{"title":"Study on the biodegradation of alternatives (four species including C8H8F9KO3S) for perfluorooctane sulfonate.","authors":"Bong-In Choi, Suk-Hyun Na, Yeong-Don Kwak, Byung-Taek Ryu, Seon-Yong Chung","doi":"10.5620/eht.s2015008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5620/eht.s2015008","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The objective of this study was to evaluate the biodegradation potential of four perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) alternatives that were developed at Changwon National University. While PFOS has been used widely in industrial and consumer products, it is known to be a persistent organic pollutant. Therefore, greener alternatives are highly desirable.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Biodegradation tests were run for 28 days using standard test protocols. The biochemical oxygen demand was measured daily throughout the experimental period, and the data were used to calculate the biodegradation rates. Microorganisms were isolated from the some of the tests that showed evidence of biodegradation.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>C8H8F9KO3S, which has the same number of carbons as the parent compound PFOS but a reduced number of fluorines, showed the highest biodegradation rate followed by C10H8F13KO3S. Chemical alternatives with lower number of carbons did not biodegrade readily in the experiments.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Together, these results suggest that it may be advantageous to develop PFOS alternatives with 8 carbons, the same as PFOS, but a reduced number of fluorines; as such, chemicals are more susceptible to biodegradation than the parent compound.</p>","PeriodicalId":11853,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Health and Toxicology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/0f/de/eht-30-s2015008.PMC4540132.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33864891","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":"Green chemistry management technology in Korea.","authors":"Mina Ha","doi":"10.5620/eht.s2015009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5620/eht.s2015009","url":null,"abstract":"We are pleased to publish this supplementary issue of Environmental Health and Toxicology, where we have eight articles related to the research achievement of the “Research group of green chemistry management technology.” \u0000 \u0000Since the European REACH (Registration, Evaluation Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) program was initiated in June 2007, several countries including Japan, China, Taiwan, and Turkey, have adopted similar chemical management systems and strengthened the regulation of chemicals. In Korea, the Act on the Registration and Evaluation, etc. of Chemical Substances (K-REACH) was enforced in January 2015 after a long struggle over disagreement between stakeholders, and finally, a more systematic regulation on chemical substances could be started. \u0000 \u0000The research group, which has been financially supported by the Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute and Ministry of Environment since May 2011, has been dedicated to developing essential technology for governmental green chemistry management policies and its extended application to domestic chemical industries. \u0000 \u0000The fundamental purpose of the research group is to establish an execution-base for K-REACH The specific goals are (1) the establishment of database of toxicity information for chemicals, which should be registered by law, (2) the development of socioeconomic assessment methods for designation as restricted substances, (3) the development of prediction methods for chemical toxicity and management system, which are essential components to execute the K-REACH (4) the establishment of a database for substitute chemicals, (5) the development of assessment methods for green chemistry technology, and (6) the development of substitute chemicals for perfluorooctanesultonic acid, which are aimed to support domestic chemical industries. \u0000 \u0000The research projects will be continued until March 2017, and the results are expected to be used by national institutes and domestic chemical industries that adhere to the requirement of stricter applications of green chemistry principles.","PeriodicalId":11853,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Health and Toxicology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/a2/5e/eht-30-s2015009.PMC4540133.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33864892","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":"Analysis of the utilization of existing test data for phase-in substance registration under the Act on the Registration and Evaluation, etc. of Chemical Substances.","authors":"Bong-In Choi, Yeong-Don Kwak, Yu-Mi Jung, Byung-Taek Ryu, Chang Gyun Kim","doi":"10.5620/eht.s2015004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5620/eht.s2015004","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Approximately 2000 phase-in substances are subject to registration according to the Act on the Registration and Evaluation, etc. of Chemical Substances (KREACH), and the expected testing cost is 2.06 trillion Korean won assuming all the test data required for registration are acquired. The extent to which these enormous test costs can be reduced depends on the availability of existing data that can be used to meet the requirements of the K-REACH we examined the current availability of test data that can be used for chemical substance registration.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We analyzed the possibility of utilizing the existing test data obtained from 16 reference databases for 369 of 518 kinds of phase-in substances subject to registration that were reported in last October 2014.