{"title":"The P value plot does not provide evidence against air pollution hazards","authors":"D. Hicks","doi":"10.1097/EE9.0000000000000198","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/EE9.0000000000000198","url":null,"abstract":"Background: A number of papers by Young and collaborators have criticized epidemiological studies and meta-analyses of air pollution hazards using a graphical method that the authors call a P value plot, claiming to find zero effects, heterogeneity, and P hacking. However, the P value plot method has not been validated in a peer-reviewed publication. The aim of this study was to investigate the statistical and evidentiary properties of this method. Methods: A simulation was developed to create studies and meta-analyses with known real effects δ, integrating two quantifiable conceptions of evidence from the philosophy of science literature. The simulation and analysis is publicly available and automatically reproduced. Results: In this simulation, the plot did not provide evidence for heterogeneity or P hacking with respect to any condition. Under the right conditions, the plot can provide evidence of zero effects; but these conditions are not satisfied in any actual use by Young and collaborators. Conclusion: The P value plot does not provide evidence to support the skeptical claims about air pollution hazards made by Young and collaborators.","PeriodicalId":11713,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2022-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44122640","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Pronk, Miranda Loh, E. Kuijpers, M. Albin, Jenny Selander, L. Godderis, Manosij Ghosh, Roel C. H. Vermeulen, S. Peters, I. Mehlum, M. Turner, V. Schlünssen, M. Goldberg, M. Kogevinas, Barbara N Harding, S. Solovieva, T. Garani-Papadatos, M. V. van Tongeren, R. Stierum
{"title":"Applying the exposome concept to working life health","authors":"A. Pronk, Miranda Loh, E. Kuijpers, M. Albin, Jenny Selander, L. Godderis, Manosij Ghosh, Roel C. H. Vermeulen, S. Peters, I. Mehlum, M. Turner, V. Schlünssen, M. Goldberg, M. Kogevinas, Barbara N Harding, S. Solovieva, T. Garani-Papadatos, M. V. van Tongeren, R. Stierum","doi":"10.1097/EE9.0000000000000185","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/EE9.0000000000000185","url":null,"abstract":"Exposures at work have a major impact on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Current risk reduction policies and strategies are informed by existing scientific evidence, which is limited due to the challenges of studying the complex relationship between exposure at work and outside work and health. We define the working life exposome as all occupational and related nonoccupational exposures. The latter includes nonoccupational exposures that may be directly or indirectly influenced by or interact with the working life of the individual in their relation to health. The Exposome Project for Health and Occupational Research aims to advance knowledge on the complex working life exposures in relation to disease beyond the single high exposure–single health outcome paradigm, mapping and relating interrelated exposures to inherent biological pathways, key body functions, and health. This will be achieved by combining (1) large-scale harmonization and pooling of existing European cohorts systematically looking at multiple exposures and diseases, with (2) the collection of new high-resolution external and internal exposure data. Methods and tools to characterize the working life exposome will be developed and applied, including sensors, wearables, a harmonized job exposure matrix (EuroJEM), noninvasive biomonitoring, omics, data mining, and (bio)statistics. The toolbox of developed methods and knowledge will be made available to policy makers, occupational health practitioners, and scientists. Advanced knowledge on working life exposures in relation to NCDs will serve as a basis for evidence-based and cost-effective preventive policies and actions. The toolbox will also enable future scientists to further expand the working life exposome knowledge base.","PeriodicalId":11713,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2022-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47586093","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Joanne Kim, Seungmi Yang, E. Moodie, M. Obida, R. Bornman, B. Eskenazi, J. Chevrier
{"title":"Prenatal exposure to insecticides and child cardiometabolic risk factors in the VHEMBE birth cohort","authors":"Joanne Kim, Seungmi Yang, E. Moodie, M. Obida, R. Bornman, B. Eskenazi, J. Chevrier","doi":"10.1097/EE9.0000000000000196","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/EE9.0000000000000196","url":null,"abstract":"Background: As part of malaria control programs, many countries spray dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) or pyrethroid insecticides inside dwellings in a practice called indoor residual spraying that results in high levels of exposure to local populations. Gestational exposure to these endocrine- and metabolism-disrupting chemicals may influence child cardiometabolic health. Methods: We measured the serum concentration of DDT and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) and urinary concentration of pyrethroid metabolites (cis-DBCA, cis-DCCA, trans-DCCA, 3-PBA) in peripartum samples collected between August 2012 and December 2013 from 637 women participating in the Venda Health Examination of Mothers, Babies and their Environment (VHEMBE), a birth cohort study based in Limpopo, South Africa. We applied marginal structural models to estimate the relationship between biomarker concentrations and child-size (height and weight), adiposity (body mass index [BMI], body fat percentage, waist circumference) and blood pressure at 5 years of age. Results: Maternal concentrations of all four pyrethroid metabolites were associated with lower adiposity including reduced BMI z-scores, smaller waist circumferences, and decreased body fat percentages. Reductions in BMI z-score were observed only among children of mothers with sufficient energy intake during pregnancy (βcis-DCCA, trans-DCCA=−0.