Metabolic profiling detects early effects of environmental and lifestyle exposure to cadmium in a human population.

Background: The 'exposome' represents the accumulation of all environmental exposures across a lifetime. Top-down strategies are required to assess something this comprehensive, and could transform our understanding of how environmental factors affect human health. Metabolic profiling (metabonomics/metabolomics) defines an individual's metabolic phenotype, which is influenced by genotype, diet, lifestyle, health and xenobiotic exposure, and could also reveal intermediate biomarkers for disease risk that reflect adaptive response to exposure.

Creating a national register of childhood type 1 diabetes using routinely collected hospital data.

Introduction: There is no national register of childhood type 1 diabetes mellitus for England. Our aim was to assess the feasibility of using routine hospital admissions data as a surrogate for a childhood diabetes register across England, and to create a geographically referenced childhood diabetes dataset for use in epidemiologic studies and health service research.

Methods: Hospital Episodes Statistics data for England from April 1992 to March 2006 referring to a type 1 diabetes diagnosis in 0-14 yr olds were cleaned to approximate an incident dataset.

Outdoor and indoor cadmium distributions near an abandoned smelting works and their relations to human exposure.

The relationship of measured or modelled Cd concentrations in soil, house dust and available to plants with human urinary Cd concentrations were assessed in a population living around a Cd/Pb/Zn smelter in the UK. Modelled air concentrations explained 35% of soil Cd variation indicating the smelter contributed to soil Cd loads. Multi-variate analysis confirmed a significant role of biological and life-style factors in determining urinary Cd levels.

Medication use in relation to noise from aircraft and road traffic in six European countries: results of the HYENA study.

Objectives: Studies on the health effects of aircraft and road traffic noise exposure suggest excess risks of hypertension, cardiovascular disease and the use of sedatives and hypnotics. Our aim was to assess the use of medication in relation to noise from aircraft and road traffic.

Methods: This cross-sectional study measured the use of prescribed antihypertensives, antacids, anxiolytics, hypnotics, antidepressants and antasthmatics in 4,861 persons living near seven airports in six European countries (UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, and Greece).

Can exposure to noise affect the 24 h blood pressure profile? Results from the HYENA study.

Unlabelled: OBJECTIVE; To study the association between exposure to transportation noise and blood pressure (BP) reduction during nighttime sleep.

Methods: 24-h ambulatory BP measurements at 15-min intervals were carried out on 149 persons living near four major European airports. Noise indicators included total and source-specific equivalent indoor noise, total number of noise events, annoyance scores for aircraft and road traffic nighttime noise.

Evaluation of spatial relationships between health and the environment: the rapid inquiry facility.

Background: The initiation of environmental public health tracking systems in the United States and the United Kingdom provided an opportunity to advance techniques and tools available for spatial epidemiological analysis integrating both health and environmental data.

Objective: The Rapid Inquiry Facility (RIF) allows users to calculate adjusted and unadjusted standardized rates and risks. The RIF is embedded in ArcGIS so that further geographical information system (GIS) spatial functionality can be exploited or results can be exported to statistical packages for further tailored analyses where required.

Saliva cortisol and exposure to aircraft noise in six European countries.

Background: Several studies show an association between exposure to aircraft or road traffic noise and cardiovascular effects, which may be mediated by a noise-induced release of stress hormones.

Objective: Our objective was to assess saliva cortisol concentration in relation to exposure to aircraft noise.

Method: A multicenter cross-sectional study, HYENA (Hypertension and Exposure to Noise near Airports), comprising 4,861 persons was carried out in six European countries.

An approach for estimating the health effects of changes over time in air pollution: an illustration using cardio-respiratory hospital admissions in London.

Objectives: First, we present a general analytical approach to estimating the association between medium-term changes in air pollution and health across small areas. As a specific illustration, we then applied the approach to data on London residents from a 4-year period to test whether reductions in traffic-related air pollution were associated with reductions in cardio-respiratory hospital admissions.

Methods: A binomial distribution was used to model change in admissions over time in each small area, which was measured as the proportion of admissions in 2003-2004 out of admissions over all study years (2001-2004).

Annoyance due to aircraft noise has increased over the years--results of the HYENA study.

In the HYENA study (HYpertension and Exposure to Noise near Airports) noise annoyances due to aircraft and road traffic noise were assessed in subjects that lived in the vicinity of 6 major European airports using the 11-point ICBEN scale (International Commission on Biological Effects of Noise). A distinction was made between the annoyance during the day and during the night. L(den) and L(night) were considered as indicators of noise exposure.

Health effects of real-world exposure to diesel exhaust in persons with asthma.

Many people, including people with asthma, experience short-term exposure to diesel exhaust (DE*) during daily activities. The health effects of such exposures, however, remain poorly understood. The present study utilized a real-world setting to examine whether short-term DE exposure would (1) worsen asthma symptoms, (2) augment airway inflammation, or (3) increase oxidative stress burdens.

Current status of cadmium as an environmental health problem.

Cadmium is a toxic metal occurring in the environment naturally and as a pollutant emanating from industrial and agricultural sources. Food is the main source of cadmium intake in the non-smoking population. The bioavailability, retention and toxicity are affected by several factors including nutritional status such as low iron status.

Early kidney damage in a population exposed to cadmium and other heavy metals.

Background: Exposure to heavy metals may cause kidney damage. The population living near the Avonmouth zinc smelter has been exposed to cadmium and other heavy metals for many decades.

Objectives: We aimed to assess Cd body burden and early signs of kidney damage in the Avonmouth population.

