Environmental Epidemiology最新文献

{"title":"Exposure metrics for smoke waves from wildland fires and their associations with preterm birth in California.","authors":"Sally Picciotto, Nathan R Pavlovic, Frederick W Lurmann, ShihMing Huang, Elizabeth M Noth, Rachel Morello-Frosch, Amy M Padula","doi":"10.1097/EE9.0000000000000470","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/EE9.0000000000000470","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Wildland fire smoke has been linked to preterm birth, but the relative contributions of exposure frequency, duration, and intensity remain unclear. We defined a smoke wave as two or more consecutive days with wildfire-specific particulate matter of aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 microns concentrations exceeding thresholds (5 and 20 μg/m³) and assessed the associations of preterm birth with several different metrics of exposure based on smoke waves experienced during pregnancy. These exposure metrics emphasized different aspects of exposure: intensity was always included via the threshold concentrations but was particularly emphasized in metrics quantifying the average or maximum concentration during smoke waves; frequency was considered in the count of smoke waves experienced; and duration was emphasized in metrics quantifying the total number of smoke wave days or the maximum length of a single smoke wave. Finally, all three aspects contribute to the cumulative exposure during smoke waves. We used Cox proportional hazards models to compare pregnancies at the same gestational age, adjusting for season of conception, health insurance type, and birthing parents' age, education level, race/ethnicity, and smoking status. Increases in each exposure metric were associated with higher hazards of preterm birth. For example, an increase of 3 smoke waves based on a 5 μg/m³ threshold was associated with a hazard ratio of 1.02 (95% confidence interval: 1.01, 1.02), and an increase of 10 smoke wave days based on a 20 μg/m³ threshold was associated with a hazard ratio of 1.03 (1.02, 1.05). Metrics incorporating duration or frequency of smoke waves showed stronger associations with preterm birth than those focusing mainly on intensity.</p>","PeriodicalId":11713,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Epidemiology","volume":"10 2","pages":"e470"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13065227/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147671485","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Role of one-carbon metabolism variants in the associations between perfluoroalkyl substances exposure and birth size in the Taiwan Birth Panel Study.","authors":"Chih-Fu Wei, Mei-Huei Chen, Ching-Chun Lin, Tzu-Pin Lu, Chia-Yang Chen, Wu-Shiun Hsieh, Pau-Chung Chen","doi":"10.1097/EE9.0000000000000472","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/EE9.0000000000000472","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>One-carbon metabolism (OCM) is crucial for fetal development, while perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are associated with adverse birth outcomes and lower folate levels. PFAS may compete with folate for receptors, and OCM genes regulate folate metabolism; however, no study examined if OCM variants modified PFAS-birth outcome associations. The study investigated the relationship between OCM variants, prenatal PFAS exposure, and birth outcomes.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We analyzed birth weight and head circumference data from 338 mother-infant pairs in the Taiwan Birth Panel Study. Cord blood concentrations of four PFAS were measured using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Infant genotypes were assessed with the Taiwan Biobank Array, and we focused on five single-nucleotide polymorphisms related to OCM reported in previous literature. Gene-environment interactions were assessed using generalized linear regression and two mixture modeling approaches: quantile g-computation and Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Prenatal perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluoroundecanoic acid exposure were associated with lower birth weight, and PFAS mixture exposure was associated with lower birth weight. PFAS exposure-birth weight associations were more obvious among those with reference genotypes. Different PFAS mixture-birth weight associations were observed across <i>MTHFR</i> rs1801133 and genotypes, and there were stronger inverse associations among individuals with <i>MTHFD1</i> rs2236225 GG genotype. Associations between prenatal PFAS exposure and birth outcomes also differed by <i>MTR</i> rs1805087, <i>MTRR</i> rs1801394, and <i>CBS</i> rs234714 genotypes. In addition, we observed a stronger perfluorooctane sulfonate-head circumference association among participants with <i>MTHFR</i> rs1801133 GG genotype.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Genetic variants in OCM pathways modified the associations between prenatal individual PFAS, mixture PFAS exposure, and reduced birth weight and head circumference.