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The physical and chemical properties were available for 57.1% of substances, whereas data regarding human hazards and environmental hazards were available at considerably lower rates, 8.5% and 11.8%, respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Physical and chemical properties were available for a fairly high proportion, whereas human hazards and environmental hazards were reported for considerably fewer substances.</p>","PeriodicalId":11853,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Health and Toxicology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/78/5d/eht-30-s2015004.PMC4540127.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33864887","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":"Assessment of quantitative structure-activity relationship of toxicity prediction models for Korean chemical substance control legislation.","authors":"Kwang-Yon Kim, Seong Eun Shin, Kyoung Tai No","doi":"10.5620/eht.s2015007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5620/eht.s2015007","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>For successful adoption of legislation controlling registration and assessment of chemical substances, it is important to obtain sufficient toxicological experimental evidence and other related information. It is also essential to obtain a sufficient number of predicted risk and toxicity results. Particularly, methods used in predicting toxicities of chemical substances during acquisition of required data, ultimately become an economic method for future dealings with new substances. Although the need for such methods is gradually increasing, the-required information about reliability and applicability range has not been systematically provided.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>There are various representative environmental and human toxicity models based on quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR). Here, we secured the 10 representative QSAR-based prediction models and its information that can make predictions about substances that are expected to be regulated. We used models that predict and confirm usability of the information expected to be collected and submitted according to the legislation. After collecting and evaluating each predictive model and relevant data, we prepared methods quantifying the scientific validity and reliability, which are essential conditions for using predictive models.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We calculated predicted values for the models. Furthermore, we deduced and compared adequacies of the models using the Alternative non-testing method assessed for Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals Substances scoring system, and deduced the applicability domains for each model. Additionally, we calculated and compared inclusion rates of substances expected to be regulated, to confirm the applicability.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>We evaluated and compared the data, adequacy, and applicability of our selected QSAR-based toxicity prediction models, and included them in a database. Based on this data, we aimed to construct a system that can be used with predicted toxicity results. Furthermore, by presenting the suitability of individual predicted results, we aimed to provide a foundation that could be used in actual assessments and regulations.</p>","PeriodicalId":11853,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Health and Toxicology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.5620/eht.s2015007","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33864890","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}
Seokpyo Hong, Kilsoo Ahn, Sungjune Kim, Sungyong Gong
{"title":"Research on the development of green chemistry technology assessment techniques: a material reutilization case.","authors":"Seokpyo Hong, Kilsoo Ahn, Sungjune Kim, Sungyong Gong","doi":"10.5620/eht.s2015002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5620/eht.s2015002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study presents a methodology that enables a quantitative assessment of green chemistry technologies.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The study carries out a quantitative evaluation of a particular case of material reutilization by calculating the level of \"greenness\" i.e., the level of compliance with the principles of green chemistry that was achieved by implementing a green chemistry technology.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The results indicate that the greenness level was enhanced by 42% compared to the pre-improvement level, thus demonstrating the economic feasibility of green chemistry.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The assessment technique established in this study will serve as a useful reference for setting the direction of industry-level and government-level technological R&D and for evaluating newly developed technologies, which can greatly contribute toward gaining a competitive advantage in the global market.</p>","PeriodicalId":11853,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Health and Toxicology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/37/c0/eht-30-s2015002.PMC4540131.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33864885","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}
Jiyeon Hong, Yongjin Lee, Geonwoo Lee, Hanseul Lee, Jiyeon Yang
