Association of Exposure to Ambient Fine Particulate Matter Constituents With Semen Quality Among Men Attending a Fertility Center in China.

Ambient fine particulate matter (PM) exposure has been linked to decreased semen quality, but the associations between PM constituent exposures and semen quality remain unknown. We enrolled 1081 men whose partners underwent assisted reproductive technology procedures in Wuhan, China in 2014-2015, and examined their semen quality. Daily average concentrations of PM constituents including 10 metals/metalloid elements and 4 water-soluble ions were continuously determined for 1 week per month at 2 fixed monitoring stations.

Association of plasma soluble CD14 level with asthma severity in adults: a case control study in China.

Background: Soluble CD14 (sCD14) shedding from CD14 could regulate T lymphocyte activation and function, which has implicated in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma. The level of sCD14 expression is obviously increased in asthmatic patients during acute asthma attacks. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between plasma sCD14 level and asthma severity in adults.

Urinary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites and adult asthma: a case-control study.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exposure was reported to be associated with childhood asthma. However, the quantitative relationship between PAHs exposure and adult asthma and possible inflammatory pathways are less clear. We aimed to investigate potential associations between urinary PAHs metabolites and adult asthma.

Associations between Th17-related inflammatory cytokines and asthma in adults: A Case-Control Study.

Chronic airway inflammation is recognized as an essential process in the pathogenesis of asthma. Cytokine profiles derived from immune and inflammation cells such as T-helper (Th) cells, eosinophilia and neutrophilia are not limited to the Th2 type in asthma. However, little is understood about associations between Th2-low inflammatory cytokine profiles and risk of asthma in adults.

Inverse Association between Ambient Sulfur Dioxide Exposure and Semen Quality in Wuhan, China.

Evidence concerning the association between ambient gaseous air pollutant exposures and semen quality is sparse, and findings in previous studies remain largely inconsistent. We enrolled 1759 men and performed 2184 semen examinations at a large reproductive medical center in Wuhan, China, between 2013 and 2015. Inverse distance weighting interpolation was performed to estimate individual exposures to SO, NO, CO, and O during the entire period (lag 0-90 days) and key periods (lag 0-9, 10-14, 70-90 days) of sperm development.

Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and central obesity enhanced risk for diabetes among individuals with poor lung function.

Some studies have shown an association between obesity or exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and the risk of diabetes. This study aimed to investigate the interaction of obesity and urinary monohydroxy-PAHs (OH-PAHs) on diabetes. Individuals (n = 2716) were drawn from the baseline survey of the Wuhan-Zhuhai Cohort Study.

Short-term effects of ambient air pollution on pediatric outpatient visits for respiratory diseases in Yichang city, China.

Previous studies have suggested that short-term exposure to ambient air pollution was associated with pediatric hospital admissions and emergency room visits for certain respiratory diseases; however, there is limited evidence on the association between short-term air pollution exposure and pediatric outpatient visits. Our aim was to quantitatively assess the short-term effects of ambient air pollution on pediatric outpatient visits for respiratory diseases. We conducted a time-series study in Yichang city, China between Jan 1, 2014 and Dec 31, 2015.

Aging with higher fractional exhaled nitric oxide levels are associated with increased urinary 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine concentrations in elder females.

Indoor air pollutants from environmental tobacco smoke and cooking fume can induce oxidative stress and inflammatory response, which generate oxidatively damaged DNA in human body. Among 2224 adults, levels of FENO and urinary 8-oxodG were measured using a nano coulomb nitric oxide analyzer and a high performance liquid chromatography system with electrochemical detector, respectively. Association between aging with higher FENO levels and urinary 8-oxodG levels were analyzed using multiple linear regression analysis.

Association between Concentrations of Metals in Urine and Adult Asthma: A Case-Control Study in Wuhan, China.

Background: Several metals have been reported to be associated with childhood asthma. However, the results on relationships between metals and risk of childhood asthma are inconclusive, and the research on adult asthma in the Chinese general population is rare.

Objectives: To investigate potential associations between levels of urinary metals and adult asthma.

Urinary Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Metabolites and Altered Lung Function in Wuhan, China.

Rationale: Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has been associated with adverse effects on the respiratory system. However, the association between internal levels of PAH metabolites and lung function levels remains unclear.

Objectives: We investigated the relationships between urinary PAH metabolite concentrations and lung function levels in a general Chinese population.