</p>","PeriodicalId":11713,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Epidemiology","volume":"10 2","pages":"e472"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13065223/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147670564","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prediction of endometrial tissue PFAS concentrations using serum levels, demographic, and reproductive factors: Findings from the Investigating Mixtures of Pollutants and Endometriosis in Tissue (IMPLANT) study.","authors":"Maggie K Fuzak Nunziato, Helen B Chin, Jenna R Krall, Morgan Reynolds, Kurunthachalam Kannan, Anna Z Pollack","doi":"10.1097/EE9.0000000000000476","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/EE9.0000000000000476","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) accumulate in reproductive tissues, yet most studies rely on serum measurements. It remains unclear whether serum concentrations adequately reflect levels in target tissues. We evaluated whether serum PFAS predicts endometrial tissue concentrations and examined associations with endometriosis.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The Investigating Mixtures of Pollutants and Endometriosis in Tissue study included 433 reproductive-aged women undergoing laparoscopy or laparotomy in Salt Lake City, Utah, and San Francisco, California. Nine PFAS-perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA), perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoDA), perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), and perfluorooctane sulfonamide (PFOSA)-were quantified in matched serum (ng/mL) and endometrial tissue (ng/g) using high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Values below the limit of detection were multiply imputed. Linear regression estimated log-transformed tissue concentrations from serum PFAS and covariates. Logistic regression estimated odds ratios (ORs) for endometriosis. Composite variables were created by summing log-transformed concentrations of short-chain PFAS (<8 carbons: PFHpA, PFHxS, PFOA, and PFOS) and long-chain PFAS (≥8 carbons: PFNA, PFDA, PFUnDA, PFDoDA, and PFOSA).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Serum PFAS was moderately associated with tissue levels, with the strongest performance for PFOS (R² = 0.46) and PFHxS (R² = 0.37). Model fit was low for longer-chain compounds (e.g., PFUnDA R² = 0.09, PFDoDA R² = 0.07). Serum PFOA (OR = 3.38, 95% CI = 1.08, 10.59) and PFNA (OR = 3.12, 95% CI = 1.15, 8.45) were significantly associated with endometriosis, whereas corresponding tissue-based estimates were attenuated. The serum long-chain composite was associated with increased odds of endometriosis (OR = 2.74, 95% CI = 1.15, 6.59), while the short-chain composite showed no association.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Serum PFAS minimally reflect endometrial tissue burden, with variability by chain length. While serum remains practical for large studies, tissue-based measures may provide more accurate estimates of exposure in tissue. These findings inform PFAS-endometriosis research and may extend to other gynecologic conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":11713,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Epidemiology","volume":"10 2","pages":"e476"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13061528/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147644521","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial infection is associated with urinary molybdenum concentrations in a bronchiectasis cohort.","authors":"Christopher S Semancik, Alexander Ganninger, Chevalia Robinson, Sandra Cooper-Bennett, Jonathan Fintzi, Kevin Fennelly, D Rebecca Prevots, Ettie M Lipner","doi":"10.1097/EE9.0000000000000468","DOIUrl":"10.1097/EE9.0000000000000468","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Epidemiologic studies have demonstrated an association between trace metals in source water and water distribution systems and nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) pulmonary infection and disease. Specifically, molybdenum has been strongly associated with <i>Mycobacterium abscessus</i> and <i>Mycobacterium avium complex</i> infection and disease in multiple epidemiologic studies. We aimed to determine if urinary molybdenum, chromium, and manganese concentrations were associated with pulmonary NTM infection in a bronchiectasis patient cohort.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We enrolled 120 consecutive adult bronchiectasis patients participating in a bronchiectasis natural history study. We collected one urine sample per patient during routine visits and sent samples to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for trace metal testing. We defined three patient subgroups: (1) current NTM infection, (2) previous NTM infection, and (3) never NTM infection. Logistic regression models adjusted for age, racial/ethnic group, and cavitary disease status were used to test for differences between metal concentrations across infection statuses.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Forty-six (38%) patients were currently infected with NTM, 46 (38%) were previously infected, and 28 (23%) were never infected. For each increase of one standard deviation of the logarithm of molybdenum concentration, the odds of current versus never NTM infection increased significantly by 14% [odds ratio (OR) = 1.14, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.02, 1.28], while manganese and chromium did not exhibit significant associations.