Prospective association of tobacco retailer density and neighbourhood walkability with youth vaping initiation in California, USA.

Background: Tobacco retailer density might influence youth e-cigarette use due to increased access and exposure to point-of-sale marketing. There is a need for longitudinal investigations on the association of tobacco retailer density with youth e-cigarette use, with consideration of contextual factors such as neighbourhood walkability that could enhance retailer exposure.

Methods: Five semi-annual waves (Fall 2021-Fall 2023) of a Southern California school-based cohort of youth who never vaped at baseline (n=3401; mean baseline age=15 years [range=12-17]) were merged with spatial data on tobacco retailers corresponding to each school year.

Prospective pooled analyses of ambient ultraviolet radiation levels and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma.

Case-control studies of sun exposure and ultraviolet radiation (UVR) have consistently reported inverse associations with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) risk, but prospective studies have yielded mixed results. Few studies have explored these exposures in relation to multiple myeloma (MM) risk. To further evaluate these associations with NHL and MM risk and identify etiologically relevant exposure timing, we pooled data on 566,693 individuals from 6 United States (U.

Association of Perceived Neighborhood Disorder with Substance Use Behaviors and Retail Access Among Southern California Adolescents.

Background: Neighborhood disadvantage is associated with a higher concentration of tobacco, cannabis and alcohol retailers and greater risk of certain substance use behaviors among youth. Less is known about the impact of subjective neighborhood disorder, which captures distinct exposures that may be relevant to substance use outcomes, including neighborhood social processes, safety, physical characteristics, and neighborhood drug use.

Methods: Data are from two waves (Feb-Dec 2022) of a prospective cohort of Southern California high school students ( = 2,139; mean[SD] age = 15.

Pre-Conception And First Trimester Exposure To Pesticides And Associations With Stillbirth.

Associations of pesticide exposures during pre-conception with stillbirth have not been well explored. We linked Arizona pesticide use records with birth certificates from 2006-2020 and estimated associations of living within 500meters of any pyrethroid, organophosphate (OP), or carbamate pesticide applications during a 90 day pre-conception window or the first trimester, with stillbirth. We considered a binary measure of exposure (any exposure), as well as log-pounds and log-acres applied within 500m, in a negative control exposure framework with log-binomial regression.

Maternal Exposure to Heavy Metals From Industrial Sources During Pregnancy and Childhood Cancer Risk in California.

Objective: The study investigated maternal exposure to heavy metals from industrial sources during pregnancy as potential risk factors for childhood cancer.

Methods: Cases ages 0-19 were identified from California Cancer Registry. Controls (20:1 ratio) were randomly selected from California Birth Registry, frequency-matched by birth year (1998-2016).

Maternal residential exposure to solvents from industrial sources during pregnancy and childhood cancer risk in California.

Background: Maternal solvent exposure has been suspected to increase offspring cancer risk. The study aimed to evaluate the associations between maternal residential exposure to solvents from industrial pollution during pregnancy and childhood cancer.

Methods: The present study included 15,744 cancer cases (aged 0-19 years at diagnosis) identified from California Cancer Registry and 283,141 controls randomly selected from California Birth Registry (20:1 frequency-matched by birth year: 1998-2016).

Ambient long-term exposure to organophosphorus pesticides and the human gut microbiome: an observational study.

Background: Organophosphorus pesticides (OP) have been associated with various human health conditions. Animal experiments and in-vitro models suggested that OP may also affect the gut microbiota. We examined associations between ambient chronic exposure to OP and gut microbial changes in humans.

Lung Cancer Prevalence in Virginia: A Spatial Zipcode-Level Analysis via INLA.

Background: Examining lung cancer (LC) cases in Virginia (VA) is essential due to its significant public health implications. By studying demographic, environmental, and socioeconomic variables, this paper aims to provide insights into the underlying drivers of LC prevalence in the state adjusted for spatial associations at the zipcode level.

Methods: We model the available VA zipcode-level LC counts via (spatial) Poisson and negative binomial regression models, taking into account missing covariate data, zipcode-level spatial association and allow for overdispersion.

Feasibility and limitations of using commercial databases to evaluate residential mobility in registry-based research on childhood cancer.

Background: Researchers have used commercial databases containing residential addresses to reduce exposure misclassification in case-control studies. Our objective is to evaluate the potential systematic bias regarding case status when reconstructing residential locations from commercial databases.

Methods: Our study population of 3640 Colorado-born children includes 520 children diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia between 2002 and 2019.

Associations between brake and tire wear-related PM metal components, particulate oxidative stress potential, and autism spectrum disorder in Southern California.

Background: Air pollution is a global health concern, with fine particulate matter (PM) constituents posing potential risks to human health, including children's neurodevelopment. Here we investigated associations between exposure during pregnancy and infancy to specific traffic-related PM components with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis.

Methods: For exposure assessment, we estimated PM components related to traffic exposure (Barium [Ba] as a marker of brake dust and Zinc [Zn] as a tire wear marker, Black Carbon [BC]) and oxidative stress potential (OSP) markers (Hydroxyl Radical [OP] formation, Dithiothreitol activity [OP], reactive oxygen species [ROS]) modeled with land use regression with co-kriging based on an intensive air monitoring campaign.