The dose-response association of urinary metals with altered pulmonary function and risks of restrictive and obstructive lung diseases: a population-based study in China.

Objective: Reduced pulmonary function is an important predictor of environment-related pulmonary diseases; however, evidence of an association between exposures to various metals from all possible routes and altered pulmonary function is limited. We aimed to investigate the association of various metals in urine with pulmonary function, restrictive lung disease (RLD) and obstructive lung disease (OLD) risks in the general Chinese population.

Design: A cross-sectional investigation in the Wuhan cohort population.

Framingham risk score modifies the effect of PM10 on heart rate variability.

Health conditions may greatly modify the association between particulate matter (PM) and heart rate variability (HRV), but whether the modification of PM effect by coronary artery disease (CAD) risk status depends on the PM levels remains unknown. We investigated the associations between personal exposures to PM with aerodynamic diameter of ≤10μm (PM10) and ≤2.5μm (PM2.

Shift work and the relationship with metabolic syndrome in Chinese aged workers.

Background: Shift work is indicated to be associated with adverse metabolic disorders. However, potential effects of shift work on metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components have not been well established.

Methods: In total, 26,382 workers from Dongfeng-Tongji Cohort were included in this study.

Housing characteristics in relation to exhaled nitric oxide in China.

Objective: To investigate indoor factors affecting fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) in community residents.

Methods: A total of 2404 adults (865 men, 1539 women, mean age 51.7 ± 13.

The Wuhan-Zhuhai (WHZH) cohort study of environmental air particulate matter and the pathogenesis of cardiopulmonary diseases: study design, methods and baseline characteristics of the cohort.

Background: Particulate air pollution has been recognized to be associated with a wide range of adverse health effects, including increased mortality, morbidity, exacerbation of respiratory conditions. However, earlier physiological or pathological changes or long-term bodies' reaction to air pollutants have not been studied in depth in China. The Wuhan-Zhuhai (WHZH) cohort study is designed to investigate the association between air pollutants exposure and physiological or pathological reactions on respiratory and cardiovascular system.

Long-term exposure to crystalline silica and risk of heart disease mortality.

Background: The association between crystalline silica exposure and risk of heart disease mortality remains less clear.

Methods: We investigated a cohort of 42,572 Chinese workers who were potentially exposed to crystalline silica and followed from 1960 to 2003. Cumulative silica exposure was estimated by linking a job-exposure matrix to each person's work history.

Comparison of high-resolution computerized tomography with film-screen radiography for the evaluation of opacity and the recognition of coal workers' pneumoconiosis.

Objectives: Current diagnostic standards of pneumoconiosis, which is the most serious occupational disease in China, are based on film-screen radiography (FSR). However, parenchymal structure overlap limits the sensitivity of FSR in the clinic. High-resolution computerized tomography (HRCT) has the advantage of identifying nodular pulmonary parenchymal changes.

A community study of the effect of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites on heart rate variability based on the Framingham risk score.

Objectives: To investigate the effects of the urinary metabolite profiles of background exposure to the atmospheric pollutants polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and Framingham risk score (FRS), which assesses an individual's cardiovascular disease risk, on heart rate variability (HRV).

Methods: The study conducted from April to May 2011 in Wuhan, China, included 1978 adult residents with completed questionnaires, physical examinations, blood and urine samples, and 5-min HRV indices (including SD of all normal to normal intervals (SDNN), root mean square successive difference (rMSSD), low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF) and their ratio (LF/HF), and total power) obtained from 3-channel Holter monitor. 12 urinary PAH metabolites were measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Exposure-response analysis and risk assessment for lung cancer in relationship to silica exposure: a 44-year cohort study of 34,018 workers.

Crystalline silica has been classified as a human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (Lyon, France); however, few previous studies have provided quantitative data on silica exposure, silicosis, and/or smoking. We investigated a cohort in China (in 1960-2003) of 34,018 workers without exposure to carcinogenic confounders. Cumulative silica exposure was estimated by linking a job-exposure matrix to work history.

The effects of shift work on sleeping quality, hypertension and diabetes in retired workers.

Background: Shift work has been associated with adverse health effects by disturbing circadian rhythms. However,its potential long-term health effects and the persistent effects after leaving shifts have not been well established.

Methods And Results: We studied 26,463 workers from Tongji-Dongfeng Cohort in China.