Key recommendations and research priorities of the 2021 AMAP human health assessment.

Over the last three decades, the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme has published five human health assessments. These assessments have summarised the current state of the science regarding environmental contaminants and human health in the Arctic. The 2021 Human Health Assessment Report had a particular focus on dietary transitions, in addition to human biomonitoring levels and trends, health effects, risk assessment methodologies, risk communication and multi-disciplinary approaches to contaminants research.

Cross-cutting studies of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in Arctic wildlife and humans.

This cross-cutting review focuses on the presence and impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the Arctic. Several PFAS undergo long-range transport via atmospheric (volatile polyfluorinated compounds) and oceanic pathways (perfluorinated alkyl acids, PFAAs), causing widespread contamination of the Arctic. Beyond targeting a few well-known PFAS, applying sum parameters, suspect and non-targeted screening are promising approaches to elucidate predominant sources, transport, and pathways of PFAS in the Arctic environment, wildlife, and humans, and establish their time-trends.

Levels and trends of persistent organic pollutants in human populations living in the Arctic.

The Arctic Monitoring Assessment Program (AMAP) is tasked with monitoring and assessing the status of environmental contaminants in the Arctic, documenting levels and trends, and producing science-based assessments. The objectives of this paper are to present the current levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) across the Arctic, and to identify trends and knowledge gaps as detailed in the most recent AMAP Human Health Assessment Report. Many Arctic populations continue to have elevated levels of these contaminants, and the highest levels of POPs were observed in populations from Greenland, Faroe Islands, and Nunavik (Canada), as well as populations in the coastal Chukotka district (Russia) for legacy POPs only.

Levels and trends of metals in human populations living in the Arctic.

The 2021 Arctic Monitoring Assessment Program (AMAP)'s Human Health Assessment report presents a summary of the presence of contaminants in human populations across the circumpolar Arctic and provides an update to the previous assessment released in 2015. The primary objective of this paper is to summarise some of these findings by describing the current levels of metals across the Arctic, including key regional and temporal trends based on available national data and literature, and highlight knowledge gaps. Many Arctic populations continue to have elevated levels of these contaminants, and the highest levels of mercury (Hg) were observed in populations from Greenland, Faroe Islands, and Nunavik (Canada).

Suspect and non-target screening of chemicals of emerging Arctic concern in biota, air and human serum.

Contaminants of emerging concern receive increasing attention in the Arctic environment. The aim of this study was to screen for chemicals of emerging Arctic concern (CEACs) in different types of Arctic samples including biota, air and human serum. We used a combination of gas chromatography (GC) and liquid chromatography (LC) with high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) for suspect and non-target screening (NTS).

SARS-CoV-2 anti-RBD and anti-N protein responses are differentially regulated between mother-child pairs: insight from a national study cohort at the Faroe Islands.

Background: Knowledge about SARS-CoV-2 antibody dynamics in neonates and direct comparisons with maternal antibody responses are not well established. This study aimed to characterize and directly compare the maternal and infant antibody response in a national birth cohort from the Faroe Islands.

Methods: The levels of immunoglobulins (Ig) targeting the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein and the nucleocapsid protein (N protein) of SARS-CoV-2 were investigated in maternal blood and umbilical cord blood from neonates.

Updated review on contaminant communication experiences in the circumpolar Arctic.

Arctic populations are amongst the highest exposed populations to long-range transported contaminants globally, with the main exposure pathway being through the diet. Dietary advice is an important immediate means to address potential exposure and help minimize adverse health effects. The objective of this work is to enable easier access to dietary advice and communication guidance on contaminants with a focus on the Arctic.

10-Year Cognitive Change in the Faroese Septuagenarian Cohort and Impact of Sociodemographic, Lifestyle, and Health Factors.

Objectives: To investigate cognitive change in multiple cognitive domains in a population-based cohort of 713 Faroese older adults.

Methods: Participants were cognitively tested at baseline (70-74 years) and re-evaluated after 10 years. Changes in cognitive performance and the impact of sociodemographic factors, lifestyle, and health conditions were analysed using mixed-effect models.

Diverging humoral and cellular immune responses due to Omicron-a national study from the Faroe Islands.

The immunity following infection and vaccination with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant is poorly understood. We investigated immunity assessed with antibody and T-cell responses under different scenarios in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals with and without Omicron infection. We found that the humoral response was higher among vaccinated-naïve than unvaccinated convalescent.

Estimated exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances during infancy and serum-adipokine concentrations in later childhood.

Background: Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are transferred through human milk and may cause elevated exposure during infancy. Given the lack of early postnatal blood samples, PFAS concentrations can be estimated to serve as predictors of subsequent metabolic toxicity.

