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Tong R, Zhang B. Cumulative risk assessment for combinations of environmental and psychosocial stressors: A systematic review. INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT 2024; 20:602-615. [PMID: 37526127 DOI: 10.1002/ieam.4821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023]
Abstract
With the growing awareness of stressors, cumulative risk assessment (CRA) has been proposed as a potential method to evaluate possible additive and synergistic effects of multiple stressors on human health, thus informing environmental regulation and protecting public health. However, CRA is still in its exploratory stage due to the lack of generally accepted quantitative approaches. It is an ideal time to summarize the existing progress to guide future research. To this end, a systematic review of the literature on CRA issues dealing with combinations of environmental and psychosocial stressors was conducted in this study. Using typology and bibliometric analysis, the body of knowledge, hot topics, and research gaps in this field were characterized. It was found that research topics and objectives mainly focus on qualitative analysis and community settings; more attention should be paid to the development of quantitative approaches and the inclusion of occupational settings. Further, the roles of air pollution and vulnerability factors in CRA have attracted the most attention. This study concludes with views on future prospects to promote theoretical and practical development in this field; specifically, CRA is a multifaceted topic that requires substantial collaborations with various stakeholders and substantial knowledge from multidisciplinary fields. This study presents an overall review as well as research directions worth investigating in this field, which provides a historical reference for future study. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:602-615. © 2023 SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruipeng Tong
- School of Emergency Management and Safety Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology-Beijing, Beijing, China
| | - Boling Zhang
- School of Emergency Management and Safety Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology-Beijing, Beijing, China
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2
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Gudi-Mindermann H, White M, Roczen J, Riedel N, Dreger S, Bolte G. Integrating the social environment with an equity perspective into the exposome paradigm: A new conceptual framework of the Social Exposome. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 233:116485. [PMID: 37352954 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/25/2023]
Abstract
The importance of the social environment and social inequalities in disease etiology is well-known due to the profound research and conceptual framework on social determinants of health. For a long period, in exposome research with its classical orientation towards detrimental health effects of biological, chemical, and physical exposures, this knowledge remained underrepresented. But currently it gains great awareness and calls for innovations in rethinking the role of social environmental health determinants. To fill this gap that exists in terms of the social domain within exposome research, we propose a novel conceptual framework of the Social Exposome, to integrate the social environment in conjunction with the physical environment into the exposome concept. The iterative development process of the Social Exposome was based on a systematic compilation of social exposures in order to achieve a holistic portrayal of the human social environment - including social, psychosocial, socioeconomic, sociodemographic, local, regional, and cultural aspects, at individual and contextual levels. In order to move the Social Exposome beyond a mere compilation of exposures, three core principles are emphasized that underly the interplay of the multitude of exposures: Multidimensionality, Reciprocity, and Timing and continuity. The key focus of the conceptual framework of the Social Exposome is on understanding the underlying mechanisms that translate social exposures into health outcomes. In particular, insights from research on health equity and environmental justice have been incorporated to uncover how social inequalities in health emerge, are maintained, and systematically drive health outcomes. Three transmission pathways are presented: Embodiment, Resilience and Susceptibility or Vulnerability, and Empowerment. The Social Exposome conceptual framework may serve as a strategic map for, both, research and intervention planning, aiming to further explore the impact of the complex social environment and to alter transmission pathways to minimize health risks and health inequalities and to foster equity in health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helene Gudi-Mindermann
- University of Bremen, Institute of Public Health and Nursing Research, Department of Social Epidemiology, Germany.
| | - Maddie White
- University of Bremen, Institute of Public Health and Nursing Research, Department of Social Epidemiology, Germany
| | - Jana Roczen
- University of Bremen, Institute of Public Health and Nursing Research, Department of Social Epidemiology, Germany
| | - Natalie Riedel
- University of Bremen, Institute of Public Health and Nursing Research, Department of Social Epidemiology, Germany
| | - Stefanie Dreger
- University of Bremen, Institute of Public Health and Nursing Research, Department of Social Epidemiology, Germany
| | - Gabriele Bolte
- University of Bremen, Institute of Public Health and Nursing Research, Department of Social Epidemiology, Germany
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Pham LT, Tran YTH, Tran TT, Bui HM, Le LT, Dao ST, Nguyen DT. Ecological and human health risk assessments of cyanotoxins and heavy metals in a drinking water supply reservoir. JOURNAL OF WATER AND HEALTH 2023; 21:1004-1016. [PMID: 37632377 PMCID: wh_2023_027 DOI: 10.2166/wh.2023.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/28/2023]
Abstract
Human beings are frequently exposed to a mixture of chemical pollutants through the ingestion of contaminated drinking water. The present study aimed to assess the ecological and human health risks associated with the contamination of cyanotoxins and heavy metals in a drinking water supply reservoir, the Tri An Reservoir (TAR), in Vietnam. Results demonstrated that the concentrations of individual heavy metals varied in the following order: iron (Fe) > lead (Pb) > arsenic (As) > zinc (Zn). Although the ecological potential risk of heavy metals was low during the study period, the concentration of Fe sometimes exceeded the Vietnamese standard for drinking water. Toxic cyanobacteria and microcystins (MCs) frequently occurred in the TAR with the highest density of 198.7 × 103 cells/mL and 7.8 μg/L, respectively, indicating a high risk of health impacts to humans. The results of the study indicate that exposure to heavy metals does not pose any non-carcinogenic health risks for both adults and children. However, the contamination of MCs in the surface water posed a serious disease enhancement to both adults and children through direct ingestion and dermal absorption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luu Thanh Pham
- Graduate University of Science and Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), 18 Hoang Quoc Viet Street, Cau Giay District, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam; Institute of Tropical Biology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), 85 Tran Quoc Toan Street, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam E-mail:
| | - Yen Thi Hoang Tran
- Institute of Tropical Biology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), 85 Tran Quoc Toan Street, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
| | - Thai Thanh Tran
- Institute of Tropical Biology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), 85 Tran Quoc Toan Street, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
| | - Ha Manh Bui
- Faculty of Environment, Saigon University, 273 An Duong Vuong Street, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
| | - Luom Thi Le
- Dong Nai Technical Resources and Environment Center, Dong Khoi Street, Tan Hiep Ward, Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province 810000, Vietnam
| | - Son Thanh Dao
- Department of Environmental Management, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam; CARE, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), 268 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
| | - Duc Tan Nguyen
- Department of Production Systems Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyo, Nagasaki City, Japan
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Payne-Sturges D, De Saram S, Cory-Slechta DA. Cumulative Risk Evaluation of Phthalates Under TSCA. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:6403-6414. [PMID: 37043345 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c08364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently conducting separate Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) risk evaluations for seven phthalates: dibutyl phthalate (DBP), butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP), di-isodecyl phthalate (DIDP), and diisononyl phthalate (DINP). Phthalates are highly abundant plastic additives used primarily to soften materials and make them flexible, and biomonitoring shows widespread human exposure to a mixture of phthalates. Evidence supports biological additivity of phthalate mixture exposures, including the enhancement of toxicity affecting common biological targets. Risk estimates based on individual phthalate exposure may not be protective of public health. Thus, a cumulative risk approach is warranted. While EPA initially did not signal that it would incorporate cumulative risk assessment (CRA) as part of its current risk evaluation for the seven phthalates, the agency recently announced that it is reconsidering if CRA for phthalates would be appropriate. Based on our review of existing chemical mixtures risk assessment guidance, current TSCA scoping documents for the seven phthalates, and pertinent peer-reviewed literature, we delineate a CRA approach that EPA can easily implement for phthalates. The strategy for using CRA to inform TSCA risk evaluation for existing chemicals is based upon integrative physiology and a common adverse health outcome algorithm for identifying and grouping relevant nonchemical and chemical stressors. We recommend adjustments for how hazard indices (HIs) or margins of exposure (MOEs) based on CRA are interpreted for determining "unreasonable risk" under TSCA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Devon Payne-Sturges
- Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, University of Maryland School of Public Health, 255 Valley Drive, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
| | - Sulakkhana De Saram
- Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, University of Maryland School of Public Health, 255 Valley Drive, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
| | - Deborah A Cory-Slechta
- University of Rochester School of Medicine, Box EHSC, Rochester, New York 14642, United States
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5
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Vandenberg LN, Rayasam SDG, Axelrad DA, Bennett DH, Brown P, Carignan CC, Chartres N, Diamond ML, Joglekar R, Shamasunder B, Shrader-Frechette K, Subra WA, Zarker K, Woodruff TJ. Addressing systemic problems with exposure assessments to protect the public's health. Environ Health 2023; 21:121. [PMID: 36635700 PMCID: PMC9835264 DOI: 10.1186/s12940-022-00917-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Understanding, characterizing, and quantifying human exposures to environmental chemicals is critical to protect public health. Exposure assessments are key to determining risks to the general population and for specific subpopulations given that exposures differ between groups. Exposure data are also important for understanding where interventions, including public policies, should be targeted and the extent to which interventions have been successful. In this review, we aim to show how inadequacies in exposure assessments conducted by polluting industries or regulatory agencies have led to downplaying or disregarding exposure concerns raised by communities; that underestimates of exposure can lead regulatory agencies to conclude that unacceptable risks are, instead, acceptable, allowing pollutants to go unregulated; and that researchers, risk assessors, and policy makers need to better understand the issues that have affected exposure assessments and how appropriate use of exposure data can contribute to health-protective decisions. METHODS We describe current approaches used by regulatory agencies to estimate human exposures to environmental chemicals, including approaches to address limitations in exposure data. We then illustrate how some exposure assessments have been used to reach flawed conclusions about environmental chemicals and make recommendations for improvements. RESULTS Exposure data are important for communities, public health advocates, scientists, policy makers, and other groups to understand the extent of environmental exposures in diverse populations. We identify four areas where exposure assessments need to be improved due to systemic sources of error or uncertainty in exposure assessments and illustrate these areas with examples. These include: (1) an inability of regulatory agencies to keep pace with the increasing number of chemicals registered for use or assess their exposures, as well as complications added by use of 'confidential business information' which reduce available exposure data; (2) the failure to keep assessments up-to-date; (3) how inadequate assumptions about human behaviors and co-exposures contribute to underestimates of exposure; and (4) that insufficient models of toxicokinetics similarly affect exposure estimates. CONCLUSION We identified key issues that impact capacity to conduct scientifically robust exposure assessments. These issues must be addressed with scientific or policy approaches to improve estimates of exposure and protect public health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura N Vandenberg
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health & Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA.
