Changes in traffic-related air pollution exposures and associations with adverse birth outcomes over 20 years in Texas.

Background: Billions of dollars have been spent implementing regulations to reduce traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) from exhaust pipe emissions. However, few health studies have evaluated the change in TRAP emissions and associations with infant health outcomes. We hypothesize that the magnitude of association between vehicle exposure measures and adverse birth outcomes has decreased over time, parallelling regulatory improvements in exhaust pipe emissions.

DNA methylation biomarkers for cumulative lead exposures and cognitive impairment.

Background: Recent evidence suggests that cumulative low-level lead exposure has adverse effects on cognitive function in the elderly. To date, the few studies that have measured bone lead exposure relied on K-X-ray fluorescence (KXRF), methods that are mostly unavailable in large community-based studies. Here, we employ a methylation-based estimation method for bone and blood lead in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) cohort.

Danish population based study of familial epilepsy and childhood cancer.

Results from studies investigating the association between maternal or child epilepsy, use of anticonvulsants in pregnancy, and childhood cancer are inconsistent and at times contradictory. Linking Danish national databases, we obtained epilepsy and childhood cancer diagnoses, and anticonvulsant use data. We estimated adjusted odds ratios of all or specific childhood cancers in relation to maternal or child epilepsy and anticonvulsant therapies using conditional logistic regression.

Lifetime physical activity influences Parkinson's disease progression.

Introduction: Past studies suggested that Parkinson's disease (PD) patients who engage in physical activity (PA) after diagnosis have slower motor progression. Here, we examine the influence of lifetime PA prior to PD onset on motor, cognitive, and overall functional decline among PD patients.

Methods: For 495 participants in the Parkinson's Environment and Gene (PEG) studies, we collected PA-related measures through interviews and quantified these using metabolic equivalents (MET) scores.

The Role of Inflammation and Psycho-Behavioral Factors as Mediators Between Acculturation and Time to Incident Dementia Among Older Mexican Americans.

Background: The mechanisms through which acculturation influences the onset of cognitive impairment and dementia are not well understood, especially among older Hispanics.

Objective: To investigate whether inflammation and psycho-behavioral factors mediate the relationship between acculturation and incident dementia among older Mexican Americans.

Methods: We analyzed the Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging (1998-2007, SALSA), a longitudinal study (N = 1,194) with 10 years of follow-up, and used g-computation for mediation analysis with pooled logistic regression to evaluate whether acculturation (assessed by the Revised Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans [ARSMA-II]) affected dementia or cognitive impairment but not dementia (CIND) through inflammation (i.

Urinary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites and their association with oxidative stress among pregnant women in Los Angeles.

Background: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been linked to adverse birth outcomes that have been reported to be induced by oxidative stress, but few epidemiological studies to date have evaluated associations between urinary PAH metabolites and oxidative stress biomarkers in pregnancy and identified critical periods for these outcomes and PAH exposures in pregnancy.

Methods: A cohort of pregnant women was recruited early in pregnancy from antenatal clinics at the University of California Los Angeles during 2016-2019. We collected urine samples up to three times during pregnancy in a total of 159 women enrolled in the cohort.

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.

Contributions of neighborhood physical and social environments to racial and ethnic disparities in birth outcomes in California: A mediation analysis.

Background: Racially minoritized populations experience higher rates of adverse birth outcomes than White populations in the U.S. We estimated the mediating effect of neighborhood social and physical environments on disparities in adverse birth outcomes in California.

The Evolution of Science and Regulation of Dietary Supplements: Past, Present, and Future.

Dietary supplement use in the United States is widespread and increasing, especially among certain population groups, such as older Americans. The science surrounding dietary supplements has evolved substantially over the last few decades since their formal regulation in 1994. Much has been learned about the mechanisms of action of many dietary supplement ingredients, but the evidence on their health effects is still building.

A call from 40 public health scientists for an end to the continuing humanitarian and environmental catastrophe in Gaza.

An under-recognised aspect of the current humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is the impact of the war on the environment and the associated risks for human health. This commentary contextualises these impacts against the background of human suffering produced by the overwhelming violence associated with the use of military force against the general population of Gaza. In calling for an immediate cessation to the violence, the authors draw attention to the urgent need to rebuild the health care system and restore the physical and human infrastructure that makes a liveable environment possible and promotes human health and well-being, especially for the most vulnerable in the population.