Methods: A total of 298 children from a prospective birth cohort were followed up through to age 9 years.

10-Year Follow-up of the Original Faroese Septuagenarian Cohort: Focus on Frailty and Association With All-cause Mortality.

Little is known about the health status of Faroese people reaching high age. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the health status of older adults in a small-scale society with emphasis on frailty and all-cause mortality. In this 10-year follow-up study, 347 Faroese citizens aged 80 to 84 from the Faroese Septuagenarian cohort participated.

Working environment and fatigue among fishers in the north Atlantic: a field study.

Background: This study investigates how Faroese deep-sea fishers' exposure to work-related stressors affects their sleep, sleepiness, and levels of fatigue. Being constantly exposed to the unpredictable and harsh North Atlantic Ocean, having long work hours and split sleep for up to 40 days consecutively, they will arguably suffer from fatigue.

Materials And Methods: One hundred and fifty seven fishers participated in this study, and data was gathered throughout 202 days at sea.

Gene-environment interactions in the associations of PFAS exposure with insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function in a Faroese cohort followed from birth to adulthood.

Background: Exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has been associated with changes in insulin sensitivity and pancreatic beta-cell function in humans. Genetic predisposition to diabetes may modify these associations; however, this hypothesis has not been yet studied.

Objectives: To evaluate genetic heterogeneity as a modifier in the PFAS association with insulin sensitivity and pancreatic beta-cell function, using a targeted gene-environment (GxE) approach.

Our evolved understanding of the human health risks of mercury.

Mercury (Hg) is a chemical of health concern worldwide that is now being acted upon through the Minamata Convention. Operationalizing the Convention and tracking its effectiveness requires empathy of the diversity and variation of mercury exposure and risk in populations worldwide. As part of the health plenary for the 15th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant (ICMGP), this review paper details how scientific understandings have evolved over time, from tragic poisoning events in the mid-twentieth century to important epidemiological studies in the late-twentieth century in the Seychelles and Faroe Islands, the Arctic and Amazon.

FarGen: Elucidating the distribution of coding variants in the isolated population of the Faroe Islands.

Here we present results from FarGen Phase I exomes. This dataset is based on the FarGen cohort, which consists of 1,541 individuals from the isolated population of the Faroe Islands. The purpose of this cohort is to serve as a reference catalog of coding variants, and to conduct population genetic studies to better understand the genetic contribution to various diseases in the Faroese population.

Bone mass density following developmental exposures to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): a longitudinal cohort study.

Background: Environmental exposures to industrial chemicals, including perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), may play a role in bone development and future risk of osteoporosis. However, as prospective evidence is limited, the role of developmental PFAS exposures in bone density changes in childhood is unclear. The objective of this study was to estimate associations between serum-PFAS concentrations measured in infancy and early childhood and areal bone mineral density (aBMD) measured at age 9 years in a birth cohort of children from the Faroe Islands.

Effects of Lifetime Exposures to Environmental Contaminants on the Adult Gut Microbiome.

Emerging experimental evidence indicates that toxicant-induced alterations in gut microbiota composition and activity may affect host homeostasis. However, data from human studies are scarce; to our knowledge, no previous studies have quantified the association of lifetime exposure to environmental chemicals, across multiple time points, with the composition of the adult gut microbiome. Here we studied 124 individuals born in the Faroe Islands in 1986-1987 who were followed approximately every seven years from birth through age 28 years.

Uric acid and gamma-glutamyl-transferase in children and adolescents with obesity: Association to anthropometric measures and cardiometabolic risk markers depending on pubertal stage, sex, degree of weight loss and type of patient care: Evaluation of the adiposity patient follow-up registry.

Objectives: Associations between body mass index (BMI)- standard deviation score (SDS)/waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) were studied with (i) serum uric acid (sUA)/gamma-glutamyl-transferase (GGT) and (ii) cardiometabolic risk markers in children with obesity, considering sex, pubertal development, and degree of weight loss/type of patient care.

Methods: 102 936 children from the Adiposity-Follow-up registry (APV; 47% boys) were included. Associations were analysed between sUA/GGT and anthropometrics, transaminases, lipids, fasting insulin (FI), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), triglycerides to HDL-cholesterol (TG/HDL)-ratio.

Robust arm and leg muscle adaptation to training despite ACE inhibition: a randomized placebo-controlled trial.

Purpose: Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor treatment is widely applied, but the fact that plasma ACE activity is a potential determinant of training-induced local muscular adaptability is often neglected. Thus, we investigated the hypothesis that ACE inhibition modulates the response to systematic aerobic exercise training on leg and arm muscular adaptations.

Methods: Healthy, untrained, middle-aged participants (40 ± 7 yrs) completed a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial.