Environmental and dietary factors associated with urinary OH-PAHs in mid-pregnancy in a large multi-site study.

Background: PAH exposure is associated with adverse health outcomes, but exposure sources in pregnancy are not well-understood.

Objectives: We examined associations between urinary OH-PAHs during pregnancy and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and short-term ambient air pollution exposure. Participants included 1603 pregnant non-smokers in three cohorts from 7 sites across the USA.

Longitudinal study of birthweight, blood pressure, and markers of arterial stiffness in children age six among the TIDES cohort.

Objective: Although some studies have observed an association between birthweight and cardiovascular disease in adulthood, fewer have investigated whether birthweight is linked to cardiovascular health in early childhood. This study assesses the association between birthweight and cardiovascular outcomes in children 6 years of age.

Study Design: Birthweight, blood pressure (BP), and markers of arterial stiffness in children, including brachial artery distensibility and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), were obtained from 324 participants in The Infant Development and the Environment Study, a prospective multisite pregnancy cohort.

Role of Air Pollution in the Development of Asthma Among Children with a History of Bronchiolitis in Infancy.

Background: Infants experiencing bronchiolitis are at increased risk for asthma, but few studies have identified modifiable risk factors. We assessed whether early life air pollution influenced child asthma and wheeze at age 4-6 years among children with a history of bronchiolitis in the first postnatal year.

Methods: Children with caregiver-reported physician-diagnosed bronchiolitis were drawn from ECHO-PATHWAYS, a pooled longitudinal cohort from six US cities.

A permutation-based approach to inference for weighted sum regression with correlated chemical mixtures.

There is a growing demand for methods to determine the effects that chemical mixtures have on human health. One statistical challenge is identifying true "bad actors" from a mixture of highly correlated predictors, a setting in which standard approaches such as linear regression become highly variable. Weighted Quantile Sum regression has been proposed to address this problem, through a two-step process where mixture component weights are estimated using bootstrap aggregation in a training dataset and inference on the overall mixture effect occurs in a held-out test set.

Initial accuracy assessment of the modified S-LANSS for the detection of neuropathic orofacial pain conditions.

Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of a questionnaire modified for the identification of intraoral pain with neuropathic characteristics in a clinical orofacial pain sample population.

Method And Materials: 136 participants with at least one of four orofacial pain diagnoses (temporomandibular disorders [TMD, n = 41], acute dental pain [ADP, n = 41], trigeminal neuralgia [TN, n = 19], persistent dentoalveolar pain disorder [PDAP, n = 14]) and a group of pain-free controls (n = 21) completed the modified S-LANSS, a previously adapted version of the original questionnaire devised to detected patients suffering from intraoral pain with neuropathic characteristics. Psychometric properties (sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value [PPV], negative predictive value [NPV]) were calculated in two analyses with two different thresholds: (1) Detection of pain with neuropathic characteristics: PDAP + TN were considered positive, and TMD + ADP + controls were considered negative per gold standard (expert opinion).

Assessing a New Method for Measuring Fetal Exposure to Mercury: Newborn Bloodspots.

Background: Measuring mercury in newborn bloodspots to determine fetal exposures is a novel methodology with many advantages. Questions remain, however, about its reliability as an estimate of newborn exposure to mercury.

Methods: We studied mercury concentrations in paired bloodspots and cord blood from a convenience sample of 48 Minnesota women and infants.

Validity of Preoperative Clinical Findings to Identify Dental Pulp Status: A National Dental Practice-Based Research Network Study.

Introduction: Endodontic diagnostic tests are often used clinically to assess pulp status as a basis for the diagnosis and determination of whether root canal treatment (RCT) is indicated. Response to cold and pain on percussion are 2 common tests, yet their validity in identifying nonvital pulp in regular dental practice has not been reported.

Methods: We assessed the validity of cold and percussion tests to identify nonvital pulp in teeth requiring RCT in a dental practice setting performed by 46 general dentists and 16 endodontists in the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network.

Prenatal Stress as a Modifier of Associations between Phthalate Exposure and Reproductive Development: results from a Multicentre Pregnancy Cohort Study.

Background: Prenatal phthalate exposure is associated with altered male reproductive tract development, and in particular, shorter anogenital distance (AGD). AGD, a sexually dimorphic index of prenatal androgen exposure, may also be altered by prenatal stress. How these exposures interact to impact AGD is unknown.

Differential Diagnoses for Persistent Pain Following Root Canal Treatment: A Study in the National Dental PBRN.

Introduction: Pain present six months following root canal treatment (RCT) may be either of odontogenic or non-odontogenic origin. This is important because treatments and prognoses are different; therefore, the aim of this study was to provide specific diagnoses of patients reporting pain six months after receiving initial orthograde RCT.

Methods: We enrolled patients from the Midwest region of an existing prospective observational study of pain after RCT.

Mucosal versus muscle pain sensitivity in provoked vestibulodynia.

Background: An estimated 8.3%-16% of women experience vulvovaginal discomfort during their lifetime. Frequently these patients report provoked pain on contact or with attempted intercourse, commonly referred to as provoked vestibulodynia (PVD).

Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Partially Mediates Phthalate Association With Male and Female Anogenital Distance.

Context: Prenatal exposure to phthalates disrupts male sex development in rodents. In humans, the placental glycoprotein hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is required for male development, and may be a target of phthalate exposure.

Objective: This study aimed to test the hypothesis that phthalates disrupt placental hCG differentially in males and females with consequences for sexually dimorphic genital development.