| | - Swati D G Rayasam
- Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | - Deborah H Bennett
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Phil Brown
- Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Courtney C Carignan
- Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Nicholas Chartres
- Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Miriam L Diamond
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- School of the Environment, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Rashmi Joglekar
- Earthjustice, New York, NY, USA
- Earthjustice, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Bhavna Shamasunder
- Department of Urban & Environmental Policy and Public Health, Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Kristin Shrader-Frechette
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
- Department of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Wilma A Subra
- Louisiana Environmental Action Network, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
| | - Ken Zarker
- Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, WA, USA
| | - Tracey J Woodruff
- Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
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6
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Woodruff TJ, Rayasam SDG, Axelrad DA, Koman PD, Chartres N, Bennett DH, Birnbaum LS, Brown P, Carignan CC, Cooper C, Cranor CF, Diamond ML, Franjevic S, Gartner EC, Hattis D, Hauser R, Heiger-Bernays W, Joglekar R, Lam J, Levy JI, MacRoy PM, Maffini MV, Marquez EC, Morello-Frosch R, Nachman KE, Nielsen GH, Oksas C, Abrahamsson DP, Patisaul HB, Patton S, Robinson JF, Rodgers KM, Rossi MS, Rudel RA, Sass JB, Sathyanarayana S, Schettler T, Shaffer RM, Shamasunder B, Shepard PM, Shrader-Frechette K, Solomon GM, Subra WA, Vandenberg LN, Varshavsky JR, White RF, Zarker K, Zeise L. A science-based agenda for health-protective chemical assessments and decisions: overview and consensus statement. Environ Health 2023; 21:132. [PMID: 36635734 PMCID: PMC9835243 DOI: 10.1186/s12940-022-00930-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The manufacture and production of industrial chemicals continues to increase, with hundreds of thousands of chemicals and chemical mixtures used worldwide, leading to widespread population exposures and resultant health impacts. Low-wealth communities and communities of color often bear disproportionate burdens of exposure and impact; all compounded by regulatory delays to the detriment of public health. Multiple authoritative bodies and scientific consensus groups have called for actions to prevent harmful exposures via improved policy approaches. We worked across multiple disciplines to develop consensus recommendations for health-protective, scientific approaches to reduce harmful chemical exposures, which can be applied to current US policies governing industrial chemicals and environmental pollutants. This consensus identifies five principles and scientific recommendations for improving how agencies like the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approach and conduct hazard and risk assessment and risk management analyses: (1) the financial burden of data generation for any given chemical on (or to be introduced to) the market should be on the chemical producers that benefit from their production and use; (2) lack of data does not equate to lack of hazard, exposure, or risk; (3) populations at greater risk, including those that are more susceptible or more highly exposed, must be better identified and protected to account for their real-world risks; (4) hazard and risk assessments should not assume existence of a "safe" or "no-risk" level of chemical exposure in the diverse general population; and (5) hazard and risk assessments must evaluate and account for financial conflicts of interest in the body of evidence. While many of these recommendations focus specifically on the EPA, they are general principles for environmental health that could be adopted by any agency or entity engaged in exposure, hazard, and risk assessment. We also detail recommendations for four priority areas in companion papers (exposure assessment methods, human variability assessment, methods for quantifying non-cancer health outcomes, and a framework for defining chemical classes). These recommendations constitute key steps for improved evidence-based environmental health decision-making and public health protection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tracey J Woodruff
- Program On Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, 490 Illinois Street, Floor 10, Box 0132, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA.
| | - Swati D G Rayasam
- Program On Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, 490 Illinois Street, Floor 10, Box 0132, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | | | - Patricia D Koman
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Nicholas Chartres
- Program On Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, 490 Illinois Street, Floor 10, Box 0132, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Deborah H Bennett
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Linda S Birnbaum
- National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences and National Toxicology Program, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
- Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Phil Brown
- Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Courtney C Carignan
- Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Courtney Cooper
- Program On Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, 490 Illinois Street, Floor 10, Box 0132, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Carl F Cranor
- Department of Philosophy, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
- Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program, College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Miriam L Diamond
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- School of the Environment, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | | | | | - Dale Hattis
- The George Perkins Marsh Institute, Clark University, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Russ Hauser
- Department of Environmental Health, T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Wendy Heiger-Bernays
- Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Juleen Lam
- Department of Public Health, California State University, East Bay, Hayward, CA, USA
| | - Jonathan I Levy
- Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Rachel Morello-Frosch
- School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Keeve E Nachman
- Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Johns Hopkins Risk Sciences and Public Policy Institute, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Greylin H Nielsen
- Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Catherine Oksas
- School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Dimitri Panagopoulos Abrahamsson
- Program On Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, 490 Illinois Street, Floor 10, Box 0132, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Heather B Patisaul
- Department of Biological Sciences, Center for Human Health and the Environment, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | | | - Joshua F Robinson
- Program On Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, 490 Illinois Street, Floor 10, Box 0132, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
- Center for Reproductive Sciences, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Sheela Sathyanarayana
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Child Health, Behavior, and Development, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Ted Schettler
- Science and Environmental Health Network, Ames, IA, USA
| | - Rachel M Shaffer
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington School of Public Health, Seattle, USA
| | - Bhavna Shamasunder
- Department of Urban & Environmental Policy and Public Health, Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - Kristin Shrader-Frechette
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
- Department of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Gina M Solomon
- School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Public Health Institute, Oakland, CA, USA
| | - Wilma A Subra
- Louisiana Environmental Action Network, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
| | - Laura N Vandenberg
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health & Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Julia R Varshavsky
- Department of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Roberta F White
- Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ken Zarker
- Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, WA, USA
| | - Lauren Zeise
- Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection Agency, Oakland, CA, USA
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Buse CG, Bezzola A, Brubacher J, Takaro TK, Fredeen AL, Parkes MW. Cumulative Impacts of Diverse Land Uses in British Columbia, Canada: Application of the "EnviroScreen" Method. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:11171. [PMID: 36141471 PMCID: PMC9517321 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph191811171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2022] [Revised: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
(1) Objectives: Cumulative impacts refer to the legacies of land use decisions on environmental, community and health values. New integrative impact assessment tools are required to assess cumulative impacts on diverse values to meet sustainability goals in the 21st century. In this contribution, the CalEnviroScreen methodology-a screening tool capable of merging environmental, socioeconomic and health data-is applied to Local Health Areas in British Columbia, Canada. (2) Methods: The CalEnviroScreen is a method that standardizes environmental, socioeconomic and health data to depict an indicator's percentile rank in the distribution of all units of analysis. The method combines indicators to measure four dimensions of pressure: environmental exposures, environmental effects, socioeconomic conditions, and sensitive populations (i.e., health outcomes). We create two versions of EnviroScreen: one following the CalEnviroScreen suite of indicators, and another that uses nuanced indicators to approximate the realities of industrial land uses present in British Columbia. BCEnviroScreen scores are plotted by race/ethnicity to understand potential racial inequities in cumulative exposures. (3) Results: The BCEnviroScreen has a greater likelihood of quantifying the cumulative impacts of diverse industries and land uses present across resource-dependent parts of the province, relative to the more urban-centric CalEnviroScreen indicator suite. Analyzing the distribution of BCEnviroScreen scores by race/ethnicity suggests that visible minority populations may be inequitably exposed to cumulative impacts in BC. (4) Conclusion: EnviroScreen tools hold significant potential to influence Canadian environmental health policy. This research demonstrates the applicability of the tool to British Columbia and other jurisdictions, illustrates how indicators can be tailored to better represent regional context, and shows how the tool can be used to screen for potential environmental health injustices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris G. Buse
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
| | - Aita Bezzola
- School of Health Sciences, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9, Canada
- Natural Resources and Environmental Studies Institute, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9, Canada
| | - Jordan Brubacher
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
| | - Tim K. Takaro
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
| | - Arthur L. Fredeen
- Natural Resources and Environmental Studies Institute, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9, Canada
| | - Margot W. Parkes
- School of Health Sciences, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9, Canada
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8
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Racz L, Rish W. Exposure monitoring toward environmental justice. INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT 2022; 18:858-862. [PMID: 34633140 DOI: 10.1002/ieam.4534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2021] [Revised: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Executive Order 14008, signed on 27 January 2021, established environmental justice (EJ) as a core priority of the Biden Administration. There is a need for state and federal regulators, as well as industry, to enhance risk assessment methods and exposure monitoring approaches to be more inclusive of EJ community involvement and more representative of EJ community exposures. Cumulative risk assessment models are critical for understanding the unique interaction between chemical exposures and nonchemical stressors that EJ communities encounter daily. Enhanced environmental monitoring with personal and portable sensors, especially when deployed using community partnerships, can capture chemical exposures with sufficient resolution to characterize exposures down to the neighborhood level. Use of internet-linked sensors will also require thoughtful advances in management of big data to inform meaningful and time-sensitive decisions. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;18:858-862. © 2021 SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- LeeAnn Racz
- ToxStrategies Inc., Fort Walton Beach, Florida, USA
| | - William Rish
- ToxStrategies Inc., Asheville, North Carolina, USA
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9
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Kane N. Revealing the racial and spatial disparity in pediatric asthma: A Kansas City case study. Soc Sci Med 2021; 292:114543. [PMID: 34802780 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2020] [Revised: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Black and other socially disadvantaged children are disproportionately burdened by high rates of pediatric asthma. Intraurban variation in environmental risk factors and limited access to high-resolution health data make it difficult to identify vulnerable patients, communities, or the immediate exposures that may contribute to pediatric asthma exacerbation. This article presents a novel, interdisciplinary health disparities research and intervention strategy applied to the problem of pediatric asthma in Kansas City. First, address-level electronic health records from a major children's hospital in the Kansas City region are used to map the distribution of asthma encounters in 2012 at a high spatial resolution. Census tract Environmental Justice Screening Method (EJSM) indicators are then developed to scan for patterns in both the population health risks and vulnerabilities that may contribute to the burden of asthma in different communities. A Bayesian Profile Regression cluster analysis is used to systematically explore the complex relationships between census tract EJSM indicators and pediatric asthma incidence rates, helping to identify population characteristics and risk factors associated with both high and low rates of pediatric asthma throughout the region. The EJSM scanning exercise and BPR analysis demonstrate that each community faces a distinct set of risks and vulnerabilities that can contribute to the rate of acute pediatric asthma acute care encounters, providing targets for research and intervention. It is clear, however, that different forms of social disadvantage are driving high rates of pediatric asthma, which is closely tied to uneven development patterns and racial residential segregation. The results provide a starting point for designing place-based health disparities research and intervention strategies catered to the unique needs of vulnerable patients and communities; disparities-focused research and intervention strategies that leverage local knowledge and resources through community-based practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Kane
- Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO, USA.
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10
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Grenier É, Giovenazzo P, Julien C, Goupil-Sormany I. Honeybees as a biomonitoring species to assess environmental airborne pollution in different socioeconomic city districts. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2021; 193:740. [PMID: 34674037 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-021-09485-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Honeybees have been used in Europe as environmental bioindicators for heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). However, their potential has been little explored in North America, especially between environments which have similar pollution levels. Many urban residents and stakeholders are concerned with air quality, mainly in regard to gradients of exposure to industrial pollution between deprived and privileged subpopulation. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the use of honeybees as bioindicators to assess exposure to heavy metals and PAHs in Québec City, Canada, in different socioeconomic districts of Quebec City (deprivation index). Honeybees were sampled over a 5-month period (May to September) at six locations distributed in two urban areas that are distinct geomorphologically and socioeconomically (lower town socio-economically deprived and upper town socioeconomically privileged) and two control rural locations. Six PAHs were analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC), while four heavy metals were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Arsenic was the only measured pollutant that showed a significant gradient of exposure between rural and urban environments, but also between the two urban areas. Furthermore, we were able to detect significant differences at certain sampling times for heavy metals and PAHs. Overall, the results show that honeybees are sensitive enough to detect differences between the differential urban environments of a city presumed to have similar pollution levels and therefore could be used when potential socio-environmental inequalities are present.