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This clinical study is the first to examine the relationship between trace metals and pulmonary NTM infections. These findings support those from prior population-based studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":11713,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Epidemiology","volume":"10 2","pages":"e468"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13016183/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147520010","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Toenail metal concentrations and kidney health among young people at risk of chronic kidney disease of uncertain etiology.","authors":"Samantha M Hall, Birgit Claus Henn, Selene Vences Brown, Juan José Amador Velázquez, Damaris López Pilarte, Magaly Rosario Amador Sánchez, Juan José Amador Sánchez, Yirong Yuan, Jocelyn Fimbres, Kathryn M Rodgers, Brian P Jackson, Maria Argos, Luis Carvalho, Madeleine K Scammell, David J Friedman, Daniel R Brooks, Jessica H Leibler","doi":"10.1097/EE9.0000000000000461","DOIUrl":"10.1097/EE9.0000000000000461","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Metal exposure is a hypothesized risk factor for chronic kidney disease of uncertain etiology, an ongoing epidemic in Central America, yet metal biomonitoring data in this region are scant.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We measured metal toenail concentrations using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and calculated estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in a cohort of Nicaraguans 14-31 years (n = 297; 49% female; data collected in 2023). We used multivariable linear and ordinal regression and Bayesian kernel machine regression to examine individual element and mixture associations of arsenic, cadmium, mercury, nickel, lead, and uranium with eGFR.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The middle tertile of nickel was associated with -6.92 ml/min/1.73 m² reduction in eGFR (95% confidence intervals [CI] = -10.7, -3.12) compared to the lowest tertile, suggesting a \"<i>U</i>-shaped\" association. The highest tertile of arsenic was associated with -4.25 ml/min/1.73 m² eGFR reduction (95% CI = -8.42, -0.07) compared to the lowest tertile. Associations between other metals and eGFR were not detected. We observed no evidence of higher-order interactions or joint effects of the metal mixture on eGFR.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In this sample of young people in a high-chronic kidney disease of uncertain etiology-risk region, nickel and arsenic were independently associated with reduced eGFR, but other metals and their mixture were not. This finding supports targeted metals biomonitoring and source investigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":11713,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Epidemiology","volume":"10 2","pages":"e461"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12889388/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146164515","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Climatic determinants of antibiotic use in Southern Thailand: Retrospective longitudinal study during 2021 to 2023.","authors":"Tanavij Pannoi, Sukrit Sawangppon, Wen-Chi Pan","doi":"10.1097/EE9.0000000000000460","DOIUrl":"10.1097/EE9.0000000000000460","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Antibiotic consumption is influenced by multiple factors, including environmental conditions. In tropical regions, climate variability may contribute to seasonal patterns of infectious diseases and prescribing behaviors. This study examined the association between climatic variables and antibiotic use in a tertiary hospital in southern Thailand.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We analyzed 7,696 prescriptions of tetracyclines (n = 971), beta-lactams and penicillins (n = 4,208), and macrolides (n = 2,517) dispensed from 2021 to 2023. Defined daily doses (DDDs) were modeled using generalized additive models and distributed lag nonlinear models to assess associations with temperature, humidity, and rainfall, incorporating delayed and nonlinear effects.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Tetracycline use peaked in January with over 120 DDDs/biweek and declined sharply thereafter. Distributed lag nonlinear models revealed a 45-60% increase in tetracycline use following temperature drops of ≥2 °C after 3-4 biweeks. Beta-lactam use rose by 20-30% in response to rising temperatures within 1-2 biweeks. Macrolide prescribing decreased by up to 25% in periods of high humidity (>80%) and increased with sudden temperature fluctuations. Increased rainfall (>100 mm/biweek) was significantly associated with higher beta-lactam DDDs.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Climatic factors influence antibiotic consumption patterns in class-specific ways. Incorporating environmental surveillance into antimicrobial stewardship programs may improve preparedness and resource allocation. Further multicenter studies are needed to confirm these findings and assess pathogen-specific implications.</p>","PeriodicalId":11713,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Epidemiology","volume":"10 1","pages":"e460"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12875700/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146141407","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Neighborhood walkability and sedentary behaviors among US adults.","authors":"Yangyang Deng, Mohammad Moniruzzaman, Breanna Rogers, Jinani Jayasekera, Lu Hu, Tomoki Nakaya, Eran Ben-Joseph, David Berrigan, Charles E Matthews, Kosuke Tamura","doi":"10.1097/EE9.0000000000000453","DOIUrl":"10.1097/EE9.0000000000000453","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>It remains unclear whether individuals living in more walkable neighborhoods spend less time engaging in domain-specific sedentary behaviors, which vary by certain groups. