Serially assessed bisphenol A and phthalate exposure and association with kidney function in children with chronic kidney disease in the US and Canada: A longitudinal cohort study.

Background: Exposure to environmental chemicals may be a modifiable risk factor for progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of serially assessed exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates on measures of kidney function, tubular injury, and oxidative stress over time in a cohort of children with CKD.

Methods And Findings: Samples were collected between 2005 and 2015 from 618 children and adolescents enrolled in the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children study, an observational cohort study of pediatric CKD patients from the US and Canada.

Trends in neurodevelopmental disability burden due to early life chemical exposure in the USA from 2001 to 2016: A population-based disease burden and cost analysis.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals are known to cause neurodevelopmental toxicity through direct and indirect pathways. In this study we used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, along with known exposure-disease relationships, to quantify the intellectual disability burden attributable to in utero exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), organophosphates, and methylmercury and early life exposure to lead. We also estimated the cost of the IQ points lost and cases of intellectual disability.

Serum perfluoroalkyl substances and lung function in adolescents exposed to the World Trade Center disaster.

The effects of childhood exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) on lung function remain mostly unknown. Previous research indicates that children living or going to school near the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster were exposed to high levels of PFASs, among other toxic chemicals. To explore the effects of PFAS exposure on lung function, we measured serum PFASs in a cohort of children from the WTC Health Registry and a matched control group.

Racial/ethnic disparities in disease burden and costs related to exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the United States: an exploratory analysis.

Objective: Studies have documented disparities in exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDC), but no studies have investigated potential implications for racial/ethnic disparities in chronic disease and associated costs. Our objective was to examine EDC levels in the US population according to race/ethnicity and to quantify disease burden and associated costs.

Study Design And Setting: EDC exposure levels in 2007-2010 were obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys.

Renal Function and exposure to Bisphenol A and phthalates in children with Chronic Kidney Disease.

Rationale And Objective: Exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates is ubiquitous among adults and children in the United States. Among children and adolescents, those with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are potentially at greater risk of adverse effects from BPA and phthalate exposure. The objective of this study was to evaluate BPA and phthalate exposure among children with CKD and evaluate associations with three measures of kidney function.

Respiratory Health and Lung Function in Children Exposed to the World Trade Center Disaster.

Objectives: To compare lung function in a representative sample of World Trade Center (WTC)-exposed children with matched comparisons, and examine relationships with reported exposures.

Study Design: Study population consisted of 402 participants. Oscillometry, spirometry, and plethysmography were performed on WTC Health Registry (WTCHR) respondents who were ≤8 years of age on September 11, 2001 (n = 180) and a sociodemographically matched group of New York City residents (n = 222).

Perfluorooctanoic acid and low birth weight: Estimates of US attributable burden and economic costs from 2003 through 2014.

Background And Objective: In utero exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) has been associated with decreases in birth weight. We aimed to estimate the proportion of PFOA-attributable low birth weight (LBW) births and associated costs in the US from 2003 to 2014, a period during which there were industry-initiated and regulatory activities aimed at reducing exposure.

Methods: Serum PFOA levels among women 18-49 years were obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for 2003-2014; birth weight distributions were obtained from the Vital Statistics Natality Birth Data.

Cardiometabolic profiles of adolescents and young adults exposed to the World Trade Center Disaster.

Background And Objective: Few studies have examined the possible cardiometabolic consequences of World Trade Center-related exposures on children who lived and/or attended school near the disaster site. Our objective was to compare cardiometabolic profiles of participants in the World Trade Center Health Registry (WTCHR) with a matched comparison group.

Methods: We evaluated WTCHR enrollees who resided in New York City and were born between September 11, 1993 and September 10, 2001, and a matched comparison group.

Serum perfluoroalkyl substances and cardiometabolic consequences in adolescents exposed to the World Trade Center disaster and a matched comparison group.

Background: Large amounts of various chemical contaminants, including perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), were released at the time of the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster. Thousands of children who lived and/or attended school near the disaster site were exposed to these substances but few studies have examined the possible consequences related to these exposures.

Objectives: To examine the relationship of PFASs serum levels with cardiometabolic profile in children and adolescents enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Registry (WTCHR) and a matched comparison group.

Serum perfluoroalkyl substances in children exposed to the world trade center disaster.

The World Trade Center (WTC) disaster released large amounts of various chemical substances into the environment, including perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). Yet, no studies have examined exposures in children living or attending schools near the disaster site. We measured serum PFASs in WTC Health Registry (WTCHR) respondents who were ≤8 years of age on September 11, 2001 and a sociodemographically-matched comparison group.

Exposure to bisphenols and phthalates and association with oxidant stress, insulin resistance, and endothelial dysfunction in children.

Background: The health effects of bisphenol A (BPA) and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) have been studied extensively in children. The impact of other chemicals in these two classes has not been investigated as fully.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional pilot study of 10-13 y old healthy children.

Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the USA: a population-based disease burden and cost analysis.

Background: Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) contribute to disease and dysfunction and incur high associated costs (>1% of the gross domestic product [GDP] in the European Union). Exposure to EDCs varies widely between the USA and Europe because of differences in regulations and, therefore, we aimed to quantify disease burdens and related economic costs to allow comparison.

Methods: We used existing models for assessing epidemiological and toxicological studies to reach consensus on probabilities of causation for 15 exposure-response relations between substances and disorders.