{"title":"The evaluation of cost-of-illness due to use of cost-of-illness-based chemicals.","authors":"Jiyeon Hong, Yongjin Lee, Geonwoo Lee, Hanseul Lee, Jiyeon Yang","doi":"10.5620/eht.s2015006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5620/eht.s2015006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study is conducted to estimate the cost paid by the public suffering from disease possibly caused by chemical and to examine the effect on public health.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Cost-benefit analysis is an important factor in analysis and decision-making and is an important policy decision tool in many countries. Cost-of-illness (COI), a kind of scale-based analysis method, estimates the potential value lost as a result of illness as a monetary unit and calculates the cost in terms of direct, indirect and psychological costs. This study estimates direct medical costs, transportation fees for hospitalization and outpatient treatment, and nursing fees through a number of patients suffering from disease caused by chemicals in order to analyze COI, taking into account the cost of productivity loss as an indirect cost.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The total yearly cost of the diseases studied in 2012 is calculated as 77 million Korean won (KRW) per person. The direct and indirect costs being 52 million KRW and 23 million KRW, respectively. Within the total cost of illness, mental and behavioral disability costs amounted to 16 million KRW, relevant blood immunological parameters costs were 7.4 million KRW, and disease of the nervous system costs were 6.7 million KRW.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study reports on a survey conducted by experts regarding diseases possibly caused by chemicals and estimates the cost for the general public. The results can be used to formulate a basic report for a social-economic evaluation of the permitted use of chemicals and limits of usage.</p>","PeriodicalId":11853,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Health and Toxicology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.5620/eht.s2015006","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33864889","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":"Green Chemistry at the present in Korea.","authors":"Seung-Kyu Lee, Hyeon-Soo Park","doi":"10.5620/eht.s2015001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5620/eht.s2015001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Despite the great contribution made by chemical substances to the development of modern civilization, their indiscriminate use has caused various kinds of damage to the global environment and human beings. Accordingly, the major developed countries and international society have tried to ensure the safe use of chemicals and a reduction in the use of hazardous chemicals through the establishment of the United Nations Environment Programme and various international agreements. In this reason, we tried to introduce about Green Chemistry progress at the present in worldwide and Korea.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We checked and analyzed relative journals, reports using keyword as like Green Chemistry, alternative chemicals, eco-friendly etc. and major country's government homepage search.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Green Chemistry theory, which argues for the reduction or removal of harmfulness in chemicals throughout their entire life-cycle, has been spreading, and major developed countries, such as the US and Denmark, have developed and operate programs to provide reliable chemical information to help replace hazardous chemicals. Korea has also been conducting studies as like eco-innovation project. Through this project the \"Alternative Chemical Search program,\" has been developed, distributed, and operated since 2011 to provide reliable information to small and medium-sized businesses that have difficulties collecting information to ensure conformity to international regulations. The program provides information that includes the regulations of major countries and Korea, information on 340 alternative chemicals, 70 application cases, and 1:1 consulting.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The Alternative Chemical Search program is expected to contribute to the establishment of response systems for regulation of Korean small and medium-sized businesses, and it also will be used to provide basic data for Korean hazardous chemical regulation, together with the Act on the Registration and Evaluation, etc. of Chemical Substances and the Chemical Control act, making it possible to establish an infrastructure for Green Chemistry in Korea and to increase national competitiveness.</p>","PeriodicalId":11853,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Health and Toxicology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/20/ba/eht-30-s2015001.PMC4540125.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33931454","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}
Ji-Ae Lim, Ho-Jang Kwon, Mina Ha, Ho Kim, Se Young Oh, Jeong Seon Kim, Sang-Ah Lee, Jung-Duck Park, Young-Seoub Hong, Seok-Joon Sohn, Heesoo Pyo, Kyung Su Park, Kwang-Geun Lee, Yong Dae Kim, Sangil Jun, Myung Sil Hwang
{"title":"Korean research project on the integrated exposure assessment of hazardous substances for food safety.","authors":"Ji-Ae Lim, Ho-Jang Kwon, Mina Ha, Ho Kim, Se Young Oh, Jeong Seon Kim, Sang-Ah Lee, Jung-Duck Park, Young-Seoub Hong, Seok-Joon Sohn, Heesoo Pyo, Kyung Su Park, Kwang-Geun Lee, Yong Dae Kim, Sangil Jun, Myung Sil Hwang","doi":"10.5620/eht.e2015004","DOIUrl":"10.5620/eht.e2015004","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This survey was designed to conduct the first nationwide dietary exposure assessment on hazardous substances including the intakes of functional food and herbal medicine. In this paper, we introduced the survey design and the results of the dietary exposure status and internal exposure levels of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We selected 4867 subjects of all ages throughout Korea. We conducted a food survey, dietary survey, biomonitoring, and health survey.