The paradox of high greenness and poor health in rural Central Appalachia.

While many studies have found positive correlations between greenness and human health, rural Central Appalachia is an exception. The region has high greenness levels but poor health. The purpose of this commentary is to provide a possible explanation for this paradox: three sets of factors overwhelming or attenuating the health benefits of greenness.

Immediate complications and flow volume changes during treatment phases of bronchial thermoplasty: a single-center descriptive study.

Introduction: Bronchial thermoplasty (B.T.) is a therapeutic bronchoscopic procedure in which controlled thermal energy is applied to the airway wall to decrease smooth muscle mass.

In utero exposure to atrazine analytes and early menarche in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children Cohort.

Background: Evidence from experimental studies suggests that atrazine and its analytes alter the timing of puberty in laboratory animals. Such associations have not been investigated in humans.

Objective: To determine the association between in utero exposure to atrazine analytes and earlier menarche attainment in a nested case-control study of the population-based Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.

Associations of lifestyle factors (smoking, alcohol consumption, diet and physical activity) with type 2 diabetes among American adults from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005-2014.

Background: Over the long term, unhealthy lifestyles can lead to many health problems, especially type 2 diabetes (T2D). The aim of the present study was to determine associations between lifestyle factors (smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and diet) and T2D in American adults (aged ≥20 years) in a nationally representative sample.

Methods: Data for 12 987 American adults participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2014 were evaluated.

In utero exposure to organochlorine pesticides and early menarche in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.

Introduction: Epidemiologic data supporting the role of organochlorine pesticides in pubertal development are limited.

Methods: Using a nested case-control design, serum collected during pregnancy from mothers of 218 girls who reported menarche before 11.5years of age (cases) and 230 girls who reported menarche at or after 11.

Prenatal Exposure to Perfluoroalkyl Acids and Serum Testosterone Concentrations at 15 Years of Age in Female ALSPAC Study Participants.

Background: Exposure to perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) or to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) increases mouse and human peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) subtype activity, which influences lipid metabolism. Because cholesterol is the substrate from which testosterone is synthesized, exposure to these substances has the potential to alter testosterone concentrations.

Objectives: We explored associations of total testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) concentrations at age 15 years with prenatal exposures to PFOS, PFOA, perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), and perfluoronanoic acid (PFNA) in females.

Prenatal exposures to perfluoroalkyl acids and serum lipids at ages 7 and 15 in females.

Background: In some cross-sectional epidemiologic studies the shape of the association between serum concentrations of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) and lipids suggests departures from linearity.

Objectives: We used statistical approaches allowing for non-linearity to determine associations of prenatal exposures of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) with lipid concentrations.

Methods: PFAAs were measured in serum from pregnant women collected in 1991-1992 at enrollment in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children and lipids in serum from their daughters at ages 7 (n=111) and 15 (n=88).

Associations of Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) with Lower Birth Weight: An Evaluation of Potential Confounding by Glomerular Filtration Rate Using a Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Model (PBPK).

Background: Prenatal exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has been associated with lower birth weight in epidemiologic studies. This association could be attributable to glomerular filtration rate (GFR), which is related to PFAS concentration and birth weight.

Objectives: We used a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model of pregnancy to assess how much of the PFAS-birth weight association observed in epidemiologic studies might be attributable to GFR.

Maternal concentrations of polyfluoroalkyl compounds during pregnancy and fetal and postnatal growth in British girls.

Background: Prenatal exposures to polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) may be associated with adverse changes in fetal and postnatal growth.

Objective: We explored associations of prenatal serum concentrations of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS) with fetal and postnatal growth in girls.

Methods: We studied a sample of 447 singleton girls and their mothers participating in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC).

Early-life soy exposure and age at menarche.

This study examines the timing of menarche in relation to infant-feeding methods, specifically addressing the potential effects of soy isoflavone exposure through soy-based infant feeding. Subjects were participants in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Mothers were enrolled during pregnancy and their children have been followed prospectively.

Exposure to lead from a storage site associated with intellectual impairment in Chilean children living nearby.

This study assesses the degree of impairment of children's IQ scores due to exposure to lead from a storage site. In 2005, we studied 192 children in Antofagasta, Chile, age 7-16 years who had been exposed to a lead storage site from birth until its removal in 1998. We used past (1998) and current (2005) blood lead levels as explanatory variables for IQ, which was measured once in 2005 using the WISC-r test.

Timing of maturation and predictors of Tanner stage transitions in boys enrolled in a contemporary British cohort.

This study describes the timing of puberty in 8- to 14-year-old boys enrolled in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) and identifies factors associated with earlier achievement of advanced pubic hair stages. Women were enrolled during pregnancy and their offspring were followed prospectively. We analysed self-reported pubic hair Tanner staging collected annually.

Exposure to polyfluoroalkyl chemicals during pregnancy is not associated with offspring age at menarche in a contemporary British cohort.

Introduction: Polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFCs) are commercially synthesized chemicals used in consumer products. Exposure to certain PFCs is widespread, and some PFCs may act as endocrine disruptors. We used data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) in the United Kingdom to conduct a nested case-control study examining the association between age at menarche, and exposure to PFCs during pregnancy.

Progression through puberty in girls enrolled in a contemporary British cohort.

Purpose: Patterns of pubertal development reflect underlying endocrine function and exposures, and could affect future health outcomes. We used data from a longitudinal cohort to describe factors associated with breast and pubic hair stage and estimate average duration of puberty.

Methods: Data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children were used to describe timing and duration of pubertal development in girls.

Role of prenatal characteristics and early growth on pubertal attainment of British girls.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to explore the influence of maternal prenatal characteristics and behaviors and of weight and BMI gain during early childhood on the timing of various puberty outcomes in girls who were enrolled in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.

Methods: Repeated self-assessments of pubertal development were obtained from approximately 4000 girls between the ages of 8 and 14. Data on prenatal characteristics and weight at birth and 2, 9, and 20 months of age were obtained from questionnaires, birth records, and clinic visits.

Pubertal pathways in girls enrolled in a contemporary british cohort.

Data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children were used to describe initiation of secondary sexual characteristic development of girls. Tanner stages of breast and pubic hair and menarche status were self-reported via mailed questionnaires, administered from ages 8-14. Initiation pathway was categorized as breast [thelarche] or pubic hair [pubarche] development alone, or synchronous.

Characterization of the correlation between ages at entry into breast and pubic hair development.

Purpose: The timing of breast and pubic hair development in girls are related, but the degree of correlation has not been well characterized. Periodic observations also are complicated by interval censoring.

Methods: Data used were from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.

Timing of maturation and predictors of menarche in girls enrolled in a contemporary British cohort.

This study describes the timing of puberty in 8- to 13-year-old girls enrolled in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) and identifies factors associated with earlier achievement of menarche. Women were enrolled during pregnancy and their offspring were followed prospectively. We analysed self-reported Tanner staging and menstrual status information collected annually from daughters up to age 13.

A review of the literature on the effects of ambient air pollution on fetal growth.

A systematic review of the literature on the effects of air pollution on low birth weight (LBW) and its determinants, preterm delivery (PTD) and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), was conducted. Twelve epidemiologic investigations that addressed the impact of air pollution on four pregnancy outcomes were identified. Results were analyzed separately for each perinatal outcome because of differences in pathogenic mechanisms.