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the associations between neighborhood walkability and total and domain-specific sedentary behavior, and to explore how this relationship varied by sociodemographic factors.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Participants from AmeriSpeak who completed up to two activities completed over time in 24-hours in 2019 were included. Sedentary behavior outcomes (hours/day) included: (1) total sedentary behavior and (2) domain-specific sedentary behaviors (leisure, work, household, transport, personal, and other sedentary activities). Neighborhood walkability index was classified into four groups (least walkable [referent], below average, above average, and most walkable). Weighted generalized linear regression models were used to examine the associations, adjusting for covariates. Subsequently, such associations were stratified by sociodemographic factors.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Compared with the least walkable neighborhoods, below average, above average, and most walkable neighborhoods were positively associated with longer total sedentary behavior time (β = 0.53, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.06, 1.01; β = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.29, 1.27; and β = 1.40, 95% CI = 0.75, 2.05, respectively). For domain-specific sedentary behavior, neighborhoods with below average, above average, and most walkable neighborhoods were positively related to work sedentary behavior. However, neighborhood walkability was not related to other domain-specific sedentary behaviors. Lastly, adults aged 20-39 living in more walkable neighborhoods spent longer total sedentary behavior and work-related sedentary behavior.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Residents living in highly walkable neighborhoods engaged in more total sedentary behavior and work-related sedentary time. Future research should explore how neighborhood environments collectively influence sedentary behavior.</p>","PeriodicalId":11713,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Epidemiology","volume":"10 1","pages":"e453"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12829704/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146050913","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Metal exposures and their interactions with the dietary inflammatory index on inflammatory biomarkers in Mexican adolescents.","authors":"Yanelli Rodríguez-Carmona, Ana Baylin, Peter X K Song, Edward Ruiz-Narvaez, Cindy W Leung, James R Hebert, Nitin Shivappa, Michael D Wirth, Alejandra Cantoral, John D Meeker, Niladri Basu, Martha María Tellez-Rojo, Karen E Peterson, Sung Kyun Park","doi":"10.1097/EE9.0000000000000458","DOIUrl":"10.1097/EE9.0000000000000458","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Heavy metals, like lead, arsenic, and cadmium, are linked to increased inflammation even in early life; however, anti-inflammatory diets may offset these effects.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We evaluated associations between heavy metals and inflammatory biomarkers, and potential effect modification by diet in 399 adolescents aged 10 to 18 at baseline who attended two study visits 2 years apart (773 observations). At baseline, blood lead, urinary arsenic, and cadmium concentrations were measured, and the Children's Dietary Inflammatory Index (C-DII) was calculated. Fasting serum interleukin (IL)-4, IL-10, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha were measured for both visits. Generalized estimating equation models were fit to assess associations between metal concentrations and repeatedly measured inflammatory biomarkers, adjusting for study visit and baseline sociodemographic and lifestyle variables. Effect modification by diet was assessed by including metal and C-DII tertiles interaction terms.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>At baseline, the median age was 13.6 years, 50.4% were females, and 51.1% had a low socioeconomic status. Overall, there were no associations between metals and inflammatory markers in the entire population. In the most anti-inflammatory diet group (C-DII T1), higher blood lead was associated with higher IL-4, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 levels, whereas for the most pro-inflammatory diet (C-DII T3), these associations were inverse (<i>P</i>-trend <0.05). Contrarily, higher urinary arsenic was associated with lower IL-4, IL-6, and IL-8 levels in the anti-inflammatory diet group and positively associated with these cytokines in the pro-inflammatory diet group (<i>P</i>-trend <0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Anti-inflammatory diets may modify adolescents' inflammatory response to lead and arsenic. Heavy metal toxicity mitigation by anti-inflammatory diets requires further research.