Polychlorinated biphenyls and incident coronary heart disease-related outcomes in Great Lakes fish consumers.

Background: Exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) has been linked to risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as increased inflammation, accelerated atherosclerosis, diabetes, and sex hormone dysregulation. Furthermore, there is increasing evidence suggesting associations between internal dose of PCBs and cardiovascular outcomes.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate longitudinal associations of PCBs with coronary heart disease (CHD)-related outcomes in a cohort of Great Lakes sport fish consumers.

An Occupational Legacy: Malignant Mesothelioma Incidence and Mortality in Wisconsin.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to describe mesothelioma occurrence in Wisconsin from 1997 to 2013 by usual industry and occupation (I&O), including occupations generally considered low risk.

Methods: Population-based rates and standardized incidence and mortality ratios were calculated. Two case-control analyses were designed to compare mesothelioma incidence and mortality in specific I&O groups with occurrence of (1) brain and central nervous system cancers and (2) other causes of death, using logistic regression.

Lead Exposure Among Workers at a Shipyard-Wisconsin, 2015 to 2016.

Objective: In March 2016, the state health departments of Wisconsin and Minnesota learned of three shipyard workers with blood lead levels (BLLs) more than 40 μg/dL. An investigation was conducted to determine the extent of and risk factors for the exposure.

Methods: We defined a case as an elevated BLL more than or equal to 5 μg/dL in a shipyard worker.

Electronic Cigarette Exposure: Calls to Wisconsin Poison Control Centers, 2010–2015.

Background: E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that deliver nicotine and flavorings by aerosol and have been marketed in the United States since 2007. Because e-cigarettes have increased in popularity, toxicity potential from device misuse and malfunction also has increased. National data indicate that during 2010–2014, exposure calls to US poison control centers increased only 0.

Association of methylmercury intake from seafood consumption and blood mercury level among the Asian and Non-Asian populations in the United States.

Background: MeHg is a well-established neurotoxicant for fetal brain growth and development and has been shown to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease in aging populations. In the U.S.

Private-well stewardship among a general population based sample of private well-owners.

Private well stewardship, including on-going testing and treatment, can ensure private well users are able to maintain source-water quality and prevent exposures to potentially harmful constituents in primary drinking water supplies. Unlike municipal water supplies, private well users are largely responsible for their own testing and treatment and well stewardship is often minimal. The importance of factors influencing regular testing, and treatment behaviors, including knowledge, risk perception, convenience and social norms, can vary by geography and population characteristics.

Elevated Blood Lead Levels Associated with Retained Bullet Fragments - United States, 2003-2012.

An estimated 115,000 firearm injuries occur annually in the United States, and approximately 70% are nonfatal (1). Retained bullet fragments (RBFs) are an infrequently reported, but important, cause of lead toxicity; symptoms are often nonspecific and can appear years after suffering a gunshot wound (2,3). Adult blood lead level (BLL) screening is most commonly indicated for monitoring of occupational lead exposure; routine testing of adults with RBFs is infrequent (3).

Perfluoroalkyl substances and fish consumption.

Background: Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are an emerging class of contaminants. Certain PFAS are regulated or voluntarily limited due to concern about environmental persistence and adverse health effects, including thyroid disease and dyslipidemia. The major source of PFAS exposure in the general population is thought to be consumption of seafood.

High-Precision (MC-ICPMS) Isotope Ratio Analysis Reveals Contrasting Sources of Elevated Blood Lead Levels of an Adult with Retained Bullet Fragments, and of His Child, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Exposure to the neurotoxic element lead (Pb) continues to be a major human health concern, particularly for children in US urban settings, and the need for robust tools for assessment of exposure sources has never been greater. The latest generation of multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS) instrumentation offers the capability of using Pb isotopic signatures as a tool for environmental source tracking in public health. We present a case where MC-ICPMS was applied to isotopically resolve Pb sources in human clinical samples.

Fish Consumption, Levels of Nutrients and Contaminants, and Endocrine-Related Health Outcomes Among Older Male Anglers in Wisconsin.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine associations between endocrine disorders, fish consumption habits, and biomarkers of contaminants and nutrients

Methods: : Male anglers aged at least 50 years living in Wisconsin (n = 154) completed a questionnaire and provided biological samples. Adjusted logistic regression models were used to evaluate risk factors for endocrine outcomes.

Results: Nineteen percent of anglers reported either pre-diabetes or diabetes, while 4.

Associations Between Fish Consumption and Contaminant Biomarkers With Cardiovascular Conditions Among Older Male Anglers in Wisconsin.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine fish consumption habits and contaminant exposures associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes among older male anglers.

Methods: One hundred fifty-four men aged 50 years and older living and fishing in Wisconsin completed a detailed survey and provided hair and blood samples. Associations between fish consumption and body burdens of several contaminants, with self-reported cardiovascular outcomes, were evaluated.

Perfluoroalkyl substances in older male anglers in Wisconsin.

Background: Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are an emerging class of contaminants. Certain PFAS are regulated or voluntarily limited due to concern about environmental persistence and adverse health effects, including thyroid disease and to dyslipidemia. The major source of PFAS exposure in the general population is seafood.