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Affiliation(s)
- Émilie Grenier
- Social and Preventive Medicine, Laval University, Québec, Canada.
| | | | - Carl Julien
- Deschambault Animal Sciences Research Center (CRSAD), Deschambault, Québec, Canada
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Levy JI. Accounting for Health Risk Inequality in Regulatory Impact Analysis: Barriers and Opportunities. RISK ANALYSIS : AN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE SOCIETY FOR RISK ANALYSIS 2021; 41:610-618. [PMID: 33580582 PMCID: PMC8759631 DOI: 10.1111/risa.13714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2019] [Revised: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
There has been increasing interest in accounting for inequality in health risks and benefits within regulatory impact analyses, both given more general interest in the distributions of benefits and growing concerns about inequity (defined as those inequalities deemed unjust or unfair) and environmental injustice (in this context, those health risk inequalities that are correlated with race/ethnicity and certain other sociodemographic factors). Although there has been growing literature on this topic, there has been limited progress in practice, and the lack of quantification limits consideration of inequality in the policy process. Controversy remains regarding the best approaches to formally incorporate inequality, when these approaches should be used, and even whether it makes sense to quantify inequality in this context. The objective of this article is to review the literature on approaches for incorporating estimates of, and concerns for, inequality into regulatory impact analyses, especially those where environmental justice considerations are relevant, and consider the interpretation of these approaches and the implications for decision making. Using the case example of the Transportation and Climate Initiative, a collaboration among Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states to reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector, multiple strategies are described that could be used to shed light on health risk inequality and inequity, consider them in pending policy decisions, and evaluate their implications for the policy or instrument choice. Given appropriate contextualization and acknowledgment of the multidimensionality of equity, quantitative inequality indicators can provide meaningful insight about both inequality and inequity in health risks.
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12
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von Stackelberg K, Williams PR. Evolving Science and Practice of Risk Assessment. RISK ANALYSIS : AN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE SOCIETY FOR RISK ANALYSIS 2021; 41:571-583. [PMID: 33295028 PMCID: PMC8257268 DOI: 10.1111/risa.13647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2019] [Revised: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 10/26/2020] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Managing public health risks from environmental contaminants has historically relied on a risk assessment process defined by the regulatory context in which these risks are assessed. Risk assessment guidance follows a straightforward, chemical-by-chemical approach to inform regulatory decisions around the question "what is the risk-based concentration protective of human and ecological health outcomes?" Here we briefly summarize regulatory risk assessment in the context of innovative risk assessment approaches based on an evolving understanding of the underlying scientific disciplines that support risk analysis more broadly. We discuss scientific versus regulatory tensions in the application of these approaches for future risk assessments, and challenges in translating our improved understanding of the underlying scientific complexity to the regulatory landscape to better inform decision making that extends beyond conventional regulatory mandates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine von Stackelberg
- NEK Associates LTD, Allston, MA, 02134, USA
- Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, 401 Park Drive, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
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Assunção AÁ, Abreu MNS, Souza PSN. Factors associated with self-reported exposure to chemical substances at work in Brazil: results from the National Health Survey, 2013. Rev Saude Publica 2020; 54:92. [PMID: 32901756 PMCID: PMC7454166 DOI: 10.11606/s1518-8787.2020054001461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2019] [Accepted: 08/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To describe the prevalence of self-reported exposure to chemical substances at work and its associated factors in a sample of Brazilian adults that participated in the National Health Survey, conducted between 2013 and 2014. METHODS Our sample consisted of adults aged 18 years or older that answered question E1 of module E: “In the week of July 21-27, 2013 (reference week), did you work as regular employee or intern for at least an hour in any activity paid with cash?” Sociodemographic data, situation and health behaviors were analyzed with single and multivariate binary logistic regression. The model was adjusted by the variables of all groups, adopting a 5% significance level. The values of odds ratio (OR) and respective confidence intervals were obtained. RESULTS Women (OR = 0.74; 95%CI 0.66–0.82) had a lower chance of exposure to chemicals. The highest chances were observed in groups with no instruction or that attended up to middle-school (OR = 1.77; 95%CI 1.50–2.08), high school (OR = 1.62; 95%CI 1.37–1.91), age between 25 and 54 years (OR = 1.26; 95%CI 1.07–1.48), current smokers (OR = 1.21; 95%CI 1.07–1.37), who reported tiredness (OR = 1.35; 95%CI 1.21–1.50), hearing difficulties (OR = 1.24; 95%CI 1.04–1.48) and who reported having suffered an accident at work (OR = 2.00; 95%CI 1.57–2.54). CONCLUSIONS The unprecedented results cover the entire workforce. Positive associations with hearing loss, smoking and history of work accidents are consistent, as well as the inverse association with education level and gender differences. The absence of association with asthma was surprising. To fill gaps in investigations on chronic non-communicable diseases, we suggested improving the PNS collection instrument in the occupational dimension.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ada Ávila Assunção
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Faculdade de Medicina. Departamento de Medicina Preventiva e Social. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil
| | - Mery Natali Silva Abreu
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Escola de Enfermagem. Departamento de Gestão em Saúde. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil
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Schulz AJ, Omari A, Ward M, Mentz GB, Demajo R, Sampson N, Israel BA, Reyes AG, Wilkins D. Independent and joint contributions of economic, social and physical environmental characteristics to mortality in the Detroit Metropolitan Area: A study of cumulative effects and pathways. Health Place 2020; 65:102391. [PMID: 32738606 PMCID: PMC7511424 DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2020.102391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2020] [Revised: 06/19/2020] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Previous studies have demonstrated associations between race-based residential segregation, neighborhood socioeconomic and physical environmental characteristics, and mortality. Relatively few studies have examined independent and joint effects of these multiple neighborhood characteristics and mortality, including potential mediating pathways. In this study we examine the extent to which associations between race-based residential segregation and all-cause mortality may be explained by multiple socioeconomic indicators and exposure to air pollutants. METHODS Drawing on data from multiple sources, we assessed bivariate associations between race-based residential segregation (operationalized as percent non-Hispanic Black), education (percent with graduate equivalency degree), poverty (percent below poverty), income inequality (GINI coefficient) and air pollution (ambient PM2.5) and age adjusted all-cause, all race mortality (henceforth all cause mortality) at the census tract level in the Detroit Metropolitan Area. We used inequality curves to assess the (in)equitable distribution of economic and environmental characteristics by census tract racial composition. Finally, we used generalized estimating equations (GEE) to examine independent and joint associations among percent NHB, education, income inequality, and air pollution to all-cause mortality, and test for mediating effects. RESULTS Bivariate associations between racial composition, education, poverty, income inequality, PM2.5 and all-cause mortality were statistically significant. Census tracts with higher concentrations of NHB residents had significantly lower educational attainment, higher poverty, and greater exposure to PM2.5. In multivariate models, education, income inequality and PM2.5 fully attenuated associations between racial composition and all-cause mortality. CONCLUSIONS Results are consistent with the hypothesis that race-based residential segregation is associated with heightened all-cause mortality, and that those effects are mediated by education, income inequality, and exposure to air pollution at the census tract level. Public health and cross-sector interventions to eliminate race-based residential segregation or to eliminate the maldistribution of educational and economic resources, and environmental exposures, across census tracts could substantially reduce regional inequities in all-cause mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy J Schulz
- Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
| | - Amel Omari
- Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Melanie Ward
- Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Graciela B Mentz
- Department of Anesthesiology, Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Ricardo Demajo
- Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Natalie Sampson
- College of Education, Health and Human Services, University of Michigan Dearborn, Dearborn, MI, USA
| | - Barbara A Israel
- Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Angela G Reyes
- Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation, Detroit, MI, USA
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A Cumulative Risk Perspective for Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Professionals. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:ijerph17176342. [PMID: 32878292 PMCID: PMC7503320 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17176342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2020] [Revised: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Cumulative risk assessment (CRA) addresses the combined risk associated with chemical and non-chemical exposures. Although CRA approaches are utilized in environmental and ecological contexts, they are rarely applied in workplaces. In this perspectives article, we strive to raise awareness among occupational health and safety (OHS) professionals and foster the greater adoption of a CRA perspective in practice. Specifically, we provide an overview of CRA literature as well as preliminary guidance on when to consider a CRA approach in occupational settings and how to establish reasonable boundaries. Examples of possible workplace co-exposures and voluntary risk management actions are discussed. We also highlight important implications for workplace CRA research and practice. In particular, future needs include simple tools for identifying combinations of chemical and non-chemical exposures, uniform risk management guidelines, and risk communication materials. Further development of practical CRA methods and tools are essential to meet the needs of complex and changing work environments.
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16
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Juarez PD, Hood DB, Song MA, Ramesh A. Use of an Exposome Approach to Understand the Effects of Exposures From the Natural, Built, and Social Environments on Cardio-Vascular Disease Onset, Progression, and Outcomes. Front Public Health 2020; 8:379. [PMID: 32903514 PMCID: PMC7437454 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.00379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2020] [Accepted: 06/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension have increased by epidemic proportions in recent years among African Americans in comparison to Whites resulting in significant adverse cardiovascular disease (CVD) disparities. Today, African Americans are 30% more likely to die of heart disease than Whites and twice as likely to have a stroke. The causes of these disparities are not yet well-understood. Improved methods for identifying underlying risk factors is a critical first step toward reducing Black:White CVD disparities. This article will focus on environmental exposures in the external environment and how they can lead to changes at the cellular, molecular, and organ level to increase the personal risk for CVD and lead to population level CVD racial disparities. The external environment is defined in three broad domains: natural (air, water, land), built (places you live, work, and play) and social (social, demographic, economic, and political). We will describe how environmental exposures in the natural, built, and social environments "get under the skin" to affect gene expression though epigenetic, pan-omics, and related mechanisms that lead to increased risk for adverse CVD health outcomes and population level disparities. We also will examine the important role of metabolomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, genomics, and epigenomics in understanding how exposures in the natural, built, and social environments lead to CVD disparities with implications for clinical, public health, and policy interventions. In this review, we apply an exposome approach to Black:White CVD racial disparities. The exposome is a measure of all the exposures of an individual across the life course and the relationship of those exposures to health effects. The exposome represents the totality of exogenous (external) and endogenous (internal) exposures from conception onwards, simultaneously distinguishing, characterizing, and quantifying etiologic, mediating, moderating, and co-occurring risk and protective factors and their relationship to disease. Specifically, it assesses the biological mechanisms and underlying pathways through which chemical and non-chemical environmental exposures are associated with CVD onset, progression and outcomes. The exposome is a promising approach for understanding the complex relationships among environment, behavior, biology, genetics, and disease phenotypes that underlie population level, Black: White CVD disparities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul D Juarez
- Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Darryl B Hood
- College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Min-Ae Song
- College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
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17
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Nephrotoxic effects caused by co-exposure to noise and toluene in New Zealand white rabbits: A biochemical and histopathological study. Life Sci 2020; 259:118254. [PMID: 32800833 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2020.118254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Revised: 07/31/2020] [Accepted: 08/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The biological and renal effects made by simultaneous and non-simultaneous exposure to toluene and noise were investigated. Twenty-four New Zealand white rabbits were exposed to 100 dB of white noise and 1000 ppm of toluene vapor for two weeks. The examined biochemical factors were urea, uric acid, creatinine, glucose, triglyceride, cholesterol, and albumin serum levels, measured on different days after the end of the exposure. Moreover, glutathione peroxidase activity (GPX), malondialdehyde dismutase activity (MDA), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) parameters were measured in the kidney tissue. The hematoxylin and eosin staining method was used for histopathological experiments. Overall, the noise increased albumin, uric acid, creatinine, and glucose levels, but it decreased urea, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. Toluene decreased albumin, uric acid, and urea levels, while it increased creatinine, triglyceride, cholesterol, and glucose levels. Simultaneous exposure to noise and toluene decreased albumin, uric acid, cholesterol, and urea levels, whereas it increased creatinine, glucose, and triglyceride levels. GPX, MDA, and SOD levels increased by simultaneous and non-simultaneous exposure to noise and toluene. Furthermore, massive tubular degeneration, tubular cell vacuolization, glomerular disorganization, congestion, glomerular cell shrinkage, and unclear brush border were detected in the kidney tissue.