</p>","PeriodicalId":11713,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Epidemiology","volume":"10 1","pages":"e458"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12829675/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146046389","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Is memory in older adulthood influenced by changes in air pollution over the previous decade?: Examining concurrent trajectories in ambient PM_2.5 and NO₂ using sequence analysis.","authors":"Kristina Van Dang, Lucia Pacca, Jennifer Weuve, M Maria Glymour, Michael Brauer, Kevin J Lane, Isabel E Allen, Anusha M Vable","doi":"10.1097/EE9.0000000000000448","DOIUrl":"10.1097/EE9.0000000000000448","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The temporal pattern of air pollution exposure may affect cognitive aging. We characterized 10-year trajectories of particulate matter (PM_2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) exposure at the United States census tract level using sequence and cluster analysis and evaluated their association with memory among 6750 National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) participants aged 65 or older. For each year between 2000 and 2010, we trichotomized PM_2.5 and NO₂ concentrations in each census tract using the national 2010 25th and 75th percentiles of PM_2.5 (7.9 and 10.8 µg/m³) and NO₂ (4.8 and 10.8 ppb), creating nine mutually exclusive air pollution categories for each census tract each year (e.g., high PM_2.5 and high NO₂, high PM_2.5 and medium NO₂, etc.). We quantified the dissimilarity between each census tract's 10-year PM_2.5 and NO₂ trajectory and all other trajectories in NHATS using sequence analysis, and combined similar air pollution trajectories using hierarchical clustering. We assigned a 10-year air pollution trajectory cluster to each participant based on their residential census tract location in 2011. Episodic memory score in 2011 was the mean of immediate and delayed word recall scores. We estimated the association of air pollution trajectory with this episodic memory score using linear models adjusted for age, gender, education level, race/ethnicity, neighborhood socioeconomic status, census region, and urbanicity. We clustered 1080 unique air pollution trajectories from 2000 to 2010 into nine distinct groups. In general, participants belonging to clusters with higher pollutant concentrations in 2000 had lower memory scores in 2011, even when pollutant concentrations in the cluster later declined. For example, those exposed to high PM_2.5 and high NO₂ concentrations in 2000, with decreasing NO₂ concentration (and consistently high PM_2.5) starting in 2006, had an adjusted mean memory score that was 0.20 units lower (95% confidence interval: -0.35, -0.046) than those in clusters with consistently low concentrations of both pollutants. This application of sequence analysis offers a new approach for characterizing temporal patterns of PM_2.5 and NO₂ exposure, simultaneously incorporating pollutant type, timing, duration, and concentration.</p>","PeriodicalId":11713,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Epidemiology","volume":"10 1","pages":"e448"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12826176/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146050926","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing greenspace and cardiovascular disease risk through deep learning analysis of street-view imagery in the US-based nationwide Nurses' Health Study.","authors":"Peter James, Esra Suel, Pi-I Debby Lin, Jaime E Hart, Eric B Rimm, Francine Laden, Perry Hystad, Steve Hankey, Andrew Larkin, Wenwen Zhang, Jochem Klompmaker, Brent Coull, Li Yi, Marcia Pescador Jimenez","doi":"10.1097/EE9.0000000000000442","DOIUrl":"10.1097/EE9.0000000000000442","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Living near greenspace is associated with decreased cardiovascular disease (CVD). Greenspace estimates, however, typically represent all types of vegetation using top-down satellite images, which incorporate exposure misclassification and limit policy relevance.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>We studied the association between street-view greenspace measures with incident CVD using a large, long-term prospective US cohort of female nurses.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We estimated the percentage of streetscapes composed of visible trees, grass, and other green (plants/flowers/fields) from 350 million street-view images using deep learning models. Estimates were applied to Nurses' Health Study participants (N = 88,788) within 500 m of their residential addresses. We used Cox models to estimate associations from 2000 to 2018 between street-view greenspace measures and risk of incident CVD, assessed through self-report, medical record review, or death certificates, and adjusted for individual- and area-level factors.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In adjusted models, higher percentages of visible trees were associated with lower CVD incidence (hazard ratio [HR] per interquartile range [IQR] 0.96 (95% confidence interval 0.93, 1.00]), while higher percentages of visible grass (HR 1.06 [1.02, 1.11]) and other green space types (HR 1.03 [1.01, 1.04]) were associated with higher CVD incidence. We did not observe evidence of effect modification by population density, Census region, air pollution, satellite-based vegetation, or neighborhood socioeconomic status. Findings were robust to adjustment for other spatial and behavioral factors and persisted even after adjustment for traditional satellite-based vegetation indices.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Specific greenspace types may be protective or harmful for CVD. Aggregating greenspace into a single exposure category limits epidemiological research and potential interventions to increase health-promoting greenspace.</p>","PeriodicalId":11713,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Epidemiology","volume":"10 1","pages":"e442"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12818865/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146017970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}