Environmental health : a global access science source最新文献

{"title":"Co-creating a local environmental epidemiology study: the case of citizen science for investigating air pollution and related health risks in Barcelona, Spain.","authors":"Florence Gignac,&nbsp;Valeria Righi,&nbsp;Raül Toran,&nbsp;Lucía Paz Errandonea,&nbsp;Rodney Ortiz,&nbsp;Mark Nieuwenhuijsen,&nbsp;Javier Creus,&nbsp;Xavier Basagaña,&nbsp;Mara Balestrini","doi":"10.1186/s12940-021-00826-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-021-00826-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>While the health risks of air pollution attract considerable attention, both scholarly and within the general population, citizens are rarely involved in environmental health research, beyond participating as data subjects. Co-created citizen science is an approach that fosters collaboration between scientists and lay people to engage the latter in all phases of research. Currently, this approach is rare in environmental epidemiology and when co-creation processes do take place, they are often not documented. This paper describes the first stages of an ongoing co-created citizen science epidemiological project in Barcelona (Spain), that included identifying topics that citizens wish to investigate as regards air pollution and health, formulating their concerns into research questions and co-designing the study protocol. This paper also reflects key trade-offs between scientific rigor and public engagement and provides suggestions to consider when applying citizen science to environmental health studies.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Experts created an online survey and analyzed responses with descriptive statistics and qualitative coding. A pop-up intervention was held to discuss with citizens their concerns about air pollution and health. Later on, a community meeting was organized to narrow down the research topics and list potential research questions. In an online survey, citizens were asked to vote for the research question they would like to investigate with the experts. A workshop was held to choose a study design in which citizens would like to partake to answer their preferred research question.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>According to 488 respondents from the first survey, cognitive and mental health were the main priorities of investigation. Based on the second survey, with 27% of the votes from 556 citizens, the most popular research question was, \"How does air pollution together with noise and green/blue spaces affect mental health?\". The study design selected was an observational study in which citizens provide daily repeated measures of different cognitive and mental health outcomes and relate them to the air pollution concentrations.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Based on the co-creation activities and the results obtained, we conclude that applying citizen science in an environmental health project is valuable for researchers despite some challenges such as engaging citizens and maximizing representativity.</p>","PeriodicalId":520610,"journal":{"name":"Environmental health : a global access science source","volume":" ","pages":"11"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8753829/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39815043","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":"Multiple neonicotinoids in children's cerebro-spinal fluid, plasma, and urine.","authors":"Bernard Laubscher,&nbsp;Manuel Diezi,&nbsp;Raffaele Renella,&nbsp;Edward A D Mitchell,&nbsp;Alexandre Aebi,&nbsp;Matthieu Mulot,&nbsp;Gaëtan Glauser","doi":"10.1186/s12940-021-00821-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-021-00821-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Neonicotinoids (NN) are selective neurotoxic pesticides that bind to insect but also mammal nicotinic acetycholine receptors (nAChRs). As the most widely used class of insecticides worldwide, they are ubiquitously found in the environment, wildlife, and foods, and thus of special concern for their impacts on the environment and human health. nAChRs are vital to proper brain organization during the prenatal period and play important roles in various motor, emotional, and cognitive functions. Little is known on children's contamination by NN. In a pilot study we tested the hypothesis that children's cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) can be contaminated by NN.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>NN were analysed in leftover CSF, blood, and urine samples from children treated for leukaemias and lymphomas and undergoing therapeutic lumbar punctions. We monitored all neonicotinoids approved on the global market and some of their most common metabolites by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>From August to December 2020, 14 children were consecutively included in the study. Median age was 8 years (range 3-18). All CSF and plasma samples were positive for at least one NN. Nine (64%) CSF samples and 13 (93%) plasma samples contained more than one NN. Thirteen (93%) CSF samples had N-desmethyl-acetamiprid (median concentration 0.0123, range 0.0024-0.1068 ng/mL), the major metabolite of acetamiprid. All but one urine samples were positive for ≥ one NN. A statistically significant linear relationship was found between plasma/urine and CSF N-desmethyl-acetamiprid concentrations.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>We have developed a reliable analytical method that revealed multiple NN and/or their metabolites in children's CSF, plasma, and urine. Our data suggest that contamination by multiple NN is not only an environmental hazard for non-target insects such as bees but also potentially for children.