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18
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Lu EH, Huang SZ, Yu TH, Chiang SY, Wu KY. Systematic probabilistic risk assessment of pesticide residues in tea leaves. CHEMOSPHERE 2020; 247:125692. [PMID: 31962224 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.125692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2019] [Revised: 12/03/2019] [Accepted: 12/16/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Multiple pesticide residues are frequently present in tea leaves and while the majority of residues satisfy Taiwan's current health regulations, there are potential health effects from pesticide exposure that are of great concern for tea drinkers. We undertook a systematic probabilistic risk assessment of 59 pesticides in tea leaves from 1629 tea leaf samples obtained by Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration in two monitoring surveys in 2015. Bayesian statistics used a Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach to estimate posterior distributions of pesticide residues in tea leaves, lifetime average daily doses and hazard quotients (HQs) of evaluated pesticides. We classified 95th percentile values of HQs into three categories: 0 < HQ < 0.5, 0.5 ≤ HQ ≤ 1 and 1 < HQ. The 95th percentiles of HQs for triazophos (3.39), carbofuran (2.04) and endosulfan (1.80) exceeded 1 in the adult population; the HQ for 3-OH carbofuran was 0.97 and was less than 0.5 for the remaining 55 pesticides. The health risk posed by pesticide residues for tea drinkers is negligible, if triazophos, carbofuran, endosulfan, and 3-OH carbofuran residues satisfy regulatory standards. However, five legacy pesticides, DDT, methomyl, carbofuran, dicofol and endosulfan, were identified. To reduce uncertainties, this study combined Bayesian statistics with a mode of action approach for systematic risk assessment of co-exposure to multiple pesticide residues in tea leaf samples. Measuring pesticide transfer rates will improve the quality of future risk assessments concerning residues in tea leaves. Appropriate management of pesticides in Taiwanese tea farms and monitoring of pesticide residues in imported tea is warranted to protect Taiwan's tea drinkers.
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Affiliation(s)
- En-Hsuan Lu
- Legislative Yuan, Room 3309, No.1, Qingdao E. Rd., Zhongzheng Dist., Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Shao-Zu Huang
- Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, National Taiwan University, Room 721, No. 17, Xu-Zhou Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ting-Hung Yu
- Institute of Statistical Science, Academia Sinica, No.128, Academia Road, Section 2, Nankang, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Su-Yin Chiang
- Graduate Institute of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, No.91, Hsueh-Shih Road, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Kuen-Yuh Wu
- Legislative Yuan, Room 3309, No.1, Qingdao E. Rd., Zhongzheng Dist., Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, National Taiwan University, Room 721, No. 17, Xu-Zhou Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Food Safety and Health, National Taiwan University, Room 721, No. 17, Xu-Zhou Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan.
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19
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Mehta SS, Applebaum KM, James-Todd T, Coleman-Phox K, Adler N, Laraia B, Epel E, Parry E, Wang M, Park JS, Zota AR. Associations between sociodemographic characteristics and exposures to PBDEs, OH-PBDEs, PCBs, and PFASs in a diverse, overweight population of pregnant women. JOURNAL OF EXPOSURE SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGY 2020; 30:42-55. [PMID: 31548625 PMCID: PMC6917905 DOI: 10.1038/s41370-019-0173-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2019] [Revised: 07/17/2019] [Accepted: 07/30/2019] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Exposures to persistent organohalogen chemicals during pregnancy are associated with adverse health effects. Low-income, minority women with pre-existing co-morbidities may be particularly vulnerable to these exposures, but have historically been understudied. We aimed to characterize exposures to multiple chemical classes among a sample of ethnically diverse, lower income, overweight or obese pregnant women. Serum concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and their hydroxylated metabolites (OH-PBDEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) were measured in 98 pregnant women (California; 2011-2013). Aggregate exposures were evaluated using correlational clustering, a "chemical burden" score, and PCA. Associations between sociodemographic characteristics and individual and aggregate exposures were evaluated using multivariable linear regression. Clustering and PCA both produced four groupings: (PC1) PBDEs/OH-PBDEs, (PC2) PCBs, (PC3) PFNA/PFOA/PFDeA, (PC4) PFHxS/PFOS. Race/ethnicity and prepregnancy BMI were associated with PBDEs, OH-PBDEs and PC1. Maternal age was associated with PCBs and PC2. Parity was associated with PBDEs, OH-PBDEs and PC2. Poverty was negatively associated with PCBs, whereas food insecurity was positively associated with PFOS. We observed variations in sociodemographic profiles of exposures by chemical class and weak across-class correlations. These findings have implications for epidemiologic studies of chemical mixtures and for exposure reduction strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suril S Mehta
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
| | - Katie M Applebaum
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Tamarra James-Todd
- Departments of Environmental Health and Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kimberly Coleman-Phox
- Center for Health and Community, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Nancy Adler
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Barbara Laraia
- Division of Community Health and Human Development, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Elissa Epel
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Emily Parry
- Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, California Department of Toxic Substances Control, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Miaomiao Wang
- Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, California Department of Toxic Substances Control, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - June-Soo Park
- Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, California Department of Toxic Substances Control, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Ami R Zota
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
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20
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Eccles KM, Pauli BD, Chan HM. The Use of Geographic Information Systems for Spatial Ecological Risk Assessments: An Example from the Athabasca Oil Sands Area in Canada. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY 2019; 38:2797-2810. [PMID: 31433524 DOI: 10.1002/etc.4577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2018] [Revised: 10/17/2018] [Accepted: 08/15/2019] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
There is an acknowledged need in ecotoxicology for methods that integrate spatial analyses in risk assessment. This has resulted in the emergence of landscape ecotoxicology, a subdiscipline of ecotoxicology. However, landscape ecotoxicology has yet to become common practice in risk assessment due to the underdevelopment of techniques and a lack of standardized methods. In the present study, we demonstrate how geographic information systems (GISs) can serve as a standardized platform to integrate data, assess spatial patterns of ecotoxicological data for multiple species, and assess relationships between chemical mixture exposures and effects on biota for landscape ecotoxicological risks assessment. We use data collected under the Joint Oil Sands Monitoring Program in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region in Alberta, Canada. This dataset is composed of concentrations of contaminants including metals and polycyclic aromatic compounds, and health endpoints measured in 1100 biological samples, including tree swallows, amphibians, gull and tern eggs, plants, and mammals. We present 3 examples using a GIS as a platform and geospatial analysis to: 1) integrate data and assess spatial patterns of contaminant exposure in the region, 2) assess spatial patterns of exposures to complex mixtures, and 3) examine patterns of exposures and responses across the landscape. We summarize the methods used in the present study into a workflow for ease of use. The GIS methods allow researchers to identify hot spots of contamination, use georeferenced monitoring data to derive quantitative exposure-response relationships, and assess complex exposures with more realism. Environ Toxicol Chem 2019;38:2797-2810. © 2019 SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristin M Eccles
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Science and Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada, National Wildlife Research Center, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Bruce D Pauli
- Science and Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada, National Wildlife Research Center, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Hing Man Chan
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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State-of-the-Science Review of Non-Chemical Stressors Found in a Child's Social Environment. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2019; 16:ijerph16224417. [PMID: 31718056 PMCID: PMC6888402 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16224417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2019] [Revised: 11/07/2019] [Accepted: 11/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Background: Children are exposed to chemical and non-chemical stressors from their built, natural, and social environments. Research is needed to advance our scientific understanding of non-chemical stressors, evaluate how they alter the biological response to a chemical stressor, and determine how they impact children’s health and well-being. To do this, we conducted a state-of-the-science review of non-chemical stressors found in a child’s social environment. Methods: Studies eligible for inclusion in this review were identified through a search of the peer-reviewed literature using PubMed and PsycINFO. Combinations of words associated with non-chemical stressors and children were used to form search strings. Filters were used to limit the search to studies published in peer-reviewed journals from 2000–2016 and written in English. Publications found using the search strings and filters went through two rounds of screening. Results: A total of 146 studies met the inclusion criteria. From these studies, 245 non-chemical stressors were evaluated. The non-chemical stressors were then organized into 13 general topic areas: acculturation, adverse childhood experiences, economic, education, family dynamics, food, greenspace, neighborhood, social, stress, urbanicity, violence, and other. Additional information on health outcomes, studies evaluating both chemical and non-chemical stressors, and animal studies are provided. This review provides evidence that non-chemical stressors found in a child’s social environment do influence their health and well-being in both beneficial (e.g., salutatory effects of greenspace and social support) and adverse (e.g., poor relationships between health and selected non-chemical stressors such as economics, educational attainment, exposure to violence, stress) ways. Conclusions: This literature review identified a paucity of studies addressing the combined effects of chemical and non-chemical stressors and children’s health and well-being. This literature review was further complicated by inconsistencies in terminology, methodologies, and the value of non-chemical stressor research in different scientific disciplines. Despite these limitations, this review showed the importance of considering non-chemical stressors from a child’s social environment when addressing children’s environmental health considerations.
