Lead brownfields and birth defects in North Carolina 2003-2015: A cross-sectional case-control study.

Background: Brownfields consist of abandoned and disused sites, spanning many former purposes. Brownfields represent a heterogenous yet ubiquitous exposure for many Americans, which may contain hazardous wastes and represent urban blight. Neonates and pregnant individuals are often sensitive to subtle environmental exposures.

Beneficial Use Impairments, Degradation of Aesthetics, and Human Health: A Review.

In environmental programs and blue/green space development, improving aesthetics is a common goal. There is broad interest in understanding the relationship between ecologically sound environments that people find aesthetically pleasing and human health. However, to date, few studies have adequately assessed this relationship, and no summaries or reviews of this line of research exist.

Neighborhood greenspace exposure as a protective factor in dementia risk among U.S. adults 75 years or older: a cohort study.

Background: Research suggests that greenspace may confer neurocognitive benefits. This study examines whether residential greenspace is associated with risk of dementia among older adults.

Methods: Greenspace exposure was computed for 3047 participants aged 75 years and older enrolled in the Gingko Evaluation of Memory Study (GEMS) across four U.

Evaluation of PM air pollution sources and cardiovascular health.

Long-term air pollution exposure, notably fine particulate matter, is a global contributor to morbidity and mortality and a known risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD) and myocardial infarctions (MI). Knowledge of impacts related to source-apportioned PM is limited. New modeling methods allow researchers to estimate source-specific long-term impacts on the prevalence of CAD and MI.

Accelerated epigenetic age as a biomarker of cardiovascular sensitivity to traffic-related air pollution.

Background: Accelerated epigenetic age has been proposed as a biomarker of increased aging, which may indicate disruptions in cellular and organ system homeostasis and thus contribute to sensitivity to environmental exposures.

Methods: Using 497 participants from the CATHGEN cohort, we evaluated whether accelerated epigenetic aging increases cardiovascular sensitivity to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) exposure. We used residential proximity to major roadways and source apportioned air pollution models as measures of TRAP exposure, and chose peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and blood pressure as outcomes based on previous associations with TRAP.

The use of spatial and genetic tools to assess Plasmodium falciparum transmission in Lusaka, Zambia between 2011 and 2015.

Background: Zambia has set itself the ambitious target of eliminating malaria by 2021. To continue tracking transmission to zero, new interventions, tools and approaches are required.

Methods: Urban reactive case detection (RCD) was performed in Lusaka city from 2011 to 2015 to better understand the location and drivers of malaria transmission.

An individual-level meta-analysis assessing the impact of community-level sanitation access on child stunting, anemia, and diarrhea: Evidence from DHS and MICS surveys.

Background: A lack of access to sanitation is an important risk factor child health, facilitating fecal-oral transmission of pathogens including soil-transmitted helminthes and various causes of diarrheal disease. We conducted a meta-analysis of cross-sectional surveys to determine the impact that community-level sanitation access has on child health for children with and without household sanitation access.

Methodology/principal Findings: Using 301 two-stage demographic health surveys and multiple indicator cluster surveys conducted between 1990 and 2015 we calculated the sanitation access in the community as the proportion of households in the sampled cluster that had household access to any type of sanitation facility.