</p>","PeriodicalId":520610,"journal":{"name":"Environmental health : a global access science source","volume":" ","pages":"10"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8750865/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39811388","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":"Prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides and risk-taking behaviors in early adulthood.","authors":"Sharon K Sagiv,&nbsp;Stephen Rauch,&nbsp;Katherine R Kogut,&nbsp;Carly Hyland,&nbsp;Robert B Gunier,&nbsp;Ana M Mora,&nbsp;Asa Bradman,&nbsp;Julianna Deardorff,&nbsp;Brenda Eskenazi","doi":"10.1186/s12940-021-00822-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-021-00822-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Previous studies show evidence for associations of prenatal exposure to organophosphate (OP) pesticides with poorer childhood neurodevelopment. As children grow older, poorer cognition, executive function, and school performance can give rise to risk-taking behaviors, including substance abuse, delinquency, and violent acts. We investigated whether prenatal OP exposure was associated with these risk-taking behaviors in adolescence and young adulthood in a Mexican American cohort.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We measured urinary dialkyl phosphates (DAPs), non-specific metabolites of OPs, twice (13 and 26 weeks gestation) in pregnant women recruited in 1999-2000 in the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS) study, a birth cohort set in a primarily Latino agricultural community in the Salinas Valley, California. We followed up children throughout their childhood and adolescence; at the 18-year visit, adolescent youth (n = 315) completed a computer-based questionnaire which included questions about substance use, risky sexual activity, risky driving, and delinquency and police encounters. We used multivariable models to estimate associations of prenatal total DAPs with these risk-taking behaviors.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The prevalence of risk-taking behaviors in CHAMACOS youth ranged from 8.9% for smoking or vaping nicotine to 70.2% for committing a delinquent act. Associations of total prenatal DAPs (geometric mean = 132.4 nmol/L) with risk-taking behavior were generally null and imprecise. Isolated findings included a higher risk for smoking or vaping nicotine within the past 30 days (relative risk [RR] per 10-fold increase in prenatal DAPs = 1.89, 95% CI: 1.00, 3.56) and driving without a license (RR = 1.74, 95% CI: 1.25, 2.42). There were no consistent differences by sex or childhood adversity.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>We did not find clear or consistent evidence for associations of prenatal OP exposure with risk-taking behaviors in adolescence/early adulthood in the CHAMACOS population. Our small sample size may have prevented us from detecting potentially subtle associations of early life OP exposure with these risk-taking behaviors.</p>","PeriodicalId":520610,"journal":{"name":"Environmental health : a global access science source","volume":" ","pages":"8"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8751255/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39810425","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":"Towards a paradigm shift in environmental health decision-making: a case study of oxybenzone.","authors":"Klara Matouskova,&nbsp;Laura N Vandenberg","doi":"10.1186/s12940-021-00806-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-021-00806-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Technological advancements make lives safer and more convenient. Unfortunately, many of these advances come with costs to susceptible individuals and public health, the environment, and other species and ecosystems. Synthetic chemicals in consumer products represent a quintessential example of the complexity of both the benefits and burdens of modern living. How we navigate this complexity is a matter of a society's values and corresponding principles.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>We aimed to develop a series of ethical principles to guide decision-making within the landscape of environmental health, and then apply these principles to a specific environmental chemical, oxybenzone. Oxybenzone is a widely used ultraviolet (UV) filter added to personal care products and other consumer goods to prevent UV damage, but potentially poses harm to humans, wildlife, and ecosystems. It provides an excellent example of a chemical that is widely used for the alleged purpose of protecting human health and product safety, but with costs to human health and the environment that are often ignored by stakeholders.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>We propose six ethical principles to guide environmental health decision-making: principles of sustainability, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, community, and precautionary substitution. We apply these principles to the case of oxybenzone to demonstrate the complex but imperative decision-making required if we are to address the limits of the biosphere's regenerative rates. We conclude that both ethical and practical considerations should be included in decisions about the commercial, pervasive application of synthetic compounds and that the current flawed practice of cost-benefit analysis be recognized for what it is: a technocratic approach to support corporate interests.