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Zilversmit Pao L, Harville EW, Wickliffe JK, Shankar A, Buekens P. The Cumulative Risk of Chemical and Nonchemical Exposures on Birth Outcomes in Healthy Women: The Fetal Growth Study. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2019; 16:E3700. [PMID: 31581440 PMCID: PMC6801557 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16193700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2019] [Revised: 09/23/2019] [Accepted: 09/26/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Metals, stress, and sociodemographics are commonly studied separately for their effects on birth outcomes, yet often jointly contribute to adverse outcomes. This study analyzes two methods for measuring cumulative risk to understand how maternal chemical and nonchemical stressors may contribute to small for gestational age (SGA). SGA was calculated using sex-specific fetal growth curves for infants of pregnant mothers (n = 2562) enrolled in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Fetal Growth Study. The exposures (maternal lead, mercury, cadmium, Cohen's perceived stress, Edinburgh depression scores, race/ethnicity, income, and education) were grouped into three domains: metals, psychosocial stress, and sociodemographics. In Method 1 we created cumulative risk scores using tertiles. Method 2 employed weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression. For each method, logistic models were built with three exposure domains individually and race/ethnicity, adjusting for age, parity, pregnancy weight gain, and marital status. The adjusted effect of overall cumulative risk with three domains, was also modeled using each method. Sociodemographics was the only exposure associated with SGA in unadjusted models ((odds ratio) OR: 1.35, 95% (confidence interval) CI: 1.08, 1.68). The three cumulative variables in adjusted models were not significant individually, but the overall index was associated with SGA (OR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.35). In the WQS model, only the sociodemographics domain was significantly associated with SGA. Sociodemographics tended to be the strongest risk factor for SGA in both risk score and WQS models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leah Zilversmit Pao
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
| | - Emily W Harville
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
| | - Jeffrey K Wickliffe
- Department of Global Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
| | - Arti Shankar
- Global Biostatistics and Data Science, Department of Global Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
| | - Pierre Buekens
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
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Worley JR, Parker GC. Effects of environmental stressors on stem cells. World J Stem Cells 2019; 11:565-577. [PMID: 31616535 PMCID: PMC6789190 DOI: 10.4252/wjsc.v11.i9.565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2019] [Revised: 07/12/2019] [Accepted: 09/04/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Environmental toxicants are ubiquitous, and many are known to cause harmful health effects. However, much of what we know or think we know concerning the targets and long-term effects of exposure to environmental stressors is sadly lacking. Toxicant exposure may have health effects that are currently mischaracterized or at least mechanistically incompletely understood. While much of the recent excitement about stem cells (SCs) focuses on their potential as therapeutic agents, they also offer a valuable resource to give us insight into the mechanisms and risks of toxicant effects. Not only as a response to the increasing ethical pressure to reduce animal testing, SC studies allow us valuable insight into the true effects of human exposure to environmental stressors under controlled conditions. We present a review of the history of publications on the effects of environmental stressors on SCs, followed by a consolidation of the literature over the past five years on a subset of key environmental stressors of importance to human health and their effects on both embryonic and tissue SCs. The review will make constructive suggestions as to areas of toxicant research where further studies are needed, as well as making indications of the potential utility for advancing knowledge and directing research on environmental toxicology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica R Worley
- Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48202, United States
| | - Graham C Parker
- Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48202, United States
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Peters JL, Fabian MP, Levy JI. Epidemiologically-informed cumulative risk hypertension models simulating the impact of changes in metal, organochlorine, and non-chemical exposures in an environmental justice community. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2019; 176:108544. [PMID: 31271923 PMCID: PMC6716580 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2019.108544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2019] [Revised: 05/23/2019] [Accepted: 06/17/2019] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Blood pressure is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease, influenced by chemical and non-chemical stressors. Exposure reduction strategies can potentially improve public health, but there are analytical challenges in developing quantitative models of health benefits, including the need for detailed multi-stressor exposure models, corresponding health evidence, and methods to simulate changes in exposure and resultant health benefits. These challenges are pronounced in low-income urban communities, where residents are often simultaneously exposed to numerous chemical and non-chemical stressors. For New Bedford (Massachusetts, USA), a low-income community near a Superfund site, we simulated geographically-resolved individual data, and applied previously published structural equation models developed from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data. These models simultaneously predict exposures to multiple chemicals (e.g., lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)) and non-chemical factors (e.g., socioeconomic status), and determine their combined effects on blood pressure. We then modeled counterfactual scenarios reducing exposures and estimated the resulting changes in blood pressure distribution in the community. Results indicated small shifts in mean blood pressure and percentage of normotensive individuals with a reduction of Pb and/or PCB exposure. For example, a reduction in PCB to the lowest 10th percentile exposure in the NHANES resulted in a 2.4 mm Hg shift in systolic blood pressure (SBP), corresponding with 3% fewer individuals with SBP in the Stage 2 hypertension category [SBP ≥140]. Our model also emphasized the importance of the multi-stressor framework by simulating benefits of reductions in smoking rates, given positive associations with Pb and Cd but inverse associations with body mass index and blood pressure. This research demonstrates the ability to jointly consider chemical and non-chemical exposures and their impact on cardiovascular health, using approaches generalizable to other cumulative risk assessment applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junenette L Peters
- Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany Street, Talbot 4th Floor West, Boston, MA, 02118, USA.
| | - M Patricia Fabian
- Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany Street, Talbot 4th Floor West, Boston, MA, 02118, USA.
| | - Jonathan I Levy
- Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany Street, Talbot 4th Floor West, Boston, MA, 02118, USA.
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Prochaska JD, Kim H, Buschmann RN, Jupiter D, Croisant S, Linder SH, Sexton K. The utility of a system dynamics approach for understanding cumulative health risk from exposure to environmental hazards. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2019; 172:462-469. [PMID: 30844571 PMCID: PMC6755670 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2019.02.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2018] [Revised: 02/22/2019] [Accepted: 02/26/2019] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
The potential of system dynamics modeling to advance our understanding of cumulative risk in the service of optimal health is discussed. The focus is on exploring system dynamics modeling as a systems science methodology that can provide a framework for examining the complexity of real-world social and environmental exposures among populations-particularly those exposed to multiple disparate sources of risk. The discussion also examines how system dynamics modeling can engage a diverse body of key stakeholders throughout the modeling process, promoting the collective assessment of assumptions and systematic gathering of critical data. Though not a panacea, system dynamics modeling provides a promising methodology to complement traditional research methods in understanding cumulative health effects from exposure to multiple environmental and social stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- John D Prochaska
- Department of Preventive Medicine & Community Health, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Blvd. Route 1153, Galveston, TX 77555-1153, USA; Center in Environmental Toxicology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
| | - Hyunjung Kim
- Department of Management, California State University, Chico, CA, USA
| | - Robert N Buschmann
- Department of Preventive Medicine & Community Health, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Blvd. Route 1153, Galveston, TX 77555-1153, USA
| | - Daniel Jupiter
- Department of Preventive Medicine & Community Health, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Blvd. Route 1153, Galveston, TX 77555-1153, USA; Office of Biostatistics, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA
| | - Sharon Croisant
- Department of Preventive Medicine & Community Health, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Blvd. Route 1153, Galveston, TX 77555-1153, USA; Center in Environmental Toxicology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA
| | - Stephen H Linder
- Department of Management, Policy and Community Health, University of Texas Health Science Center Houston School of Public Health, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Ken Sexton
- Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas, Health Science Center, School of Public Health, Houston, TX, USA
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Burwell-Naney K, Wilson SM, Whitlock ST, Puett R. Hybrid Resiliency-Stressor Conceptual Framework for Informing Decision Support Tools and Addressing Environmental Injustice and Health Inequities. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2019; 16:E1466. [PMID: 31027209 PMCID: PMC6518295 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16081466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2019] [Revised: 04/19/2019] [Accepted: 04/19/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
While structural factors may drive health inequities, certain health-promoting attributes of one's "place" known as salutogens may further moderate the cumulative impacts of exposures to socio-environmental stressors that behave as pathogens. Understanding the synergistic relationship between socio-environmental stressors and resilience factors is a critical component in reducing health inequities; however, the catalyst for this concept relies on community-engaged research approaches to ultimately strengthen resiliency and promote health. Furthermore, this concept has not been fully integrated into environmental justice and cumulative risk assessment screening tools designed to identify geospatial variability in environmental factors that may be associated with health inequities. As a result, we propose a hybrid resiliency-stressor conceptual framework to inform the development of environmental justice and cumulative risk assessment screening tools that can detect environmental inequities and opportunities for resilience in vulnerable populations. We explore the relationship between actual exposures to socio-environmental stressors, perceptions of stressors, and one's physiological and psychological stress response to environmental stimuli, which collectively may perpetuate health inequities by increasing allostatic load and initiating disease onset. This comprehensive framework expands the scope of existing screening tools to inform action-based solutions that rely on community-engaged research efforts to increase resiliency and promote positive health outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen Burwell-Naney
- Center for Outreach in Alzheimer's, Aging and Community Health, North Carolina A&T State University, 2105 Yanceyville Street, Greensboro, NC 27405, USA.
| | - Sacoby M Wilson
- Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, School of Public Heath, University of Maryland, 255 Valley Drive, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
| | - Siobhan T Whitlock
- Office of Environmental Justice and Sustainability, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA.
| | - Robin Puett
- Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, School of Public Heath, University of Maryland, 255 Valley Drive, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
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Huang H, Wang A, Morello-Frosch R, Lam J, Sirota M, Padula A, Woodruff TJ. Cumulative Risk and Impact Modeling on Environmental Chemical and Social Stressors. Curr Environ Health Rep 2019; 5:88-99. [PMID: 29441463 DOI: 10.1007/s40572-018-0180-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW The goal of this review is to identify cumulative modeling methods used to evaluate combined effects of exposures to environmental chemicals and social stressors. The specific review question is: What are the existing quantitative methods used to examine the cumulative impacts of exposures to environmental chemical and social stressors on health? RECENT FINDINGS There has been an increase in literature that evaluates combined effects of exposures to environmental chemicals and social stressors on health using regression models; very few studies applied other data mining and machine learning techniques to this problem. The majority of studies we identified used regression models to evaluate combined effects of multiple environmental and social stressors. With proper study design and appropriate modeling assumptions, additional data mining methods may be useful to examine combined effects of environmental and social stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongtai Huang
- Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Institute for Computational Health Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | - Aolin Wang
- Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Institute for Computational Health Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Rachel Morello-Frosch
- Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, and the School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Juleen Lam
- Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Marina Sirota
- Institute for Computational Health Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Amy Padula
- Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Tracey J Woodruff
- Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
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Buse CG, Lai V, Cornish K, Parkes MW. Towards environmental health equity in health impact assessment: innovations and opportunities. Int J Public Health 2018; 64:15-26. [PMID: 29911285 DOI: 10.1007/s00038-018-1135-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2017] [Revised: 06/05/2018] [Accepted: 06/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES As global environmental change drives inequitable health outcomes, novel health equity assessment methodologies are increasingly required. We review literatures on equity-focused HIA to clarify how equity is informing HIA practice, and to surface innovations for assessing health equity in relation to a range of exposures across geographic and temporal scales. METHODS A narrative review of the health equity and HIA literatures analysed English articles published between 2003 and 2017 across PubMed, PubMed Central, Biomed Central and Ovid Medline. Title and abstract reviews of 849 search results yielded 89 articles receiving full text review. RESULTS Considerations of equity in HIA increased over the last 5 years, but equity continues to be conflated with health disparities rather than their root causes (i.e. inequities). Lessons from six literatures to inform future HIA practice are described: HIA for healthy cities, climate change vulnerability assessment, cumulative health risk assessment, intersectionality-based policy analysis, corporate health impact assessment and global health impact assessment. CONCLUSIONS Academic reporting on incorporating equity in HIA practice has been limited. Nonetheless, significant methodological advancements are being made to examine the health equity implications of multiple environmental exposures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris G Buse
- School of Health Sciences, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, Canada.
| | - Valerie Lai
- Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Katie Cornish
- School of Health Sciences, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, Canada
| | - Margot W Parkes
- School of Health Sciences, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, Canada
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Hines DE, Edwards SW, Conolly RB, Jarabek AM. A Case Study Application of the Aggregate Exposure Pathway (AEP) and Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) Frameworks to Facilitate the Integration of Human Health and Ecological End Points for Cumulative Risk Assessment (CRA). ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2018; 52:839-849. [PMID: 29236470 PMCID: PMC6003653 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b04940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Cumulative risk assessment (CRA) methods promote the use of a conceptual site model (CSM) to apportion exposures and integrate risk from multiple stressors. While CSMs may encompass multiple species, evaluating end points across taxa can be challenging due to data availability and physiological differences among organisms. Adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) describe biological mechanisms leading to adverse outcomes (AOs) by assembling causal pathways with measurable intermediate steps termed key events (KEs), thereby providing a framework for integrating data across species. In this work, we used a case study focused on the perchlorate anion (ClO4-) to highlight the value of the AOP framework for cross-species data integration. Computational models and dose-response data were used to evaluate the effects of ClO4- in 12 species and revealed a dose-response concordance across KEs and taxa. The aggregate exposure pathway (AEP) tracks stressors from sources to the exposures and serves as a complement to the AOP. We discuss how the combined AEP-AOP construct helps to maximize the use of existing data and advances CRA by (1) organizing toxicity and exposure data, (2) providing a mechanistic framework of KEs for integrating data across human health and ecological end points, (3) facilitating cross-species dose-response evaluation, and (4) highlighting data gaps and technical limitations.