The Evidence-based Vulvodynia Assessment Project. A National Registry for the Study of Vulvodynia.

Objective: To create a national registry for the study of vulvodynia in order to enhance classification of vulvodynia based on multiple phenotypic domains such as pain characteristics, clinical examination, sexual function, psychological functioning, and distress.

Study Design: Methodology for this prospective cohort registry was institutional review board approved and implemented at 8 enrollment sites starting in 2009. Women underwent gynecologic evaluation and pressure sensory testing for assessment of pain sensitivity in the vaginal mucosa and vaginal muscles.

"You have to go through it and have your children": reproductive experiences among women with vulvodynia.

Background: Vulvodynia is a potentially debilitating chronic pain condition affecting the vulva (external genitalia) in women, with typical age of onset during the early-to mid-reproductive years. Yet, virtually nothing is known about the thoughts, feelings and experience of vulvodynia patients regarding conception, pregnancy and delivery; including the effect that a hallmark symptom, dyspareunia (painful sex), can have on a couple's physical and emotional ability to conceive. We sought to describe these experiences and beliefs among women with vulvodynia who were pregnant or who recently had delivered a child.

Differential diagnoses for persistent pain after root canal treatment: a study in the National Dental Practice-based Research Network.

Introduction: Pain present 6 months after root canal treatment (RCT) may be of odontogenic or nonodontogenic origin. This is important because treatments and prognoses are different; therefore, the aim of this study was to provide specific diagnoses of patients reporting pain 6 months after receiving initial orthograde RCT.

Methods: We enrolled patients from the Midwest region of an existing prospective observational study of pain after RCT.

The Impact of Gender Differences in Attitudes and Beliefs Concerning HBV Vaccination and Screening in the Lao Community.

Liver cancer incidence is increasing among Asian Americans. Laotians in the US have greater risk of liver cancer death compared to other Asian American groups. However, ethnicity is not the only disparity; Laotian men are at increased risk of liver cancer compared to Laotian women.

Differences in pain subtypes between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women with chronic vulvar pain.

Objectives: Compared with non-Hispanic Whites, Hispanic women have significantly higher prevalence of chronic vulvar pain (CVP), which is known to have heterogeneous subtypes. However, it is not known whether subtypes differ by ethnicity, and improved understanding of subtypes may allow for targeted clinical assessment and therapies. We examined subtypes to determine whether they differed by ethnicity.

Feasibility of collecting vulvar pain variability and its correlates using prospective collection with smartphones.

Context. Vulvar pain level may fluctuate in women with vulvodynia even in the absence of therapy; however, there is little evidence suggesting which factors may be associated with variability. Objective.

Dietary phthalate exposure in pregnant women and the impact of consumer practices.

Phthalates are ubiquitous endocrine-disrupting chemicals that are contaminants in food and contribute to significant dietary exposures. We examined associations between reported consumption of specific foods and beverages and first trimester urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations in 656 pregnant women within a multicenter cohort study, The Infant Development and Environment Study (TIDES), using multivariate regression analysis. We also examined whether reported use of ecofriendly and chemical-free products was associated with lower phthalate biomarker levels in comparison to not following such practices.

Remission of vulvar pain among women with primary vulvodynia.

Objective: To determine whether rates of remission differed among women with primary versus secondary vulvodynia.

Methods: Using a community-based observational study based in Minneapolis/St. Paul, 138 clinically confirmed cases of vulvodynia between 18 and 40 years old were classified as primary (vulvar pain starting at the time of sexual debut or first tampon insertion) or secondary (vulvar pain starting after a period of pain-free intercourse) and queried regarding their pain history to determine whether they had ever experienced any vulvar pain-free time (remission) or pain-free time lasting 3 months or longer.

Environmental health attitudes and behaviors: findings from a large pregnancy cohort study.

Objective: Environmental chemicals are widely found in food and personal care products and may have adverse effects on fetal development. Our aim was to examine women's attitudes about these chemicals and ask whether they try to limit their exposure during pregnancy.

Study Design: A multi-center cohort of women in the first trimester of pregnancy completed questionnaires including items on attitudes and behaviors related to environmental chemicals.

Prevalence of symptoms consistent with a diagnosis of vulvodynia: population-based estimates from 2 geographic regions.

Objective: We used validated sensitive and specific questions associated with clinically confirmed diagnoses of unexplained vulvar pain (vulvodynia) to compare the cumulative incidence of vulvar pain and prevalence of care-seeking behavior in Boston metropolitan area (BMA) and in Minneapolis/Saint Paul metropolitan area (MSP) from 2001 through 2005 using census-based data, and 2010 through 2012, using outpatient community-clinic data, respectively.

Study Design: We received self-administered questionnaires from 5440 women in BMA and 13,681 in MSP, 18-40 years of age, describing their history of vulvar burning or pain on contact that persisted >3 months that limited/prevented intercourse.

Results: By age 40 years, 7-8% in BMA and MSP reported vulvar pain consistent with vulvodynia.

Perceived stereotyping and seeking care for chronic vulvar pain.

Objectives: We examined stereotyping of chronic pain sufferers among women aged 18-40 years and determined whether perceived stereotyping affects seeking care for women with chronic vulvar pain.

Design: Cross-sectional study using a community-based survey of vulvodynia asking if "Doctors think that people with chronic pain exaggerate their pain," and if "People believe that vulvar pain is used as an excuse to avoid having sex".

Setting And Participants: Twelve thousand eight hundred thirty-four women aged 18-40 years in metropolitan Minneapolis/St.