</p>","PeriodicalId":520610,"journal":{"name":"Environmental health : a global access science source","volume":" ","pages":"6"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8742442/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39796085","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":"Health symptom trajectories and neurotoxicant exposures in Gulf War veterans: the Ft. Devens cohort.","authors":"Maxine H Krengel,&nbsp;Clara G Zundel,&nbsp;Timothy Heeren,&nbsp;Megan Yee,&nbsp;Avron Spiro,&nbsp;Susan P Proctor,&nbsp;Claudia M Grasso,&nbsp;Kimberly Sullivan","doi":"10.1186/s12940-021-00812-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-021-00812-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Thirty years ago, Gulf War (GW) veterans returned home with numerous health symptoms that have been associated with neurotoxicant exposures experienced during deployment. The health effects from these exposures have been termed toxic wounds. Most GW exposure-outcome studies utilize group analyses and thus individual fluctuations in symptoms may have been masked. This study investigates health symptom trajectories in the same veterans over 25 years.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Veterans were categorized into 5 a priori trajectory groups for each health symptom and Chronic Multisymptom Illness (CMI) clinical case status. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to investigate associations between these trajectories and neurotoxicant exposures.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Results indicate that more than 21 Pyridostigmine Bromide (PB) pill exposure was associated with consistent reporting of fatigue, pain, and cognitive/mood symptoms as well as the development of six additional symptoms over time. Chemical weapons exposure was associated with both consistent reporting and development of neurological symptoms over time. Reported exposure to tent heater exhaust was associated with later development of gastrointestinal and pulmonary symptoms. Veterans reporting exposure to more than 21 PB pills were more than 8 times as likely to consistently meet the criteria for CMI over time.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study highlights the importance of the continued documentation of the health impacts experienced by GW veterans', their resulting chronic health symptoms, and the importance of exposure-outcome relationships in these veterans now 30 years post-deployment.</p>","PeriodicalId":520610,"journal":{"name":"Environmental health : a global access science source","volume":" ","pages":"7"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8742929/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39909362","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":"The risk of perchlorate and iodine on the incidence of thyroid tumors and nodular goiter: a case-control study in southeastern China.","authors":"Huirong Wang,&nbsp;Yousheng Jiang,&nbsp;Jiayi Song,&nbsp;Huiwen Liang,&nbsp;Yuan Liu,&nbsp;Jiewu Huang,&nbsp;Pengliang Yin,&nbsp;Dongting Wu,&nbsp;Hang Zhang,&nbsp;Xinjie Liu,&nbsp;Dongxian Zhou,&nbsp;Wei Wei,&nbsp;Lin Lei,&nbsp;Ji Peng,&nbsp;Jianqing Zhang","doi":"10.1186/s12940-021-00818-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-021-00818-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The incidence rates of thyroid tumors and nodular goiter show an upward trend worldwide. There are limited reports on the risk of perchlorate and iodine on thyroid tumors, but evidence from population studies is scarce, and their impact on thyroid function is still uncertain. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the association of perchlorate and iodine with the risk of nodular goiter (NG), papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC), and papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and to assess the correlation between perchlorate and iodine with thyroid function indicators.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A case-control population consisting of 184 pairs of thyroid tumors and nodular goiter matched by gender and age (±2 years) was recruited in this study. Serum and urine samples were collected from each participant. Thyroid function indicators in serum were tested by automatic chemical immunofluorescence, and perchlorate and iodine levels in urine were determined by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, respectively. Conditional logistic regressions and multiple linear regressions were used to analyze the associations.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Urinary perchlorate concentration was significantly higher in total cases, NG and PTC than in the corresponding controls (P < 0.05). Perchlorate was positively associated with PTC (OR = 1.058, 95% CI: 1.009, 1.110) in a non-linear dose-response relationship, but there was no association between perchlorate and NG or PTMC. Iodine was not associated with the risk of thyroid tumors and NG and did not correlate with the thyroid function indicators. Furthermore, perchlorate showed a positive correlation with thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) at iodine adequate levels (P < 0.05), and a negative correlation with free triiodothyronine (FT3) and a positive correlation with thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb) at iodine more than adequate or excess levels (P < 0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Perchlorate can increase the risk of PTC in a non-linear dose-response relationship and disturb the thyroid hormone homeostasis and thyroid autoantibody levels.</p>","PeriodicalId":520610,"journal":{"name":"Environmental health : a global access science source","volume":" ","pages":"4"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8725411/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39643307","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":"What is the carbon footprint of primary care practices? A retrospective life-cycle analysis in Switzerland.","authors":"John Nicolet,&nbsp;Yolanda Mueller,&nbsp;Paola Paruta,&nbsp;Julien Boucher,&nbsp;Nicolas Senn","doi":"10.1186/s12940-021-00814-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-021-00814-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The medical field causes significant environmental impact. Reduction of the primary care practice carbon footprint could contribute to decreasing global carbon emissions. This study aims to quantify the average carbon footprint of a primary care consultation, describe differences between primary care practices (best, worst and average performing) in western Switzerland and identify opportunities for mitigation.