Particulate Matter Exposure and Preterm Birth: Estimates of U.S. Attributable Burden and Economic Costs.

Background: Preterm birth (PTB) rates (11.4% in 2013) in the United States remain high and are a substantial cause of morbidity. Studies of prenatal exposure have associated particulate matter ≤ 2.

Association of exposure to di-2-ethylhexylphthalate replacements with increased blood pressure in children and adolescents.

Phthalates are environmental chemicals widely used in consumer and personal care products. In this study, we examined associations of urinary phthalates with blood pressure, triglycerides, and lipoproteins in children and adolescents, performing a cross-sectional analysis of a subsample of US children 6 to 19 years of age who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between the years 2009 and 2012. We quantified exposure to common environmental phthalates, with a focus on the dietary contaminant di-2-ethylhexylphthalate and 2 increasingly used replacements, di-isononyl phthalate and di-isodecyl phthalate, based on micromolar concentration of urinary metabolites.

Association of Exposure to Di-2-Ethylhexylphthalate Replacements With Increased Insulin Resistance in Adolescents From NHANES 2009-2012.

Context: Di-isononyl phthalate (DINP) and di-isodecyl phthalate (DIDP) are environmental chemicals increasingly used to replace di-2-ethylhexylphthalate (DEHP) and commonly found in processed foods. Phthalate exposures, in particular DEHP, have been associated with insulin resistance in adolescents, but there are no data regarding the two substitutes, DINP and DIDP.

Objective: This study aimed to examine associations of DINP, DIDP, and DEHP with insulin resistance outcomes.

Phthalates and the diets of U.S. children and adolescents.

Background: Di-2-ethylhexylphthalate (DEHP) is an ester of phthalic acid commonly found in processed foods. DEHP may contribute to obesity and insulin resistance in children and adolescents, yet dietary exposures have been not been studied in this vulnerable subpopulation.

Objective: To assess diet and its relation to urinary phthalates in a nationally representative sample of US children and adolescents.

Urinary phthalates and increased insulin resistance in adolescents.

Background: Di-2-ethylhexylphthalate (DEHP) is an environmental chemical commonly found in processed foods. Phthalate exposures, in particular to DEHP, have been associated with insulin resistance in adults, but have not been studied in adolescents.

Methods: Using cross-sectional data from 766 fasting 12- to 19-year-olds in the 2003-2008 NHANES, we examined associations of phthalate metabolites with continuous and categorical measures of homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR).

Economic costs of childhood lead exposure in low- and middle-income countries.

Background: Children's blood lead levels have declined worldwide, especially after the removal of lead in gasoline. However, significant exposure remains, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. To date, there have been no global estimates of the costs related to lead exposure in children in developing countries.

Urinary phthalates are associated with higher blood pressure in childhood.

Objective: To examine associations of urinary phthalate levels with blood pressure (BP) and serum triglyceride and lipoprotein levels in children.

Study Design: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of a subsample of US children aged 6-19 years who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2003 and 2008. We quantified exposure to 3 families of phthalates--low molecular weight, high molecular weight and di-2-ethylhexylphthalate (DEHP)--based on molar concentration of urinary metabolites.

Race/ethnicity-specific associations of urinary phthalates with childhood body mass in a nationally representative sample.

Background: Phthalates have antiandrogenic effects and may disrupt lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. Racial/ethnic subpopulations have been documented to have varying urinary phthalate concentrations and prevalences of childhood obesity.

Objective: We examined associations between urinary phthalate metabolites and body mass outcomes in a nationally representative sample of U.

Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibition improves arterial stiffness after exercise but not exercise capacity in hypertensive men.

Background: Established hypertension is associated with abnormal exercise hemodynamics and reduced exercise capacity through mechanisms that may include contributions from arterial stiffness and endothelial vasomotor dysfunction. Phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors prolong nitric oxide-mediated cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) signaling in vascular smooth muscle, and have beneficial effects on exercise tolerance in pulmonary hypertension and heart failure. Recent studies suggest they may also be useful antihypertensive agents.

Bisphenol A exposure is associated with low-grade urinary albumin excretion in children of the United States.

Urinary bisphenol A (BPA), a widely used biomarker of exposure to BPA, has been associated with cardiometabolic derangements in laboratory studies and with low-grade albuminuria in Chinese adults. Despite the known unique vulnerability of children to environmental chemicals, no studies have examined associations of urinary BPA with albuminuria in children. As exposure to BPA is widespread in the United States population, we examined data from 710 children in the 2009-10 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey with urinary BPA measurements and first morning urine samples with creatinine values.

Associations of World Trade Center exposures with pulmonary and cardiometabolic outcomes among children seeking care for health concerns.

Objective: Prior research on the physical health of children exposed to the World Trade Center (WTC) attacks has largely relied on parental report via questionnaire. We examined the impact of clinically-reported exposures on the physical health of children who lived and/or attended school in downtown Manhattan on September 11, 2001.

Study Design: We performed a cross-sectional study of 148 patients who presented to the WTC Environmental Health Center/Survivors Health Program, and were ≤ 18 years old on September 11, 2001.

Association between urinary bisphenol A concentration and obesity prevalence in children and adolescents.

Context: Bisphenol A (BPA), a manufactured chemical, is found in canned food, polycarbonate-bottled liquids, and other consumer products. In adults, elevated urinary BPA concentrations are associated with obesity and incident coronary artery disease. BPA exposure is plausibly linked to childhood obesity, but evidence is lacking to date.