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Affiliation(s)
- David E. Hines
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National, Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory
| | - Stephen W. Edwards
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National, Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory
| | - Rory B. Conolly
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National, Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory
| | - Annie M. Jarabek
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National, Center for Environmental Assessment
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Huang H, Tornero-Velez R, Barzyk TM. Associations between socio-demographic characteristics and chemical concentrations contributing to cumulative exposures in the United States. JOURNAL OF EXPOSURE SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGY 2017; 27:544-550. [PMID: 28901325 PMCID: PMC6733034 DOI: 10.1038/jes.2017.15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2016] [Accepted: 06/24/2017] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Association rule mining (ARM) has been widely used to identify associations between various entities in many fields. Although some studies have utilized it to analyze the relationship between chemicals and human health effects, fewer have used this technique to identify and quantify associations between environmental and social stressors. Socio-demographic variables were generated based on U.S. Census tract-level income, race/ethnicity population percentage, education level, and age information from the 2010-2014, 5-Year Summary files in the American Community Survey (ACS) database, and chemical variables were generated by utilizing the 2011 National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) census tract-level air pollutant exposure concentration data. Six mobile- and industrial-source pollutants were chosen for analysis, including acetaldehyde, benzene, cyanide, particulate matter components of diesel engine emissions (namely, diesel PM), toluene, and 1,3-butadiene. ARM was then applied to quantify and visualize the associations between the chemical and socio-demographic variables. Census tracts with a high percentage of racial/ethnic minorities and populations with low income tended to have higher estimated chemical exposure concentrations (fourth quartile), especially for diesel PM, 1,3-butadiene, and toluene. In contrast, census tracts with an average population age of 40-50 years, a low percentage of racial/ethnic minorities, and moderate-income levels were more likely to have lower estimated chemical exposure concentrations (first quartile). Unsupervised data mining methods can be used to evaluate potential associations between environmental inequalities and social disparities, while providing support in public health decision-making contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongtai Huang
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830, USA
- National Exposure Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA
| | - Rogelio Tornero-Velez
- National Exposure Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA
| | - Timothy M Barzyk
- National Exposure Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA
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31
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Pulford E, Polidoro BA, Nation M. Understanding the relationships between water quality, recreational fishing practices, and human health in Phoenix, Arizona. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2017; 199:242-250. [PMID: 28549275 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.05.046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2017] [Revised: 05/12/2017] [Accepted: 05/14/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Across the United States, recreational freshwater fisheries are not only an important leisure activity, but can also provide a relatively inexpensive source of protein in local diets. However, recreational freshwater fisheries are generally not well-monitored in terms of fish consumption vs. catch and release, nor are all recreational surface waters regularly monitored for the presence of potentially harmful contaminants in water or fishes. In six urban lakes that support recreational fisheries in Phoenix, Arizona, a majority of surveyed anglers reported eating recreationally caught fishes, even though they thought the water might be polluted. Surface water samples collected from the six urban recreational fishery lakes showed varying levels of organic contaminants, including pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and phthalates. As many Phoenix urban recreational fisheries lakes and ponds are located in low income and high minority neighborhoods, the results of this pilot study could be used to inform urban fisheries management and other agencies of the potential need for fish consumption advisories, inform actions to improve water quality in urban lakes and ponds that support urban fisheries, and support further research and monitoring, in order to reduce potential risks to public health.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Pulford
- School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, 800 Cady Mall #108, Tempe, AZ, 85281, USA.
| | - B A Polidoro
- School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Arizona State University-West Campus, 4701 W Thunderbird Rd, Glendale, AZ, 85306, USA.
| | - M Nation
- Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University, PO Box 875402, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA.
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Huang H, Barzyk TM. Connecting the Dots: Linking Environmental Justice Indicators to Daily Dose Model Estimates. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2016; 14:ijerph14010024. [PMID: 28036053 PMCID: PMC5295275 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph14010024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2016] [Revised: 12/21/2016] [Accepted: 12/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Many different quantitative techniques have been developed to either assess Environmental Justice (EJ) issues or estimate exposure and dose for risk assessment. However, very few approaches have been applied to link EJ factors to exposure dose estimate and identify potential impacts of EJ factors on dose-related variables. The purpose of this study is to identify quantitative approaches that incorporate conventional risk assessment (RA) dose modeling and cumulative risk assessment (CRA) considerations of disproportionate environmental exposure. We apply the Average Daily Dose (ADD) model, which has been commonly used in RA, to better understand impacts of EJ indicators upon exposure dose estimates and dose-related variables, termed the Environmental-Justice-Average-Daily-Dose (EJ-ADD) approach. On the U.S. nationwide census tract-level, we defined and quantified two EJ indicators (poverty and race/ethnicity) using an EJ scoring method to examine their relation to census tract-level multi-chemical exposure dose estimates. Pollutant doses for each tract were calculated using the ADD model, and EJ scores were assigned to each tract based on poverty- or race-related population percentages. Single- and multiple-chemical ADD values were matched to the tract-level EJ scores to analyze disproportionate dose relationships and contributing EJ factors. We found that when both EJ indicators were examined simultaneously, ADD for all pollutants generally increased with larger EJ scores. To demonstrate the utility of using EJ-ADD on the local scale, we approximated ADD levels of lead via soil/dust ingestion for simulated communities with different EJ-related scenarios. The local-level simulation indicates a substantial difference in exposure-dose levels between wealthy and EJ communities. The application of the EJ-ADD approach can link EJ factors to exposure dose estimate and identify potential EJ impacts on dose-related variables.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongtai Huang
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Exposure Research Laboratory, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Exposure Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
| | - Timothy M Barzyk
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Exposure Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
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Perla ME, Rue T, Cheadle A, Krieger J, Karr CJ, Karr CK. Population-based comparison of biomarker concentrations for chemicals of concern among Latino-American and non-Hispanic white children. J Immigr Minor Health 2016; 17:802-19. [PMID: 24668388 DOI: 10.1007/s10903-014-0002-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Differences in cultural and economic status may place ethnic subgroups of children at higher risk for exposure, leading to heightened health risks, and health inequities. Although Latino-Americans represent 22% of all children in the United States, few studies have explored within-group differences in their exposure to toxicants. Using socio-demographic and biomarker data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2008, we characterized determinants of health and estimated geometric means of environmental contaminant biomarkers (blood concentrations of lead and mercury, serum concentrations of dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene [p,p'-DDE] and cotinine, and urinary metabolites of organophosphate [OP] pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [PAHs]) among 4,257 Mexican American (MA), 677 Other Latino-American (OL), and 3,370 Non-Hispanic White (NHW) children. MAs had the lowest levels of health insurance coverage and regular access to health care, and largest household size compared to NHWs and OLs. MAs had higher levels of p,p'-DDE, lead, and cadmium while OLs had higher estimates of mercury relative to other groups. MAs had higher urinary metabolite concentrations of 2-hydroxynaphthalene; otherwise MAs and OLs had lower concentrations of PAHs. NHWs had higher levels of cotinine and dimethylthiophosphate. For other OP metabolites, differences among groups were less clear. Lead and p,p'-DDE exposure differences likely reflect later and less regulatory control of these chemicals in Latin America. Additionally, poor quality housing with lead paint is more common in economically disadvantaged subpopulations. Dietary habits are possible sources of differential cadmium, mercury, and organophosphate exposure. Cotinine exposure differences by income and U.S.- vs. foreign-born may represent increased acculturation. These results, coupled with additional research on exposure sources may contribute to refinement of environmental health promotion programs for the fast-growing Latino-American population.
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Affiliation(s)
- M E Perla
- Department of Health Services, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Box 357236, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA,
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Bellinger DC, Matthews-Bellinger JA, Kordas K. A developmental perspective on early-life exposure to neurotoxicants. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2016; 94:103-112. [PMID: 27235688 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2016.05.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2016] [Revised: 05/14/2016] [Accepted: 05/14/2016] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Studies of early-life neurotoxicant exposure have not been designed, analyzed, or interpreted in the context of a fully developmental perspective. OBJECTIVES The goal of this paper is to describe the key principles of a developmental perspective and to use examples from the literature to illustrate the relevance of these principles to early-life neurotoxicant exposures. METHODS Four principles are discussed: 1) the effects of early-life neurotoxicant exposure depend on a child's developmental context; 2) deficits caused by early-life exposure initiate developmental cascades that can lead to pathologies that differ from those observed initially; 3) early-life neurotoxicant exposure has intra-familial and intergenerational impacts; 4) the impacts of early-life neurotoxicant exposure influence a child's ability to respond to future insults. The first principle is supported by considerable evidence, but the other three have received much less attention. DISCUSSION Incorporating a developmental perspective in studies of early-life neurotoxicant exposures requires prospective collection of data on a larger array of covariates than usually considered, using analytical approaches that acknowledge the transactional processes between a child and the environment and the phenomenon of developmental cascades. CONCLUSION Consideration of early-life neurotoxicant exposure within a developmental perspective reveals that many issues remain to be explicated if we are to achieve a deep understanding of the societal health burden associated with early-life neurotoxicant exposures.
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Affiliation(s)
- David C Bellinger
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02112, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
| | - Julia A Matthews-Bellinger
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, 19 Fair Oaks Park, Needham, MA 02492, USA.
| | - Katarzyna Kordas
- Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, University at Buffalo, 270 Farber Hall, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA.