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a retrospective carbon footprint analysis of ten private practices over the year 2018. We used life-cycle analysis to estimate carbon emissions of each sector, from manufacture to disposal, expressing results as CO₂ equivalents per average consultation and practice. We then modelled an average and theoretical best- case and worst-case practices. Collected data included invoices, medical and furniture inventories, heating and power supply, staff and patient transport, laboratory analyses (in/out-house) waste quantities and management costs.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>An average medical consultation generated 4.8 kg of CO₂eq and overall, an average practice produced 30 tons of CO₂eq per year, with 45.7% for staff and patient transport and 29.8% for heating. Medical consumables produced 5.5% of CO₂eq emissions, while in-house laboratory and X-rays contributed less than 1% each. Emergency analyses requiring courier transport caused 5.8% of all emissions. Support activities generated 82.6% of the total CO₂eq. Simulation of best- and worst-case scenarios resulted in a ten-fold variation in CO₂eq emissions.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Optimizing structural and organisational aspects of practice work could have a major impact on the carbon footprint of primary care practices without large-scale changes in medical activities.</p>","PeriodicalId":520610,"journal":{"name":"Environmental health : a global access science source","volume":" ","pages":"3"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8723904/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39782757","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":"Ambient nitrogen dioxide is associated with emergency hospital visits for atrial fibrillation: a population-based case-crossover study in Reykjavik, Iceland.","authors":"Solveig Halldorsdottir,&nbsp;Ragnhildur Gudrun Finnbjornsdottir,&nbsp;Bjarki Thor Elvarsson,&nbsp;Gunnar Gudmundsson,&nbsp;Vilhjalmur Rafnsson","doi":"10.1186/s12940-021-00817-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-021-00817-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In Iceland air quality is generally good; however, previous studies indicate that there is an association between air pollution in Reykjavik and adverse health effects as measured by dispensing of medications, mortality, and increase in health care utilisation. The aim was to study the association between traffic-related ambient air pollution in the Reykjavik capital area and emergency hospital visits for heart diseases and particularly atrial fibrillation and flutter (AF).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A multivariate time-stratified case-crossover design was used to study the association. Cases were those patients aged 18 years or older living in the Reykjavik capital area during the study period, 2006-2017, who made emergency visits to Landspitali University Hospital for heart diseases. In this population-based study, the primary discharge diagnoses were registered according to International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition (ICD-10). The pollutants studied were NO₂, PM₁₀, PM_2.5, and SO_2, with adjustment for H₂S, temperature, and relative humidity. The 24-h mean of pollutants was used with lag 0 to lag 4.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>During the study period 9536 cases of AF were identified. The 24-h mean NO₂ was 20.7 μg/m³. Each 10 μg/m³ increase in NO₂ was associated with increased risk of heart diseases (ICD-10: I20-I25, I44-I50), odds ratio (OR) 1.023 (95% CI 1.012-1.034) at lag 0. Each 10 μg/m³ increase in NO₂ was associated with an increased risk of AF (ICD-10: I48) on the same day, OR 1.030 (95% CI: 1.011-1.049). Females were at higher risk for AF, OR 1.051 (95% CI 1.019-1.083) at lag 0, and OR 1.050 (95% CI 1.019-1.083) at lag 1. Females aged younger than 71 years had even higher risk for AF, OR 1.077 (95% CI: 1.025-1.131) at lag 0. Significant associations were found for other pollutants and emergency hospital visits, but they were weaker and did not show a discernable pattern.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Short-term increase in NO₂ concentrations was associated with heart diseases, more precisely with AF. The associations were stronger among females, and among females at younger age. This is the first study in Iceland that finds an association between air pollution and cardiac arrhythmias, so the results should be interpreted with caution.</p>","PeriodicalId":520610,"journal":{"name":"Environmental health : a global access science source","volume":" ","pages":"2"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8722049/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39895063","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":"Exposure to second-hand smoke during early life and subsequent sleep problems in children: a population-based cross-sectional study.","authors":"Li-Zi Lin,&nbsp;Shu-Li Xu,&nbsp;Qi-Zhen Wu,&nbsp;Yang Zhou,&nbsp;Hui-Min Ma,&nbsp;Duo-Hong Chen,&nbsp;Peng-Xin Dong,&nbsp;Shi-Min Xiong,&nbsp;Xu-Bo Shen,&nbsp;Pei-En Zhou,&nbsp;Ru-Qing Liu,&nbsp;Gongbo Chen,&nbsp;Hong-Yao Yu,&nbsp;Bo-Yi Yang,&nbsp;Xiao-Wen Zeng,&nbsp;Li-Wen Hu,&nbsp;Yuan-Zhong Zhou,&nbsp;Guang-Hui Dong","doi":"10.1186/s12940-021-00793-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-021-00793-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Previous studies have revealed that current secondhand smoke exposure showed highly suggestive evidence for increased risk of simultaneous sleep problems in children. Data on the associations between early-life exposure to SHS with subsequent sleep problems in children were scarce. We aimed to evaluate the associations of early-life SHS exposure with sleep problems in children.