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Pb and Cd were the highest (median value) in the seaweed (94.2 μg/kg for Pb; 594 μg/kg for Cd), and Hg was the highest in the fish (46.4 μg/kg). The dietary exposure level (median value) of Pb was 0.14 μg/kg body weight (bw)/d, 0.18 μg/kg bw/d for Cd, and 0.07 μg/kg bw/d for Hg. Those with a blood Pb level of less than 5.00 μg/dL (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reference value for those 1 to 5 years of age) were 99.0% of all the subjects. Those with a blood Cd level with less than 0.30 μg/L (German Federal Environmental Agency, reference value for non-smoking children) were 24.5%. For those with a blood Hg level with less than 5.00 μg/L (human biomonitoring I, references value for children and adults, German Federal Environmental Agency) was 81.0 % of all the subjects.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The main dietary exposure of heavy metals occurs through food consumed in a large quantity and high frequency. The blood Hg level and dietary exposure level of Hg were both higher than those in the European Union.</p>","PeriodicalId":11853,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Health and Toxicology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/a6/cd/eht-30-e2015004.PMC4509523.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"34297336","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}
Seona Choi, Soyoun Kim, Yeon-Jae Bae, June-Woo Park, Jinho Jung
{"title":"Size-dependent toxicity of silver nanoparticles to Glyptotendipes tokunagai.","authors":"Seona Choi, Soyoun Kim, Yeon-Jae Bae, June-Woo Park, Jinho Jung","doi":"10.5620/eht.e2015003","DOIUrl":"10.5620/eht.e2015003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aims to evaluate the size-dependent toxicity of spherical silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) to an endemic benthic organism, Glyptotendipes tokunagai.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Ag nanoparticles of three nominal sizes (50, 100, and 150 nm) capped with polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP-Ag NPs) were used. Their physicochemical properties, acute toxicity (48 hours), and bioaccumulation were measured using third instar larvae of G. tokunagai.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The aggregation and dissolution of PVP-Ag NPs increased with exposure time and concentration, respectively, particularly for 50 nm PVP-Ag NPs. However, the dissolved concentration of Ag ions was not significant compared with the median lethal concentration value for AgNO3 (3.51 mg/L). The acute toxicity of PVP-Ag NPs was highest for the smallest particles (50 nm), whereas bioaccumulation was greatest for the largest particles (150 nm). However, larger PVP-Ag NPs were absorbed and excreted rapidly, resulting in shorter stays in G. tokunagai than the smaller ones.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The size of PVP-Ag NPs significantly affects their acute toxicity to G. tokunagai. In particular, smaller PVP-Ag NPs have a higher solubility and stay longer in the body of G. tokunagai, resulting in higher toxicity than larger PVP-Ag NPs.</p>","PeriodicalId":11853,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Health and Toxicology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/e9/7d/eht-30-e2015003.PMC4509522.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"34297335","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}
Bokyeong Kim, Ara Jung, Dongmin Yun, Mira Lee, Mee-Ri Lee, Yoon-Hyeong Choi, Yongbae Kim, Choonghee Park, Yun-Chul Hong, Sungroul Kim
{"title":"Association of urinary 3-phenoxybenzoic acid levels with self-reported depression symptoms in a rural elderly population in Asan, South Korea.","authors":"Bokyeong Kim, Ara Jung, Dongmin Yun, Mira Lee, Mee-Ri Lee, Yoon-Hyeong Choi, Yongbae Kim, Choonghee Park, Yun-Chul Hong, Sungroul Kim","doi":"10.5620/eht.e2015002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5620/eht.e2015002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aimed to evaluate the association between presence of depression symptoms and the exposure level to insecticides among aged population in rural area, determined via measured levels of urinary 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA), after controlling for socioeconomic confounding factors.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Using a cross-sectional study design, we randomly recruited participants for our study (161 male and 239 female) from rural areas of Asan, Chungnam, Korea. Environmental risk factor exposure was assessed using a questionnaire, and gas chromatography- mass spectrometry was used to analyze urinary 3-PBA levels. We used a logistic regression analysis to assess the association of urinary 3-PBA levels with the presence of self-reported depression symptoms.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>After controlling for creatinine levels, the median (interquartile range) concentration of 3-PBA was approximately 1.5 times (p<0.05) higher among female (1.54 [0.90 to 2.35]) μg/g) than among male (1.06 [0.64 to 1.81] μg/g). Our study found that among female participants, the unit increase in 3-PBA levels exhibited a likely positive association (odds ratio, 1.12; 95% confidence interval, 1.00 to 1.25) with an increased risk of presence of self-reported depression symptoms, after adjusting for socioeconomic insurance type, daily physical condition, marital status, smoking status, and age.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Given our finding of a potential association between the presence of selfreported depression symptoms and 3-PBA levels, precautions should be considered to minimize exposure to insecticides and thus protect the health of aged residents in rural areas.</p>","PeriodicalId":11853,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Health and Toxicology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/68/87/eht-30-e2015002.PMC4441797.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33323288","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}