Genome-wide meta-analysis of short-tandem repeats for Parkinson's disease risk using genotype imputation.

Idiopathic Parkinson's disease is determined by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Recently, the first genome-wide association study on short-tandem repeats in Parkinson's disease reported on eight suggestive short-tandem repeat-based risk loci ( = 5.3 × 10), of which four were novel, i.

Untargeted serum metabolic profiling of diabetes mellitus among Parkinson's disease patients.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a common comorbidity among Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. Yet, little is known about dysregulated pathways that are unique in PD patients with T2DM. We applied high-resolution metabolomic profiling in serum samples of 636 PD and 253 non-PD participants recruited from Central California.

Lysosomal genes contribute to Parkinson's disease near agriculture with high intensity pesticide use.

Parkinson's disease (PD), the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, develops sporadically, likely through a combination of polygenic and environmental factors. Previous studies associate pesticide exposure and genes involved in lysosomal function with PD risk. We evaluated the frequency of variants in lysosomal function genes among patients from the Parkinson's, Environment, and Genes (PEG) study with ambient pesticide exposure from agricultural sources.

Diet and the gut microbiome in patients with Parkinson's disease.

It has been suggested that gut microbiota influence Parkinson's disease (PD) via the gut-brain axis. Here, we examine associations between diet and gut microbiome composition and its predicted functional pathways in patients with PD. We assessed gut microbiota in fecal samples from 85 PD patients in central California using 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

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.

Exposure to outdoor ambient air toxics and risk of breast cancer: The multiethnic cohort.

Background: A growing literature has reported associations between traffic-related air pollution and breast cancer, however there are fewer investigations into specific ambient agents and any putative risk of breast cancer development, particularly studies occurring in populations residing in higher pollution areas such as Los Angeles.

Objectives: To estimate breast cancer risks related to ambient air toxics exposure at residential addresses.

Methods: We examined the relationships between ambient air toxics and breast cancer risk in the Multiethnic Cohort among 48,665 California female participants followed for cancer from 2003 through 2013.

Urinary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites and their association with oxidative stress among pregnant women in Los Angeles.

Background: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been linked to adverse birth outcomes, but few epidemiological studies to date have evaluated associations between urinary PAH metabolites and oxidative stress biomarkers in pregnancy.

Methods: We measured a total of 7 PAH metabolites and 2 oxidative stress biomarkers (malondialdehyde (MDA), 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG)) in urine samples collected up to three times during pregnancy in 159 women enrolled at antenatal clinics at the University of California Los Angeles during 2016-2019. Using multiple linear regression models, we estimated the percentage change (%) and 95% confidence interval (CI) in 8-OHdG and MDA measured at each sample collection time per doubling of PAH metabolite concentrations.

Effects of hypertension and use of antihypertensive drugs in pregnancy on the risks of childhood cancers in Taiwan.

Background: Childhood cancers are associated with high mortality and morbidity, and some maternal prescription drug use during pregnancy has been implicated in cancer risk. There are few studies on the effects of hypertension, preeclampsia, and the use of antihypertensives in pregnancy on children's cancer risks.

Objective: This population-based cohort study analyzed the relationship between hypertension, preeclampsia, and antihypertensives taken during pregnancy and the risks of childhood cancers in the offspring.

Roadway construction as a natural experiment to examine air pollution impacts on infant health.

Traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) poses a significant public health risk that is associated with adverse birth outcomes. Large roadway infrastructure projects present a natural experiment to examine how resulting congestion change is associated with adverse birth outcomes for nearby populations. This study is designed to examine the influence of living close to a roadway before, during, and after a construction project using a difference-in-differences design.

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.

Association between Airport Ultrafine Particles and Lung Cancer Risk: The Multiethnic Cohort Study.

Background: Ultrafine particles (UFP) are unregulated air pollutants abundant in aviation exhaust. Emerging evidence suggests that UFPs may impact lung health due to their high surface area-to-mass ratio and deep penetration into airways. This study aimed to assess long-term exposure to airport-related UFPs and lung cancer incidence in a multiethnic population in Los Angeles County.