Background: The long-term associations between metal mixtures in pregnancy and women's mid-life blood pressure (BP) and hypertension remain unclear.
Methods: In Project Viva (enrolled 1999-2002), we measured nonessential (arsenic, barium, cadmium, cesium, mercury, lead) and essential metals (copper, magnesium, manganese, selenium, zinc) in red blood cells, along with folate and vitamin B12 in plasma, collected during pregnancy. We measured mid-life BP from 2017 to 2021 (median age, 51.
Background: PFAS may impair bone health, but effects of PFAS exposure assessed during pregnancy and the perimenopause-life stages marked by rapidly changing bone metabolism-on later life bone health are unknown.
Methods: We studied 531 women in the Boston-area Project Viva cohort. We used multivariable linear, generalized additive, and mixture models to examine associations of plasma PFAS concentrations during early pregnancy [median (IQR) maternal age 32.
Background: Accurately capturing individuals' experiences with greenspace at ground-level can provide valuable insights into their impact on children's health. However, most previous research has relied on coarse satellite-based measurements.
Methods: We utilized CVH and residential address data from Project Viva, a US-based pre-birth cohort, tracking participants from mid-childhood to late adolescence (2007-21).
Importance: Limited access to healthy foods, resulting from residence in neighborhoods with low food access, is a public health concern. The contribution of this exposure in early life to child obesity remains uncertain.
Objective: To examine associations of neighborhood food access during pregnancy or early childhood with child body mass index (BMI) and obesity risk.
Background: Evidence suggests that prenatal per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and metals, two classes of chemicals found ubiquitously in human populations, influence immune system development and response.
Objective: We evaluated whether first trimester blood PFAS and metals were associated with antigen- or mitogen-stimulated cord blood lymphocyte proliferation and cytokine secretion.
Methods: We measured six PFAS, as well as six nonessential and four essential metals, in first trimester blood from participants in the longitudinal pre-birth Project Viva cohort, recruited between 1999 and 2000 in eastern Massachusetts.
Background: Antidepressants are among the most commonly prescribed medications, but evidence on comparative weight change for specific first-line treatments is limited.
Objective: To compare weight change across common first-line antidepressant treatments by emulating a target trial.
Design: Observational cohort study over 24 months.
Introduction: Protective associations of greenspace with Parkinson's disease (PD) have been observed in some studies. Visual exposure to greenspace seems to be important for some of the proposed pathways underlying these associations. However, most studies use overhead-view measures (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFood and nutrition-related factors have the potential to impact development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and quality of life for people with ASD, but gaps in evidence exist. On 10 November 2022, Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and Food and Nutrition Innovation Institute hosted a 1-d meeting to explore the evidence and evidence gaps regarding the relationships of food and nutrition with ASD. This meeting report summarizes the presentations and deliberations from the meeting.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Nonessential metals have endocrine disrupting properties, interfere with cellular processes, generate reactive oxygen and deplete antioxidants, while essential metals and vitamins act as antioxidants. The extent to which prenatal metals and vitamins are associated with cord blood hormones involved in maternal and fetal metabolic and growth processes is unknown.
Methods: We measured six nonessential (arsenic, barium, cadmium, cesium, lead, mercury) and four essential (magnesium, manganese, selenium, zinc) metals and trace elements, and two vitamins (B12 and folate) in first trimester blood from participants in the longitudinal pre-birth Project Viva cohort, who were recruited between 1999-2002 in eastern Massachusetts.
Background: Guidelines for the use of antihypertensives changed in 2014 and 2017. To understand the effect of these guidelines, we examined trends in antihypertensive prescriptions in the United States from 2010 to 2019 using a repeated cross-sectional design.
Methods And Results: Using electronic health records from 15 health care institutions for adults (20-85 years old) who had ≥1 antihypertensive prescription, we assessed whether (1) prescriptions of beta blockers decreased after the 2014 Eighth Joint National Committee (JNC 8) report discouraged use for first-line treatment, (2) prescriptions for calcium channel blockers and thiazide diuretics increased among Black patients after the JNC 8 report encouraged use as first-line therapy, and (3) prescriptions for dual therapy and fixed-dose combination among patients with blood pressure ≥140/90 mm Hg increased after recommendations in the 2017 Hypertension Clinical Practice Guidelines.
Background: Findings on the associations between prenatal PFAS exposures and offspring adiposity are inconsistent. Whether such associations may extend to adolescence is especially understudied.
Objectives: We investigated associations of prenatal PFAS exposures with offspring adiposity and body composition at 16-20 years of age.
Background: The developing fetal brain is sensitive to many environmental exposures. However, the independent and joint effects of prenatal exposure to metals and micronutrients on child cognition are not well understood.
Objectives: Our aim was to evaluate associations of first-trimester ( wk) maternal erythrocyte concentrations of mixtures of nonessential and essential metals and micronutrients with early ( y) and mid-childhood ( y) cognitive test scores in Project Viva, a prebirth cohort in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
In this work, we propose the use of molecular emission of calcium fluoride (CaF) by laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) to obtain quantitative fluoride distribution images of teeth. LIBS has proved to be an efficient technique to detect low amounts of fluoride in solids, and human teeth have the advantage being a matrix rich in calcium. We used new calibration material from sintered hydroxyapatite pellets doped with fluoride to determine the optimized LIBS conditions of argon flow at 1 L min and using the green emission bands of CaF in 530 nm, and obtained a calibration curve between 0 and 400 μg g, and LOD of 18 μg g.
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