The PhenX Toolkit: Recommended Measurement Protocols for Social Determinants of Health Research.

Health disparities are driven by unequal conditions in the environments in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age, commonly termed the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH). The availability of recommended measurement protocols for SDoH will enable investigators to consistently collect data for SDoH constructs. The PhenX (consensus measures for Phenotypes and eXposures) Toolkit is a web-based catalog of recommended measurement protocols for use in research studies with human participants.

Solar ultraviolet radiation exposure, and incidence of childhood acute lymphocytic leukaemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in a US population-based dataset.

Background: Acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) are among the commonest types of childhood cancer. Some previous studies suggested that elevated ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposures increase ALL risk; many more indicate NHL risk is reduced.

Methods: We assessed age<20 ALL/NHL incidence in Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results data using AVGLO-derived UVR irradiance/cumulative radiant exposure measures, using quasi-likelihood models accounting for underdispersion, adjusted for age, sex, racial/ethnic group and other county-level socioeconomic variables.

Agricultural paraquat dichloride use and Parkinson's disease in California's Central Valley.

Background: Paraquat dichloride is currently among the most widely used commercial herbicides in the USA. In the present study, we provide epidemiological assessment of ambient paraquat exposure and Parkinson's disease (PD) risk in a population-based study of PD in agricultural regions of Central California.

Methods: Based on 829 PD patients and 824 community controls, we assessed associations between ambient paraquat dichloride exposure and PD.

Neighborhood-level Social Determinants of Health and Waitlist Mortality for Liver Transplantation: The Liver Outcomes and Equity Index.

Background And Aims: To examine neighborhood-level disparities in waitlist mortality for adult liver transplantation (LT), we developed novel area-based social determinants of health (SDOH) index using a national transplant database.

Methods: ZIP Codes of individuals listed for or received LT in the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients database between June 18, 2013, and May 18, 2019, were linked to 36 American Community Survey (ACS) variables across 5 SDOH domains for index development. A step-wise principal component analysis was used to construct the Liver Outcomes and Equity (LOEq) index.

A Comparison of Measured Airborne and Self-Reported Secondhand Smoke Exposure in the MADRES Pregnancy Cohort Study.

Introduction: Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure during pregnancy is linked to adverse birth outcomes, such as low birth weight and preterm birth. While questionnaires are commonly used to assess SHS exposure, their ability to capture true exposure can vary, making it difficult for researchers to harmonize SHS measures. This study aimed to compare self-reported SHS exposure with measurements of airborne SHS in personal samples of pregnant women.

Residential Proximity to a Commercial Pesticide Application Site and Risk of Chronic Rhinosinusitis.

Importance: Environmental and occupational toxicants have been shown to be associated with an increased prevalence of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). However, few to no studies have evaluated patients for CRS using objective testing and workup protocols that fulfill guidelines for CRS diagnostic criteria. Furthermore, no study, to our knowledge, has investigated the risks of CRS in the context of residential exposure through proximity to a commercial pesticide application site.

A pesticide and iPSC dopaminergic neuron screen identifies and classifies Parkinson-relevant pesticides.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex neurodegenerative disease with etiology rooted in genetic vulnerability and environmental factors. Here we combine quantitative epidemiologic study of pesticide exposures and PD with toxicity screening in dopaminergic neurons derived from PD patient induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to identify Parkinson's-relevant pesticides. Agricultural records enable investigation of 288 specific pesticides and PD risk in a comprehensive, pesticide-wide association study.

Association of nativity with survival among adults with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Introduction: Immigrants comprise a considerable proportion of those diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the United States. Nativity or birthplace affects incidence and risk factors for HCC, but little is known about its influence on survival after diagnosis.

Methods: We identified 51 533 adults with HCC with available birthplace in the California Cancer Registry between 1988 and 2017.

Examining multilevel influences on parental HPV vaccine hesitancy among multiethnic communities in Los Angeles: a qualitative analysis.

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine hesitancy is a growing concern in the United States, yet understudied among racial/ethnic minority parents. We conducted qualitative research to understand parental HPV vaccine hesitancy and inform community-specific, multilevel approaches to improve HPV vaccination among diverse populations in Los Angeles.

Methods: We recruited American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN), Hispanic/Latino/a (HL) and Chinese parents of unvaccinated children (9-17 years) from low-HPV vaccine uptake regions in Los Angeles for virtual focus groups (FGs).

Melanoma survival by age group: Population-based disparities for adolescent and young adult patients by stage, tumor thickness, and insurance type.

Background: Melanoma survival literature predominantly represents patients >65 years of age. Study of younger patients may reveal potential age-group-specific differences in survival outcome.

Objective: Identify factors associated with differences in melanoma survival in 2 age groups, adolescents and young adults (AYAs; ages 15-39) and older adults (ages 40-64).

Proximity to residential and workplace pesticides application and the risk of progression of Parkinson's diseases in Central California.

Background: Pesticide exposure has consistently been associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) onset. Yet, fewer epidemiologic studies have examined whether pesticides influence PD motor and non-motor symptom progression.

Objectives: Using a geographic information system tool that integrates agricultural pesticide use reports and land use records to derive ambient exposures at residences and workplaces, we assessed associations between specific pesticides previously related to PD onset with PD symptom progression in two PD patient cohorts living in agricultural regions of California.