Communicating results to community residents: lessons from recent ATSDR health investigations.

As a public health agency within the US Department of Health and Human Services, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is responsible for implementing the health-related provisions of the Superfund Act. Much of its work is carried out to address health concerns in communities near sources of environmental contamination, usually in consultation with other local, state, and federal agencies. Over the last decade, ATSDR has considered, supported or conducted health investigations in a variety of different communities across the country.

Ambient hydrogen sulfide, total reduced sulfur, and hospital visits for respiratory diseases in northeast Nebraska, 1998-2000.

This analysis examined associations between total reduced sulfur (TRS) and hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) levels, and hospital visits for respiratory disease among residents of Dakota City and South Sioux City, Nebraska, from January 1998 to May 2000. For reference, the association between TRS, H(2)S, and digestive diseases was also examined. Time-series analyses of daily hospital visits in the selected outcome categories and measures of TRS and H(2)S were performed using generalized additive models with a Poisson link.

Confirming the utility of four kidney biomarker tests in a longitudinal follow-up study.

In this follow-up study, 526 persons were followed for almost 5 years to assess the reversibility and predictive value of four kidney biomarkers in a field epidemiology setting. This study examined (a) whether elevations in urinary albumin, N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase, retinol-binding protein, and alanine aminopeptidase remained elevated at follow-up and (b) whether these initial elevations were predictive of kidney disease (as measured by markers of kidney dysfunction: serum creatinine, serum cystatin C, creatinine clearance, and urine osmolality) at follow-up. Study participants were 8-76 years of age at baseline and were followed for an average of 4.

Could monoamine plasma levels and erythrocyte membrane ATPase activities at birth be predictive for future hand performance?

The monoamine and intracellular calcium systems are two major elements of nervous system functions. However, their role in human brain development is unclear. We studied the association between activity of monoamine and intracellular calcium systems during prenatal life and subsequent psychomotor performances in healthy children.

Community-based exposure estimate for hydrogen sulfide.

Indoor and outdoor air pollution monitoring may indicate potential human exposure to air contaminants. Individual and population exposures to air contaminants depend upon many factors including time spent outdoors and indoors, permeability of housing structures, and mobility within a community. In this report, we illustrate an approach for using long-term air monitoring to establish patterns or changes of environmental exposures, improve validity and representativeness of data, and prevent exposure misclassification.

Effects of exposure to low levels of environmental cadmium on renal biomarkers.

We conducted a study among residents of a small community contaminated with heavy metals from a defunct zinc smelter and residents from a comparison community to determine whether biologic measures of cadmium exposure were associated with biomarkers of early kidney damage. Creatinine-adjusted urinary cadmium levels did not differ between the smelter and comparison communities; thus we combined individuals from both communities (n = 361) for further analyses. The overall mean urinary cadmium level was low, 0.