Bone mineral density changes in relation to environmental PCB exposure.

Background: Bone toxicity has been linked to organochlorine exposure following a few notable poisoning incidents, but epidemiologic studies in populations with environmental organochlorine exposure have yielded inconsistent results.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate whether organochlorine exposure was associated with bone mineral density (BMD) in a population 60-81 years of age (154 males, 167 females) living near the Baltic coast, close to a river contaminated by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

Methods: We measured forearm BMD in participants using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry; and we assessed low BMD using age- and sex-standardized Z-scores.

Comparison of different methods for spatial analysis of cancer data in Utah.

Background: The standardized incidence ratio (SIR) and SaTScan software are used by the Environmental Epidemiology Program (EEP), Utah Department of Health, to investigate health concerns and exposures in Utah (USA). Recently, the EEP acquired the Rapid Inquiry Facility (RIF). The RIF enables access of additional dimensions of data, identifies potentially exposed populations, and computes disease rates and relative risk statistics for that potentially exposed population.

Methodologic issues and approaches to spatial epidemiology.

Spatial epidemiology is increasingly being used to assess health risks associated with environmental hazards. Risk patterns tend to have both a temporal and a spatial component; thus, spatial epidemiology must combine methods from epidemiology, statistics, and geographic information science. Recent statistical advances in spatial epidemiology include the use of smoothing in risk maps to create an interpretable risk surface, the extension of spatial models to incorporate the time dimension, and the combination of individual- and area-level information.

Hypertension and exposure to noise near airports: the HYENA study.

Background: An increasing number of people are exposed to aircraft and road traffic noise. Hypertension is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and even a small contribution in risk from environmental factors may have a major impact on public health.

Objectives: The HYENA (Hypertension and Exposure to Noise near Airports) study aimed to assess the relations between noise from aircraft or road traffic near airports and the risk of hypertension.

Chlorination disinfection by-products and risk of congenital anomalies in England and Wales.

Background: Increased risk of various congenital anomalies has been reported to be associated with trihalomethane (THM) exposure in the water supply.

Objectives: We conducted a registry-based study to determine the relationship between THM concentrations and the risk of congenital anomalies in England and Wales.

Methods: We obtained congenital anomaly data from the National Congenital Anomalies System, regional registries, and the national terminations registry; THM data were obtained from water companies.

Acute effects of night-time noise exposure on blood pressure in populations living near airports.

Aims: Within the framework of the HYENA (hypertension and exposure to noise near airports) project we investigated the effect of short-term changes of transportation or indoor noise levels on blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) during night-time sleep in 140 subjects living near four major European airports.

Methods And Results: Non-invasive ambulatory BP measurements at 15 min intervals were performed. Noise was measured during the night sleeping period and recorded digitally for the identification of the source of a noise event.

Respiratory effects of exposure to diesel traffic in persons with asthma.

Background: Air pollution from road traffic is a serious health hazard, and people with preexisting respiratory disease may be at increased risk. We investigated the effects of short-term exposure to diesel traffic in people with asthma in an urban, roadside environment.

Methods: We recruited 60 adults with either mild or moderate asthma to participate in a randomized, crossover study.

Down syndrome in births near landfill sites.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to examine the risk of giving birth to a child with Down syndrome associated with residence near landfill sites in England and Wales.

Methods: A 2-km zone around 6289 landfill sites processing special (hazardous), non-special and unknown waste type was used to indicate exposure. Postcodes within the 2-km zone were classified as 'exposed' and people living beyond 2 km comprised the reference population.

Cadmium exposure pathways in a population living near a battery plant.

Objectives: The objectives of the present study were to assess the relative impact of different pathways of environmental cadmium (Cd) exposure and to evaluate the contribution from locally produced vegetables and root crops to the total dietary intake of Cd.

Methods: Cadmium in urine was determined for 492 individuals living near a closed down battery factory in Sweden. For each individual we created an environmental exposure-index based on Cd emissions to ambient air and number of years living at various distances from the plant.

Assessment of exposure to mercury from industrial emissions: comparing "distance as a proxy" and dispersion modelling approaches.

Background: The Runcorn area, north-west England, contains many pollution sources, the health effects of which have been under discussion for over 100 years. Preliminary investigations revealed an excess risk of mortality from kidney disease in people living nearest to several point sources of pollution, using distance as a proxy for exposure. Ongoing epidemiological investigations into the effect of ambient mercury exposure on dose and renal effect required a more refined assessment of exposure.

Kidney disease mortality and environmental exposure to mercury.

Runcorn, North West England, has been a site of industrial activity for over 100 years. Preliminary investigations have revealed excess risk of renal mortality in the population living closest to several sources of pollution. Exposure to airborne mercury has been highlighted as a possible cause, although there is also concomitant exposure to solvents and other heavy metals in this population.

Call-related factors influencing output power from mobile phones.

Mobile phone use is increasing but there is also concern for adverse health effects. Well-designed prospective studies to assess several health outcomes are required. In designing a study of mobile phone use, it is important to assess which factors need to be considered in classifying the exposure to radiofrequency fields (RF).

Hypertension and Exposure to Noise near Airports (HYENA): study design and noise exposure assessment.

An increasing number of people live near airports with considerable noise and air pollution. The Hypertension and Exposure to Noise near Airports (HYENA) project aims to assess the impact of airport-related noise exposure on blood pressure (BP) and cardiovascular disease using a cross-sectional study design. We selected 6,000 persons (45-70 years of age) who had lived at least 5 years near one of six major European airports.