-invasive and minimally burdensome manner, which may be suitable for use among pregnant women. We investigated silicone wristbands as passive environmental samplers in the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study, a prospective pregnancy cohort. We used wristbands to assess exposure to a broad range of organic chemicals, identified multipollutant exposure profiles using self-organizing maps (SOMs), and assessed temporal consistency and determinants of exposures during pregnancy.

Maternal, cord, and three-year-old child serum thyroid hormone concentrations in the Health Outcomes and Measures of the Environment study.

Purpose: Maternal thyroid function during pregnancy may influence offspring thyroid function, though relations between maternal and child thyroid function are incompletely understood. We sought to characterize relations between maternal, cord and child thyroid hormone concentrations in a population of mother-child pairs with largely normal thyroid function.

Methods: In a prospective birth cohort, we measured thyroid hormone concentrations in 203 mothers at 16 gestational weeks, 273 newborns and 159 children at 3 years among participants in the Health Outcomes and Measures of the Environment (HOME) Study.

Prenatal exposure to metal mixture and sex-specific birth outcomes in the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study.

Background: In utero exposure to individual metals may impact fetal growth, though little is known about the effects of exposure to metal mixtures. Therefore, we investigated joint effects of in utero exposure to a mixture of As (arsenic), Mn (manganese), and Pb (lead) on newborn outcomes in a United States population.

Methods: Concentrations of As, Mn, and Pb were determined in maternal postpartum toenail samples, a biomarker of in utero exposure, from 989 maternal-infant pairs (492 females and 497 males).

Organophosphate Esters: Are These Flame Retardants and Plasticizers Affecting Children's Health?

Purpose Of Review: Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are applied to a variety of consumer products, primarily as flame retardants and plasticizers. OPEs can leach out of products over time and are consequently prevalent in the environment and frequently detected in human biomonitoring studies. Exposure during pregnancy is of particular concern as OPEs have recently been detected in placental tissues, suggesting they may be transferred to the developing infant.

Prenatal exposure to organophosphate esters and behavioral development in young children in the Pregnancy, Infection, and Nutrition Study.

Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are commonly used as plasticizers and flame retardants in consumer products, and exposure is relatively ubiquitous in most populations studied. This may be of concern as some OPEs may be neurotoxic, endocrine-disrupting, and interfere with behavioral development; however, observational evidence is limited. We used data from the Pregnancy, Infection, and Nutrition Study, a prospective birth cohort study, to investigate associations between maternal OPE metabolite concentrations during pregnancy and behavioral development in offspring.

Prenatal exposure to organophosphate esters and cognitive development in young children in the Pregnancy, Infection, and Nutrition Study.

Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are a class of chemicals commonly used as flame retardants and plasticizers. OPEs are applied to a wide variety of consumer products and have a propensity to leach from these products. Consequently, OPEs are ubiquitous contaminants in many human environments and human exposure is pervasive.

Statistical Approaches for Estimating Sex-Specific Effects in Endocrine Disruptors Research.

Background: When a biologic mechanism of interest is anticipated to operate differentially according to sex, as is often the case in endocrine disruptors research, investigators routinely estimate sex-specific associations. Less attention has been given to potential sexual heterogeneity of confounder associations with outcomes. When relationships of covariates with outcomes differ according to sex, commonly applied statistical approaches for estimating sex-specific endocrine disruptor effects may produce divergent estimates.

Associations between blood BTEXS concentrations and hematologic parameters among adult residents of the U.S. Gulf States.

Background: Studies of workers exposed to benzene at average air concentrations below one part per million suggest that benzene, a known hematotoxin, causes hematopoietic damage even at low exposure levels. However, evidence of such effects outside of occupational settings and for other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is limited.

Objective: To investigate associations between ambient exposures to five VOCs, including benzene, and hematologic parameters among adult residents of the U.

Prenatal phthalate biomarker concentrations and performance on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II in a population of young urban children.

Introduction: Evidence suggests prenatal phthalate exposures may have neurodevelopmental consequences. Our objective was to investigate prenatal exposure to phthalates and cognitive development in a cohort of young urban children.

Materials And Methods: We recruited pregnant women in New York City from 1998 to 2002 and measured concentrations of nine phthalate metabolites in urine collected in late pregnancy.