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Ruiz JDC, Quackenboss JJ, Tulve NS. Contributions of a Child's Built, Natural, and Social Environments to Their General Cognitive Ability: A Systematic Scoping Review. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0147741. [PMID: 26840411 PMCID: PMC4739499 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0147741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2015] [Accepted: 12/09/2015] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The etiology of a child’s cognitive ability is complex, with research suggesting that it is not attributed to a single determinant or even a defined period of exposure. Rather, cognitive development is the product of cumulative interactions with the environment, both negative and positive, over the life course. The aim of this systematic scoping review was to collate evidence associated with children’s cognitive health, including inherent factors as well as chemical and non-chemical stressors from the built, natural, and social environments. Three databases were used to identify recent epidemiological studies (2003–2013) that examined exposure factors associated with general cognitive ability in children. Over 100 factors were evaluated from 258 eligible studies. We found that recent literature mainly assessed the hypothesized negative effects of either inherent factors or chemical exposures present in the physical environment. Prenatal growth, sleep health, lead and water pollutants showed consistent negative effects. Of the few studies that examined social stressors, results consistently showed cognitive development to be influenced by both positive and negative social interactions at home, in school or the community. Among behavioral factors related to diet and lifestyle choices of the mother, breastfeeding was the most studied, showing consistent positive associations with cognitive ability. There were mostly inconsistent results for both chemical and non-chemical stressors. The majority of studies utilized traditional exposure assessments, evaluating chemical and non-chemical stressors separately. Collective evidence from a limited number of studies revealed that cumulative exposure assessment that incorporates multiple chemical and non-chemical stressors over the life course may unravel the variability in effect on cognitive development and help explain the inconsistencies across studies. Future research examining the interactions of multiple stressors within a child’s total environment, depicting a more real-world exposure, will aid in understanding the cumulative effects associated with a child’s ability to learn.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jazmin Del Carmen Ruiz
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Research Participation Program, Oak Ridge, TN, United States of America
- Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division, National Exposure Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC, United States of America
- * E-mail: ;
| | - James J. Quackenboss
- Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division, National Exposure Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Las Vegas, NV, United States of America
| | - Nicolle S. Tulve
- Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division, National Exposure Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC, United States of America
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Shmool JLC, Bobb JF, Ito K, Elston B, Savitz DA, Ross Z, Matte TD, Johnson S, Dominici F, Clougherty JE. Area-level socioeconomic deprivation, nitrogen dioxide exposure, and term birth weight in New York City. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2015; 142:624-32. [PMID: 26318257 PMCID: PMC4715366 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2015.08.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2015] [Revised: 08/12/2015] [Accepted: 08/17/2015] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Numerous studies have linked air pollution with adverse birth outcomes, but relatively few have examined differential associations across the socioeconomic gradient. To evaluate interaction effects of gestational nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and area-level socioeconomic deprivation on fetal growth, we used: (1) highly spatially-resolved air pollution data from the New York City Community Air Survey (NYCCAS); and (2) spatially-stratified principle component analysis of census variables previously associated with birth outcomes to define area-level deprivation. New York City (NYC) hospital birth records for years 2008-2010 were restricted to full-term, singleton births to non-smoking mothers (n=243,853). We used generalized additive mixed models to examine the potentially non-linear interaction of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and deprivation categories on birth weight (and estimated linear associations, for comparison), adjusting for individual-level socio-demographic characteristics and sensitivity testing adjustment for co-pollutant exposures. Estimated NO2 exposures were highest, and most varying, among mothers residing in the most-affluent census tracts, and lowest among mothers residing in mid-range deprivation tracts. In non-linear models, we found an inverse association between NO2 and birth weight in the least-deprived and most-deprived areas (p-values<0.001 and 0.05, respectively) but no association in the mid-range of deprivation (p=0.8). Likewise, in linear models, a 10 ppb increase in NO2 was associated with a decrease in birth weight among mothers in the least-deprived and most-deprived areas of -16.2g (95% CI: -21.9 to -10.5) and -11.0 g (95% CI: -22.8 to 0.9), respectively, and a non-significant change in the mid-range areas [β=0.5 g (95% CI: -7.7 to 8.7)]. Linear slopes in the most- and least-deprived quartiles differed from the mid-range (reference group) (p-values<0.001 and 0.09, respectively). The complex patterning in air pollution exposure and deprivation in NYC, however, precludes simple interpretation of interactive effects on birth weight, and highlights the importance of considering differential distributions of air pollution concentrations, and potential differences in susceptibility, across deprivation levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessie L C Shmool
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
| | - Jennifer F Bobb
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kazuhiko Ito
- Bureau of Environmental Surveillance and Policy, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Beth Elston
- Department of Epidemiology, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - David A Savitz
- Department of Epidemiology, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Zev Ross
- ZevRoss Spatial Analysis, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Thomas D Matte
- Bureau of Environmental Surveillance and Policy, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Sarah Johnson
- Bureau of Environmental Surveillance and Policy, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Francesca Dominici
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jane E Clougherty
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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Cushing L, Faust J, August LM, Cendak R, Wieland W, Alexeeff G. Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Cumulative Environmental Health Impacts in California: Evidence From a Statewide Environmental Justice Screening Tool (CalEnviroScreen 1.1). Am J Public Health 2015; 105:2341-8. [PMID: 26378826 DOI: 10.2105/ajph.2015.302643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES We used an environmental justice screening tool (CalEnviroScreen 1.1) to compare the distribution of environmental hazards and vulnerable populations across California communities. METHODS CalEnviroScreen 1.1 combines 17 indicators created from 2004 to 2013 publicly available data into a relative cumulative impact score. We compared cumulative impact scores across California zip codes on the basis of their location, urban or rural character, and racial/ethnic makeup. We used a concentration index to evaluate which indicators were most unequally distributed with respect to race/ethnicity and poverty. RESULTS The unadjusted odds of living in one of the 10% most affected zip codes were 6.2, 5.8, 1.9, 1.8, and 1.6 times greater for Hispanics, African Americans, Native Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and other or multiracial individuals, respectively, than for non-Hispanic Whites. Environmental hazards were more regressively distributed with respect to race/ethnicity than poverty, with pesticide use and toxic chemical releases being the most unequal. CONCLUSIONS Environmental health hazards disproportionately burden communities of color in California. Efforts to reduce disparities in pollution burden can use simple screening tools to prioritize areas for action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara Cushing
- Lara Cushing is with the Energy & Resources Group, University of California, Berkeley. At the time of study, Lara Cushing was and all of the other authors are with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection Agency, Sacramento, CA
| | - John Faust
- Lara Cushing is with the Energy & Resources Group, University of California, Berkeley. At the time of study, Lara Cushing was and all of the other authors are with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection Agency, Sacramento, CA
| | - Laura Meehan August
- Lara Cushing is with the Energy & Resources Group, University of California, Berkeley. At the time of study, Lara Cushing was and all of the other authors are with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection Agency, Sacramento, CA
| | - Rose Cendak
- Lara Cushing is with the Energy & Resources Group, University of California, Berkeley. At the time of study, Lara Cushing was and all of the other authors are with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection Agency, Sacramento, CA
| | - Walker Wieland
- Lara Cushing is with the Energy & Resources Group, University of California, Berkeley. At the time of study, Lara Cushing was and all of the other authors are with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection Agency, Sacramento, CA
| | - George Alexeeff
- Lara Cushing is with the Energy & Resources Group, University of California, Berkeley. At the time of study, Lara Cushing was and all of the other authors are with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection Agency, Sacramento, CA
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Shmool JLC, Yonas MA, Newman OD, Kubzansky LD, Joseph E, Parks A, Callaway C, Chubb LG, Shepard P, Clougherty JE. Identifying Perceived Neighborhood Stressors Across Diverse Communities in New York City. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY 2015; 56:145-55. [PMID: 26148979 DOI: 10.1007/s10464-015-9736-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
There is growing interest in the role of psychosocial stress in health disparities. Identifying which social stressors are most important to community residents is critical for accurately incorporating stressor exposures into health research. Using a community-academic partnered approach, we designed a multi-community study across the five boroughs of New York City to characterize resident perceptions of key neighborhood stressors. We conducted 14 community focus groups; two to three in each borough, with one adolescent group and one Spanish-speaking group per borough. We then used systematic content analysis and participant ranking data to describe prominent neighborhood stressors and identify dominant themes. Three inter-related themes regarding the social and structural sources of stressful experiences were most commonly identified across neighborhoods: (1) physical disorder and perceived neglect, (2) harassment by police and perceived safety and (3) gentrification and racial discrimination. Our findings suggest that multiple sources of distress, including social, political, physical and economic factors, should be considered when investigating health effects of community stressor exposures and psychological distress. Community expertise is essential for comprehensively characterizing the range of neighborhood stressors that may be implicated in psychosocial exposure pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessie L C Shmool
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, 100 Technology Drive, Suite 350, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219, USA,
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von Stackelberg K, Guzy E, Chu T, Henn BC. Exposure to Mixtures of Metals and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes: A Multidisciplinary Review Using an Adverse Outcome Pathway Framework. RISK ANALYSIS : AN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE SOCIETY FOR RISK ANALYSIS 2015; 35:971-1016. [PMID: 26096925 PMCID: PMC5108657 DOI: 10.1111/risa.12425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Current risk assessment guidance calls for an individual chemical-by-chemical approach that fails to capture potential interactive effects of exposure to environmental mixtures and genetic variability. We conducted a review of the literature on relationships between prenatal and early life exposure to mixtures of lead (Pb), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and manganese (Mn) with neurodevelopmental outcomes. We then used an adverse outcome pathway (AOP) framework to integrate lines of evidence from multiple disciplines based on evolving guidance developed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Toxicological evidence suggests a greater than additive effect of combined exposures to As-Pb-Cd and to Mn with any other metal, and several epidemiologic studies also suggest synergistic effects from binary combinations of Pb-As, Pb-Cd, and Pb-Mn. The exposure levels reported in these epidemiologic studies largely fall at the high-end (e.g., 95th percentile) of biomonitoring data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), suggesting a small but significant potential for high-end exposures. This review integrates multiple data sources using an AOP framework and provides an initial application of the OECD guidance in the context of potential neurodevelopmental toxicity of several metals, recognizing the evolving nature of regulatory interpretation and acceptance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine von Stackelberg
- Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, Boston, MA 02215;
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02215
| | - Elizabeth Guzy
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02215
| | - Tian Chu
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02215
| | - Birgit Claus Henn
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02215
- Now at the Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02118
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Levy JI, Fabian MP, Peters JL. Meta-Analytic Approaches for Multistressor Dose-Response Function Development: Strengths, Limitations, and Case Studies. RISK ANALYSIS : AN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE SOCIETY FOR RISK ANALYSIS 2015; 35:1040-1049. [PMID: 24724810 DOI: 10.1111/risa.12208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
For many policy analyses, including but not limited to cumulative risk assessments, it is important to characterize the individual and joint health effects of multiple stressors. With an increasing focus on psychosocial and other nonchemical stressors, this often includes epidemiological meta-analysis. Meta-analysis has limitations if epidemiological studies do not include all of the stressors of interest or do not provide multivariable outputs in a format necessary for risk assessment. Given these limitations, novel analytical methods are often needed to synthesize the published literature or to build upon available evidence. In this article, we discuss three recent case studies that highlight the strengths and limitations of meta-analytic approaches and other research synthesis techniques for human health risk assessment applications. First, a literature-based meta-analysis within a risk assessment context informed the design of a new epidemiological investigation of the differential toxicity of fine particulate matter constituents. Second, a literature synthesis for an effects-based cumulative risk assessment of hypertension risk factors led to a decision to develop new epidemiological associations using structural equation modeling. Third, discrete event simulation modeling was used to simulate the impact of changes in the built environment on environmental exposures and associated asthma outcomes, linking literature meta-analyses for key associations with a simulation model to synthesize all of the model components. These case studies emphasize the importance of conducting epidemiology with a risk assessment application in mind, the need for interdisciplinary collaboration, and the value of advanced analytical methods to synthesize epidemiological and other evidence for risk assessment applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan I Levy
- Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - M Patricia Fabian
- Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Junenette L Peters
- Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
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Barzyk TM, Wilson S, Wilson A. Community, state, and federal approaches to cumulative risk assessment: challenges and opportunities for integration. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2015; 12:4546-71. [PMID: 25918910 PMCID: PMC4454925 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph120504546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2015] [Revised: 04/10/2015] [Accepted: 04/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Community, state, and federal approaches to conventional and cumulative risk assessment (CRA) were described and compared to assess similarities and differences, and develop recommendations for a consistent CRA approach, acceptable across each level as a rigorous scientific methodology, including partnership formation and solution development as necessary practices. Community, state, and federal examples were described and then summarized based on their adherence to CRA principles of: (1) planning, scoping, and problem formulation; (2) risk analysis and ranking, and (3) risk characterization, interpretation, and management. While each application shared the common goal of protecting human health and the environment, they adopted different approaches to achieve this. For a specific project-level analysis of a particular place or instance, this may be acceptable, but to ensure long-term applicability and transferability to other projects, recommendations for developing a consistent approach to CRA are provided. This approach would draw from best practices, risk assessment and decision analysis sciences, and historical lessons learned to provide results in an understandable and accepted manner by all entities. This approach is intended to provide a common ground around which to develop CRA methods and approaches that can be followed at all levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy M Barzyk
- National Exposure Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA.
| | - Sacoby Wilson
- School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20740, USA.
| | - Anthony Wilson
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA.
