Publications by authors named "R Koehl"
Article Synopsis
- Emerging research indicates that endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) found in personal care products can negatively impact health, particularly for Black individuals who use more products and have high asthma rates.
- This study investigates the link between EDC exposure and product usage in 110 Black children with asthma, aged 8-17, in Baltimore City, examining their recent consumer habits and urine concentrations of specific EDCs.
- Results show that using air fresheners, scented candles, and canned foods is associated with higher levels of certain EDCs, highlighting a potential risk factor for these children’s health.
Article Synopsis
- - Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is common in obese children with asthma, but current screening methods are not very accurate; the study aimed to identify specific survey questions that correlate with OSA in this group.
- - The study involved participants completing a survey, undergoing polysomnography, and measuring their body mass index z-score; a score above 0.33 indicated a high risk for OSA, and it was found that loud snoring, morning dry mouth, and being overweight were key indicators of OSA.
- - Results showed a prevalence of OSA at 40% among the children studied; while the overall survey had moderate predictive values, the body mass index z-score alone proved to be a more effective screening
The Neolithic and Bronze Ages were highly transformative periods for the genetic history of Europe but for the Aegean-a region fundamental to Europe's prehistory-the biological dimensions of cultural transitions have been elucidated only to a limited extent so far. We have analysed newly generated genome-wide data from 102 ancient individuals from Crete, the Greek mainland and the Aegean Islands, spanning from the Neolithic to the Iron Age. We found that the early farmers from Crete shared the same ancestry as other contemporaneous Neolithic Aegeans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRationale: Tobacco outlets are concentrated in low-income neighbourhoods; higher tobacco outlet density is associated with increased smoking prevalence. Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure has significant detrimental effects on childhood asthma. We hypothesised there was an association between higher tobacco outlet density, indoor air pollution and worse childhood asthma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Obese children with asthma are more vulnerable to air pollution, especially fine particulate matter (PM), but reasons are poorly understood. We hypothesised that differences in breathing patterns (tidal volume, respiratory rate and minute ventilation) due to elevated body mass index (BMI) may contribute to this finding.
Objective: To investigate the association of BMI with breathing patterns and deposition of inhaled PM.