Development of land use regression, dispersion, and hybrid models for prediction of outdoor air pollution exposure in Barcelona.

Background: Air pollution is the leading environmental risk factor for health. Assessing outdoor air pollution exposure with detailed spatial and temporal variability in urban areas is crucial for evaluating its health effects.

Aim: We developed and compared Land Use Regression (LUR), dispersion (DM), and hybrid (HM) models to estimate outdoor concentrations for NO, PM, black carbon (BC), and PM (Fe, Cu, Zn) in Barcelona.

Association of maternal thyroglobulin with gestational thyroid function and offspring IQ and brain morphology.

Background: Low maternal urinary iodine concentration (UIC) during pregnancy is associated with adverse offspring neurodevelopment. Thyroglobulin (Tg) has been suggested as a more sensitive biomarker than UIC of long-term iodine status, but associations of Tg with neurodevelopment and the possible mediating role of thyroid function remain unknown.

Aim: To study whether maternal Tg is associated with i) maternal and newborn thyroid function and ii) offspring IQ and brain morphology.

Evaluating the association between placenta DNA methylation and cognitive functions in the offspring.

The placenta plays a crucial role in protecting the fetus from environmental harm and supports the development of its brain. In fact, compromised placental function could predispose an individual to neurodevelopmental disorders. Placental epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation, could be considered a proxy of placental function and thus plausible mediators of the association between intrauterine environmental exposures and genetics, and childhood and adult mental health.

Physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and childhood asthma: a European collaborative analysis.

Objectives: To investigate the associations of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour in early childhood with asthma and reduced lung function in later childhood within a large collaborative study.

Design: Pooling of longitudinal data from collaborating birth cohorts using meta-analysis of separate cohort-specific estimates and analysis of individual participant data of all cohorts combined.

Setting: Children aged 0-18 years from 26 European birth cohorts.

Functional structure of local connections and differentiation of cerebral cortex areas in the neonate.

Neuroimaging research on functional connectivity can provide valuable information on the developmental differentiation of the infant cerebral cortex into its functional areas. We examined healthy neonates to comprehensively map brain functional connectivity using a combination of local measures that uniquely capture the rich spatial structure of cerebral cortex functional connections. Optimal functional MRI scans were obtained in 61 neonates.

Associations of gestational exposure to air pollution with maternal vitamin D levels: a meta-analysis.

Objective: Maternal vitamin D level is an important determinant of pregnancy and child health outcomes. Exposure to air pollution is suspected to increase the risk of vitamin D deficiency, but the evidence is scarce. We investigated the association between air pollution during pregnancy and maternal vitamin D levels.

Maternal age is related to offspring DNA methylation: A meta-analysis of results from the PACE consortium.

Worldwide trends to delay childbearing have increased parental ages at birth. Older parental age may harm offspring health, but mechanisms remain unclear. Alterations in offspring DNA methylation (DNAm) patterns could play a role as aging has been associated with methylation changes in gametes of older individuals.

The impact of prenatal mercury on neurobehavioral functioning longitudinally assessed from a young age to pre-adolescence in a Spanish birth cohort.

Unlabelled: The objective is to investigate the relation between cord blood mercury concentrations and child neurobehavioural functioning assessed longitudinally during childhood until pre-adolescence.

Methods: The study involves mothers and their offspring engaged in the Spanish INMA birth cohort (n = 1147). Total mercury (THg) was determined in cord blood.

Nitrogen dioxide exposure, attentional function, and working memory in children from 4 to 8 years: Periods of susceptibility from pregnancy to childhood.

Background: Air pollution exposure during pregnancy and childhood has been linked to executive function impairment in children, however, very few studies have assessed these two exposure periods jointly to identify susceptible periods of exposure. We sought to identify potential periods of susceptibility of nitrogen dioxide (NO) exposure from conception to childhood on attentional function and working memory in school-aged children.

Methods: Within the Spanish INMA Project, we estimated residential daily NO exposures during pregnancy and up to 6 years of childhood using land use regression models (n = 1,703).

Physical activity and body mass related to catch-up lung function growth in childhood: a population-based accelerated cohort study.

Objective: The existence of catch-up lung function growth and its predictors is uncertain. We aimed to identify lung function trajectories and their predictors in a population-based birth cohort.

Methods: We applied group-based trajectory modelling to z-scores of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (zFEV) and z-scores of forced vital capacity (zFVC) from 1151 children assessed at around 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14 and 18 years.

Susceptible windows of prenatal and postnatal fine particulate matter exposures and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms in early childhood.

Few prior studies have explored windows of susceptibility to fine particulate matter (PM) in both the prenatal and postnatal periods and children's attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. We analyzed data from 1416 mother-child pairs from the Spanish INMA (INfancia y Medio Ambiente) Study (2003-2008). Around 5 years of age, teachers reported the number of ADHD symptoms (i.

Prenatal Exposure to Multiple Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and Childhood BMI Trajectories in the INMA Cohort Study.

Background: Prenatal exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may disrupt normal fetal and postnatal growth. Studies have mainly focused on individual aspects of growth at specific time points using single chemical exposure models. However, humans are exposed to multiple EDCs simultaneously, and growth is a dynamic process.

Folic Acid Supplementation during Pregnancy and Its Association with Telomere Length in Children at Four Years: Results from the INMA Birth Cohort Study.

This study examined the association between folic acid supplements (FAs) during different periods of pregnancy and offspring telomere length (TL) at age four in 666 children from the INMA study. FAs were self-reported using food-structured questionnaires during three periods of pregnancy (the first three months of pregnancy, from month fourth onward, and the whole pregnancy). For each period, the average daily dosage of FAs was categorised into (i) <400 μg/d, (ii) ≥400 to 999 μg/d, (iii) ≥1000 to 4999 μg/d, and (iv) ≥5000 μg/d.

Concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in paired tap water and blood samples during pregnancy.

Abstract: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are water-soluble chemicals of concern due to their persistence, ubiquity, and toxicity. We explored correlations between drinking water and blood PFAS levels in a subset of the mother-child Barcelona Life Study Cohort (BiSC), Barcelona, Spain (2021). For 105 study participants, we analyzed 35 PFAS in tap water (unfiltered and filtered) and 23 PFAS in 98 paired plasma samples during the 3rd trimester, using LC-MS/MS.

Air pollution and COVID-19 severity.

https://bit.ly/43d9A75

Long-term exposure to air pollution and severe COVID-19 in Catalonia: a population-based cohort study.

The association between long-term exposure to ambient air pollutants and severe COVID-19 is uncertain. We followed 4,660,502 adults from the general population in 2020 in Catalonia, Spain. Cox proportional models were fit to evaluate the association between annual averages of PM, NO, BC, and O at each participant's residential address and severe COVID-19.