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this cross-sectional study, children were recruited from elementary and middle schools in Liaoning Province, China between April 2012 and January 2013. We assessed early-life SHS exposure (pregnancy and the first 2 years of life) via questionnaires. Sleep problems and different types of sleep-related symptoms were measured based on the validated tool of the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC). Generalized linear mixed models were applied to estimate the associations of early-life SHS exposure with sleep problems.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We included a total of 45,562 children (22,657 [49.7%] males; mean [SD] age, 11.0 [2.6] years) and 6167 of them (13.5%) were exposed to early-life SHS during both pregnancy and the first 2 years of life. Compared with unexposed counterparts, children exposed to early-life SHS had higher total T-scores of SDSC (β = 4.32; 95%CI: 4.06, 4.58) and higher odds of increased sleep problems (OR = 2.14; 95%CI: 1.89, 2.42). When considering different sleep-related symptoms, the associations between early-life SHS exposure and symptom of sleep-wake transition disorders (i.e., bruxism) were the strongest in all analyses.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Early-life SHS exposure was associated with higher odds of global sleep problems and different sleep-related symptoms in children aged 6-18 years. Our findings highlight the importance to strengthen efforts to support the critical importance of maintaining a smoke-free environment especially in early life.</p>","PeriodicalId":520610,"journal":{"name":"Environmental health : a global access science source","volume":" ","pages":"127"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8684187/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39735445","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":"Association between magnesium in drinking water and atrial fibrillation incidence: a nationwide population-based cohort study, 2002-2015.","authors":"Kirstine Wodschow,&nbsp;Cristina M Villanueva,&nbsp;Mogens Lytken Larsen,&nbsp;Gunnar Gislason,&nbsp;Jörg Schullehner,&nbsp;Birgitte Hansen,&nbsp;Annette Kjær Ersbøll","doi":"10.1186/s12940-021-00813-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-021-00813-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common heart rhythm disorder and a risk factor of adverse cardiovascular diseases. Established causes do not fully explain the risk of AF and unexplained risk factors might be related to the environment, e.g. magnesium in drinking water. Low magnesium levels in drinking water might be associated with higher risk of cardiovascular diseases including AF. With detailed individual data from nationwide registries and long-term magnesium exposure time series, we had a unique opportunity to investigate the association between magnesium in drinking water and AF.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>We evaluated the association between magnesium concentration in drinking water and AF risk.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A nationwide register-based cohort study (2002-2015) was used including individuals aged ≥30 years. Addresses were linked with water supply areas (n = 2418) to obtain time-varying drinking water magnesium exposure at each address. Five exposure groups were defined based on a 5-year rolling time-weighted average magnesium concentration. AF incidence rate ratios (IRRs) between exposure groups were calculated using a Poisson regression of incidence rates, adjusted for sex, age, and socioeconomic position. Robustness of results was investigated with different exposure definitions.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The study included 4,264,809 individuals (44,731,694 person-years) whereof 222,998 experienced an incident AF. Magnesium exposure ranged from 0.5 to 62.0 mg/L (mean = 13.9 mg/L). Estimated IRR (95% CI) compared to the referent exposure group (< 5 mg/L) was 0.98 (0.97-1.00) for the second lowest exposure group (5-10 mg/L), and 1.07 (1.05-1.08) for the two highest exposure groups (15-62 mg/L). Strongest positive associations were observed among those aged ≥80 years and with lowest education group. An inverse association was found among individuals with highest education group.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>There might be a small beneficial effect on AF of an increase in magnesium level in drinking water up to 10 mg/L, though an overall positive association was observed. The unexpected positive association and different associations observed for subgroups suggest a potential influence of unaccounted factors, particularly in vulnerable populations. Future research on magnesium in drinking water and cardiovascular diseases needs to focus on contextual risk factors, especially those potentially correlating with magnesium in drinking water.</p>","PeriodicalId":520610,"journal":{"name":"Environmental health : a global access science source","volume":" ","pages":"126"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8672465/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39725054","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}