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) = −0.7,−0.1; pinteraction=0.03 and 0.04, respectively) but there was no evidence of effect modification for the other measures of adiposity. Maternal p,p’-DDT concentrations were associated with a reduction in body fat percentage (β = −0.4%, 95% CI = −0.8,−0.0). Conclusions: Gestational exposure to pyrethroids may reduce adiposity in children at 5 years of age.","PeriodicalId":11713,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2022-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45296251","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Patti, M. Eliot, Nan Li, K. Yolton, B. Lanphear, Aimin Chen, J. Braun
{"title":"Does early life phthalate exposure mediate racial disparities in children’s cognitive abilities?","authors":"M. Patti, M. Eliot, Nan Li, K. Yolton, B. Lanphear, Aimin Chen, J. Braun","doi":"10.1097/EE9.0000000000000205","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/EE9.0000000000000205","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Early life exposure to phthalates may be associated with reduced cognition. However, it is unknown if disproportionate exposure to phthalates contributes to racial disparities in children’s intellectual abilities. Methods: We used data from 253 mother-child pairs in Cincinnati, OH (the Health Outcomes and Measures of the Environment study, 2003–2006). We measured urinary concentrations of 11 phthalate metabolites twice during pregnancy and up to six times in childhood. We evaluated children’s cognitive abilities at ages 5 and 8 years. Using mediation models, we quantified covariate-adjusted direct and indirect effects of race on children’s Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient (IQ) scores for individual phthalate metabolite concentrations during gestation and childhood. Results: Average IQ scores among Black children (n = 90) were 7.0 points lower (95% confidence interval [CI] = −12, −1.8) than among White children (n = 145) after adjustment for socioeconomic factors. Urinary monobenzyl phthalate and monoethyl phthalate (MEP) concentrations during gestation and childhood were higher among Black than White children. We did not observe evidence that phthalate concentrations mediated the race-IQ association, with the exception of MEP. Childhood MEP concentrations partially mediated the race-IQ association. For instance, each 10-fold increase in MEP concentrations at age 2 years contributed to a 1.9-point disparity in IQ scores between Black and White children (95% CI = −4.7, 0.7). Other phthalate metabolite concentrations during pregnancy or childhood did not mediate the race-IQ association. Conclusions: Despite observing racial disparities in exposure to some phthalates and IQ, we found little evidence that phthalates contribute to IQ disparities.","PeriodicalId":11713,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Epidemiology","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2021-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44695288","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Quantification of Tissue Doses of Carcinogenic Aromatic Amines","authors":"P. Skipper, M. Bryant, S. Tannenbaum","doi":"10.1201/9780367810870-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1201/9780367810870-5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11713,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2019-11-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42862863","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Drinking Water Characteristics and Cardiovascular Disease in a Cohort of Wisconsin Farmers","authors":"E. Zeighami, G. Craun, C. Cottrill","doi":"10.1201/9780367810870-17","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1201/9780367810870-17","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11713,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2019-11-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47795059","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Use and Misuse of Existing Data Bases in Environmental Epidemiology: The Case of Air Pollution","authors":"P. Gann","doi":"10.1201/9780367810870-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1201/9780367810870-8","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11713,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2019-11-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47686786","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Inhalation Exposures in Indoor Air to Trichloroethylene from Shower Water","authors":"J. B. Andelman, A. Couch, William Thurston","doi":"10.1201/9780367810870-16","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1201/9780367810870-16","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11713,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2019-11-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49468842","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}