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Multifactorial Origin of Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Approaches to Understanding Complex Etiologies. TOXICS 2015; 3:89-129. [PMID: 29056653 PMCID: PMC5634696 DOI: 10.3390/toxics3010089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2014] [Revised: 03/06/2015] [Accepted: 03/18/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
A significant body of evidence supports the multifactorial etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) affecting children. The present review focuses on early exposure to environmental chemicals as a risk factor for neurodevelopment, and presents the major lines of evidence derived from epidemiological studies, underlying key uncertainties and research needs in this field. We introduce the exposome concept that, encompassing the totality of human environmental exposures to multiple risk factors, aims at explaining individual vulnerability and resilience to early chemical exposure. In this framework, we synthetically review the role of variable gene backgrounds, the involvement of epigenetic mechanisms as well as the function played by potential effect modifiers such as socioeconomic status. We describe laboratory rodent studies where the neurodevelopmental effects of environmental chemicals are assessed in the presence of either a “vulnerable” gene background or adverse pregnancy conditions (i.e., maternal stress). Finally, we discuss the need for more descriptive and “lifelike” experimental models of NDDs, to identify candidate biomarkers and pinpoint susceptible groups or life stages to be translated to large prospective studies within the exposome framework.
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The shared pathoetiological effects of particulate air pollution and the social environment on fetal-placental development. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2014; 2014:901017. [PMID: 25574176 PMCID: PMC4276595 DOI: 10.1155/2014/901017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2014] [Accepted: 10/21/2014] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Exposure to particulate air pollution and socioeconomic risk factors are shown to be independently associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes; however, their confounding relationship is an epidemiological challenge that requires understanding of their shared etiologic pathways affecting fetal-placental development. The purpose of this paper is to explore the etiological mechanisms associated with exposure to particulate air pollution in contributing to adverse pregnancy outcomes and how these mechanisms intersect with those related to socioeconomic status. Here we review the role of oxidative stress, inflammation and endocrine modification in the pathoetiology of deficient deep placentation and detail how the physical and social environments can act alone and collectively to mediate the established pathology linked to a spectrum of adverse pregnancy outcomes. We review the experimental and epidemiological literature showing that diet/nutrition, smoking, and psychosocial stress share similar pathways with that of particulate air pollution exposure to potentially exasperate the negative effects of either insult alone. Therefore, socially patterned risk factors often treated as nuisance parameters should be explored as potential effect modifiers that may operate at multiple levels of social geography. The degree to which deleterious exposures can be ameliorated or exacerbated via community-level social and environmental characteristics needs further exploration.
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Shmool JLC, Kubzansky LD, Dotson Newman O, Spengler J, Shepard P, Clougherty JE. Social stressors and air pollution across New York City communities: a spatial approach for assessing correlations among multiple exposures. Environ Health 2014; 13:91. [PMID: 25374310 PMCID: PMC4240877 DOI: 10.1186/1476-069x-13-91] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2014] [Accepted: 10/23/2014] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Recent toxicological and epidemiological evidence suggests that chronic psychosocial stress may modify pollution effects on health. Thus, there is increasing interest in refined methods for assessing and incorporating non-chemical exposures, including social stressors, into environmental health research, towards identifying whether and how psychosocial stress interacts with chemical exposures to influence health and health disparities. We present a flexible, GIS-based approach for examining spatial patterns within and among a range of social stressors, and their spatial relationships with air pollution, across New York City, towards understanding their combined effects on health. METHODS We identified a wide suite of administrative indicators of community-level social stressors (2008-2010), and applied simultaneous autoregressive models and factor analysis to characterize spatial correlations among social stressors, and between social stressors and air pollutants, using New York City Community Air Survey (NYCCAS) data (2008-2009). Finally, we provide an exploratory ecologic analysis evaluating possible modification of the relationship between nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and childhood asthma Emergency Department (ED) visit rates by social stressors, to demonstrate how the methods used to assess stressor exposure (and/or consequent psychosocial stress) may alter model results. RESULTS Administrative indicators of a range of social stressors (e.g., high crime rate, residential crowding rate) were not consistently correlated (rho = - 0.44 to 0.89), nor were they consistently correlated with indicators of socioeconomic position (rho = - 0.54 to 0.89). Factor analysis using 26 stressor indicators suggested geographically distinct patterns of social stressors, characterized by three factors: violent crime and physical disorder, crowding and poor access to resources, and noise disruption and property crimes. In an exploratory ecologic analysis, these factors were differentially associated with area-average NO2 and childhood asthma ED visits. For example, only the 'violent crime and disorder' factor was significantly associated with asthma ED visits, and only the 'crowding and resource access' factor modified the association between area-level NO2 and asthma ED visits. CONCLUSIONS This spatial approach enabled quantification of complex spatial patterning and confounding between chemical and non-chemical exposures, and can inform study design for epidemiological studies of separate and combined effects of multiple urban exposures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessie LC Shmool
- />Department of Environmental & Occupational Health, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, 100 Technology Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 USA
| | - Laura D Kubzansky
- />Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115 USA
| | - Ogonnaya Dotson Newman
- />WE ACT for Environmental Justice (West Harlem Environmental Action), 1854 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10031 USA
| | - John Spengler
- />Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, 401 Park Drive, Boston, MA 02215 USA
| | - Peggy Shepard
- />WE ACT for Environmental Justice (West Harlem Environmental Action), 1854 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10031 USA
| | - Jane E Clougherty
- />Department of Environmental & Occupational Health, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, 100 Technology Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 USA
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Clougherty JE, Shmool JLC, Kubzansky LD. The Role of Non-Chemical Stressors in Mediating Socioeconomic Susceptibility to Environmental Chemicals. Curr Environ Health Rep 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s40572-014-0031-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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Peters JL, Fabian MP, Levy JI. Combined impact of lead, cadmium, polychlorinated biphenyls and non-chemical risk factors on blood pressure in NHANES. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2014; 132:93-9. [PMID: 24747555 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2014.03.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2013] [Revised: 03/21/2014] [Accepted: 03/24/2014] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
High blood pressure is associated with exposure to multiple chemical and non-chemical risk factors, but epidemiological analyses to date have not assessed the combined effects of both chemical and non-chemical stressors on human populations in the context of cumulative risk assessment. We developed a novel modeling approach to evaluate the combined impact of lead, cadmium, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and multiple non-chemical risk factors on four blood pressure measures using data for adults aged ≥ 20 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2008). We developed predictive models for chemical and other stressors. Structural equation models were applied to account for complex associations among predictors of stressors as well as blood pressure. Models showed that blood lead, serum PCBs, and established non-chemical stressors were significantly associated with blood pressure. Lead was the chemical stressor most predictive of diastolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure, while PCBs had a greater influence on systolic blood pressure and pulse pressure, and blood cadmium was not a significant predictor of blood pressure. The simultaneously fit exposure models explained 34%, 43% and 52% of the variance for lead, cadmium and PCBs, respectively. The structural equation models were developed using predictors available from public data streams (e.g., U.S. Census), which would allow the models to be applied to any U.S. population exposed to these multiple stressors in order to identify high risk subpopulations, direct intervention strategies, and inform public policy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junenette L Peters
- Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - M Patricia Fabian
- Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Jonathan I Levy
- Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
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Identifying Multiple Risks of Low Birth Weight Using Person-Centered Modeling. Womens Health Issues 2014; 24:e251-6. [DOI: 10.1016/j.whi.2014.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2013] [Revised: 01/03/2014] [Accepted: 01/03/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Levy JI, Fabian MP, Peters JL. Community-wide health risk assessment using geographically resolved demographic data: a synthetic population approach. PLoS One 2014; 9:e87144. [PMID: 24489855 PMCID: PMC3904963 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0087144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2013] [Accepted: 12/21/2013] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Evaluating environmental health risks in communities requires models characterizing geographic and demographic patterns of exposure to multiple stressors. These exposure models can be constructed from multivariable regression analyses using individual-level predictors (microdata), but these microdata are not typically available with sufficient geographic resolution for community risk analyses given privacy concerns. Methods We developed synthetic geographically-resolved microdata for a low-income community (New Bedford, Massachusetts) facing multiple environmental stressors. We first applied probabilistic reweighting using simulated annealing to data from the 2006–2010 American Community Survey, combining 9,135 microdata samples from the New Bedford area with census tract-level constraints for individual and household characteristics. We then evaluated the synthetic microdata using goodness-of-fit tests and by examining spatial patterns of microdata fields not used as constraints. As a demonstration, we developed a multivariable regression model predicting smoking behavior as a function of individual-level microdata fields using New Bedford-specific data from the 2006–2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, linking this model with the synthetic microdata to predict demographic and geographic smoking patterns in New Bedford. Results Our simulation produced microdata representing all 94,944 individuals living in New Bedford in 2006–2010. Variables in the synthetic population matched the constraints well at the census tract level (e.g., ancestry, gender, age, education, household income) and reproduced the census-derived spatial patterns of non-constraint microdata. Smoking in New Bedford was significantly associated with numerous demographic variables found in the microdata, with estimated tract-level smoking rates varying from 20% (95% CI: 17%, 22%) to 37% (95% CI: 30%, 45%). Conclusions We used simulation methods to create geographically-resolved individual-level microdata that can be used in community-wide exposure and risk assessment studies. This approach provides insights regarding community-scale exposure and vulnerability patterns, valuable in settings where policy can be informed by characterization of multi-stressor exposures and health risks at high resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan I. Levy
- Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Maria Patricia Fabian
- Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Junenette L. Peters
- Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
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Prochaska JD, Nolen AB, Kelley H, Sexton K, Linder SH, Sullivan J. Social Determinants of Health in Environmental Justice Communities: Examining Cumulative Risk in Terms of Environmental Exposures and Social Determinants of Health. HUMAN AND ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT : HERA 2014; 20:980-994. [PMID: 24771993 PMCID: PMC3995452 DOI: 10.1080/10807039.2013.805957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Residents of environmental justice (EJ) communities may bear a disproportionate burden of environmental health risk, and often face additional burdens from social determinants of health. Accounting for cumulative risk should include measures of risk from both environmental sources and social determinants. This study sought to better understand cumulative health risk from both social and environmental sources in a disadvantaged community in Texas. Key outcomes were determining what data are currently available for this assessment, clarifying data needs, identifying data gaps, and considering how those gaps could be filled. Analyses suggested that the traditionally defined EJ community in Port Arthur may have a lower environmental risk from air toxics than the rest of the City of Port Arthur (although the entire city has a higher risk than the average for the state), but may have a larger burden from social determinants of health. However, the results should be interpreted in light of the availability of data, the definitions of community boundaries, and the areal unit utilized. Continued focus on environmental justice communities and the cumulative risks faced by their residents is critical to protecting these residents and, ultimately, moving towards a more equitable distribution and acceptable level of risk throughout society.
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Affiliation(s)
- John D Prochaska
- The University of Texas Medical Branch, Center to Eliminate Health Disparities, Galveston, TX, USA
| | - Alexandra B Nolen
- The University of Texas Medical Branch, Center to Eliminate Health Disparities, Galveston, TX, USA
| | - Hilton Kelley
- Community In-Power and Development Association, Inc., Port Arthur, TX, USA
| | - Ken Sexton
- University of Texas School of Public Health, Brownsville Regional Campus, Brownsville, TX, USA
| | - Stephen H Linder
- Institute for Health Policy, University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston, TX, USA
| | - John Sullivan
- NIEHS Center in Environmental Toxicology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA
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