Publications by authors named "Ruby H-N Nguyen"

Objective: Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is associated with adverse birth and developmental outcomes in children. We aimed to describe prenatal PAH exposures in a large, multisite U.S.

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  • Executive functions, crucial for problem-solving and planning, develop rapidly in childhood, but prenatal exposure to environmental toxicants like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may hinder this development.
  • The study analyzed 814 children from non-smoking mothers, measuring urine levels of PAH metabolites during pregnancy and evaluating their executive functions at age 8-9, focusing on cognitive flexibility, working memory, and inhibitory control.
  • Results showed mostly null associations between PAH exposure and executive functions, although some interactions between specific PAH metabolites and working memory were observed, highlighting the need for further research in this area.
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Background: Executive function, which develops rapidly in childhood, enables problem-solving, focused attention, and planning. Animal models describe executive function decrements associated with ambient air pollution exposure, but epidemiologic studies are limited.

Methods: We examined associations between early childhood air pollution exposure and school-aged executive function in 1235 children from three US pregnancy cohorts in the ECHO-PATHWAYS Consortium.

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We examined associations between prenatal fine particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO), and ozone (O) exposures and child respiratory outcomes through age 8-9 years in 1279 ECHO-PATHWAYS Consortium mother-child dyads. We averaged spatiotemporally modeled air pollutant exposures during four fetal lung development phases: pseudoglandular (5-16 weeks), canalicular (16-24 weeks), saccular (24-36 weeks), and alveolar (36+ weeks). We estimated adjusted relative risks (RR) for current asthma at age 8-9 and asthma with recent exacerbation or atopic disease, and odds ratios (OR) for wheezing trajectories using modified Poisson and multinomial logistic regression, respectively.

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  • This study examined the effects of prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on asthma and wheezing in children aged 8-9, using data from a diverse sample of 1,081 parent-child pairs across five U.S. cities.! -
  • Researchers measured levels of PAH metabolites in mothers during mid-pregnancy and assessed asthma and wheezing symptoms in children, adjusting for various factors like smoke exposure and demographics.! -
  • The findings revealed limited evidence linking prenatal PAH exposure to asthma or wheezing trajectories, with some associations noted for specific compounds in boys and girls, but no strong overall connections were established.
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Placental corticotropin-releasing hormone (pCRH) is a neuroactive peptide produced in high concentrations in mid-late pregnancy, during key periods of fetal brain development. Some evidence suggests that higher pCRH exposure during gestation is associated with adverse neurodevelopment, particularly in female offspring. In 858 mother-child dyads from the sociodemographically diverse CANDLE cohort (Memphis, TN), we examined: (1) the slope of pCRH rise in mid-late pregnancy and (2) estimated pCRH at delivery as a measure of cumulative prenatal exposure.

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  • A study aimed to identify clusters of chronic obesity-related, neurodevelopmental, and respiratory issues in children, examining how these clusters relate to chemical exposure.
  • Researchers analyzed data from 1092 children collected between 2011 and 2022 across three pregnancy cohorts and identified three distinct health outcome clusters based on k-means clustering.
  • A significant association was found between exposure to certain phthalates and membership in a cluster with high rates of asthma and other respiratory problems, suggesting shared underlying causes for these health outcomes.
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  • Prenatal exposure to chemicals like phthalates and psychosocial stressors may affect the developing brain, but their combined effects are not well studied.
  • Researchers analyzed data from three pregnancy cohorts, measuring phthalates in urine and mothers' reported stressful life events during pregnancy, to see how these factors impacted children's problem behaviors at ages 4-6.
  • The study found some weak links between phthalate exposure and behavior issues, with unexpected results showing that higher stress levels during pregnancy might lessen the impact of certain phthalates on child behaviors, especially in boys, indicating a need for further investigation.
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Background: Phthalate exposures are ubiquitous during pregnancy and may contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in preterm birth.

Objectives: We investigated race and ethnicity in the relationship between biomarkers of phthalate exposure and preterm birth by examining: ) how hypothetical reductions in racial and ethnic disparities in phthalate metabolites might reduce the probability of preterm birth; and ) exposure-response models stratified by race and ethnicity.