Heat Vulnerability Index Mapping for Milwaukee and Wisconsin.

Context: Extreme heat waves elevate the population's risk for heat-related morbidity and mortality, specifically for vulnerable groups such as older adults and young children. In this context, we developed 2 Heat Vulnerability Indices (HVIs), one for the state of Wisconsin and one for the Milwaukee metropolitan area.

Objective: Through the creation of an HVI, state and local agencies will be able to use the indices as a planning tool for extreme heat events.

Levels of persistent contaminants in relation to fish consumption among older male anglers in Wisconsin.

Fish are an important source of nutrients which may reduce risk of adverse health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease; however, fish may also contain significant amounts of environmental pollutants such as mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and perfluorinated compounds (PFCs, also called perfluoroalkyl compounds), which confer increased risk for adverse health effects. The Wisconsin Departments of Health Services and Natural Resources developed a survey instrument, along with a strategy to collect human biological samples to assess the risks and benefits associated with long-term fish consumption among older male anglers in Wisconsin. The target population was men aged 50 years and older, who fish Wisconsin waters and live in the state of Wisconsin.

Comprehension of Fish Consumption Guidelines Among Older Male Anglers in Wisconsin.

Although awareness of Wisconsin's fish consumption guidelines is high among older male anglers, little is known about comprehension of guideline content, and many anglers have levels of contaminants high enough to be associated with adverse health outcomes. The Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes Restoration Initiative supported evaluation and revision of Wisconsin's fish consumption guideline program, using a web based survey of male Wisconsin anglers over the age of 50. A total of 3740 men completed the online survey; the median age of respondents was 62 years, and nearly all had lived and fished in Wisconsin for over 10 years.

Levels of nutrients in relation to fish consumption among older male anglers in Wisconsin.

Fish is an important source of nutrients including omega-3 fatty acids, which may reduce risk of adverse health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease; however, fish may also contain significant amounts of environmental pollutants. The Wisconsin Departments of Health Services and Natural Resources developed a survey instrument, along with a strategy to collect human biological samples to assess the risks and benefits associated with long-term fish consumption among older male anglers in Wisconsin. The target population was men aged 50 years and older, who fish Wisconsin waters and live in the state of Wisconsin.

Persistent organic pollutants and biomarkers of diabetes risk in a cohort of Great Lakes sport caught fish consumers.

Background: Exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) is associated with increased diabetes risk, although the mechanism of action is not well delineated.

Methods: We investigated established diabetes biomarkers that could implicate potential mechanistic pathways, including C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of systemic inflammation; gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT), a liver enzyme associated with oxidative stress; and adiponectin, an adipokine modulating glucose regulation and fatty acid oxidation. These biomarkers as well as hemoglobin A1c (HA1c), and POPs [polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), p,p-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)] were measured in a cohort of Great Lakes sport caught fish (GLSCF) consumers.

Quantile regression in environmental health: Early life lead exposure and end-of-grade exams.

Conditional means regression, including ordinary least squares (OLS), provides an incomplete picture of exposure-response relationships particularly if the primary interest resides in the tail ends of the distribution of the outcome. Quantile regression (QR) offers an alternative methodological approach in which the influence of independent covariates on the outcome can be specified at any location along the distribution of the outcome. We implemented QR to examine heterogeneity in the influence of early childhood lead exposure on reading and math standardized fourth grade tests.

The role of applied epidemiology methods in the disaster management cycle.

Disaster epidemiology (i.e., applied epidemiology in disaster settings) presents a source of reliable and actionable information for decision-makers and stakeholders in the disaster management cycle.

Heat-related fatalities in Wisconsin during the summer of 2012.

Background: The hottest year on record for the contiguous United States was 2012. July 2012 ranked as Wisconsin's fourth warmest July, which has profound implications for heat-related mortality.

Methods: We conducted a case series of 27 heat-related fatalities in Wisconsin during summer 2012.

Drinking water systems, hydrology, and childhood gastrointestinal illness in Central and Northern Wisconsin.

Objectives: This study investigated if the type of drinking water source (treated municipal, untreated municipal, and private well water) modifies the effect of hydrology on childhood (aged < 5 years) gastrointestinal illness.

Methods: We conducted a time series study to assess the relationship between hydrologic and weather conditions with childhood gastrointestinal illness from 1991 to 2010. The Central and Northern Wisconsin study area includes households using all 3 types of drinking water systems.

The association between school-to-work programs and school performance.

Purpose: The School-to-Work (STW) Opportunities Act was passed to aid students in transitioning from education to employment by offering work-based learning opportunities. In the United States, 72% of high schools offer work-based learning opportunities for credit. This is the first study to describe school performance and school-based behaviors among students enrolled in STW programs and compare them with nonworking and other-working students.

Moderate lead exposure and elementary school end-of-grade examination performance.

Purpose: This study investigated the association between moderate lead poisoning in early childhood with performance on a comprehensive set of end-of-grade examinations at the elementary school level in two urban school districts.

Methods: Children born between 1996 and 2000 who resided in Milwaukee or Racine, WI, with a record of a blood lead test before the age of 3 years were considered for the analysis. Children were defined as exposed (blood lead level ≥10 and <20 μg/dL) or not exposed (BLL < 5 μg/dL).