Methods: We pooled individual-level data on 6,045 pregnancies from 16 U.

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Background: Ambient air pollution may be a developmental endocrine disruptor. In animal models, gestational and perinatal exposure to diesel exhaust and concentrated particulate matter alters anogenital distance (AGD), a marker of prenatal androgen activity, in both sexes. Little is known in humans.

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Background And Aim: Studies suggest prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may influence wheezing or asthma in preschool-aged children. However, the impact of prenatal PAH exposure on asthma and wheeze in middle childhood remain unclear. We investigated these associations in diverse participants from the ECHO PATHWAYS multi-cohort consortium.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study examined the link between prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and child cognitive outcomes, specifically IQ, using data from two large pregnancy cohorts involving over 1,200 mother-child pairs.
  • Although individual PAH metabolites didn't show a significant connection to IQ overall, one specific metabolite (2-hydroxynaphthalene) indicated sex differences, negatively affecting IQ in males while showing a positive association in females.
  • The findings suggest minimal adverse effects of early pregnancy PAH exposure on child IQ, with pooled analyses showing no significant impact.
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Problem/condition: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Period Covered: 2020.

Description Of System: The Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network is an active surveillance program that estimates prevalence and characteristics of ASD and monitors timing of ASD identification among children aged 4 and 8 years.

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Problem/condition: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Period Covered: 2020.

Description Of System: The Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network is an active surveillance program that provides estimates of the prevalence of ASD among children aged 8 years.

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Background: Atopic disease may be influenced by prenatal and early life exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals, including bisphenols, but results from epidemiological studies have been mixed. This study aimed to extend the epidemiological literature, hypothesizing that children with higher prenatal bisphenol exposure are more likely to have childhood atopic disease.

Methods: Urinary bisphenol A (BPA) and S (BPS) concentrations were measured in each trimester from 501 pregnant women in a multi-center, prospective pregnancy cohort.

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Purpose: Despite growing recognition that unfortunately common maternal stress exposures in childhood and pregnancy may have intergenerational impacts on children's psychiatric health, studies rarely take a life course approach. With child psychopathology on the rise, the identification of modifiable risk factors is needed to promote maternal and child well-being. In this study, we examined associations of maternal exposure to childhood traumatic events (CTE) and pregnancy stressful life events (PSLE) with child mental health problems in a large, sociodemographically diverse sample.

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To characterize the trends in degree conferrals, degree-associated debt, and employment outcomes among undergraduate public health degree (UGPHD) graduates. We reported administrative data on degree conferrals from 2001 to 2020 from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). For alumni graduating from 2015 to 2019, we also reported degree-associated debt and earnings 1 year after graduation compiled by NCES.

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Women's social experiences can have long-term implications for their offspring's health, but little is known about the potential independent contributions of multiple periods of stress exposures over time. This study examined associations of maternal exposure to adversity in childhood and pregnancy with children's anxiety and depression symptoms in a large, sociodemographically diverse sample. Participants were 1389 mother-child dyads (child age M = 8.

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Background: Preterm birth is the leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Elevated levels of oxidative stress have been associated with an increased risk of delivering before term. However, most studies testing this hypothesis have been conducted in racially and demographically homogenous study populations, which do not reflect the diversity within the United States.

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Opioid use has disproportionally impacted pregnant people and their fetuses. Previous studies describing opioid use among pregnant people are limited by geographic location, type of medical coverage, and small sample size. We described characteristics of a large, diverse group of pregnant people who were enrolled in the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program, and determined which characteristics were associated with opioid use during pregnancy.

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Article Synopsis
  • Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was studied for its potential link to pediatric asthma in a diverse US population of 1,296 mother-child pairs.
  • Researchers found limited individual associations between specific PAH metabolites and asthma outcomes, but noted that female children showed increased asthma risk linked to certain PAHs, while no such risk was found for males.
  • The study suggests that while the link between PAHs and asthma is complex, child sex may play a significant role, though maternal asthma and vitamin D status did not consistently influence outcomes.
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