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Palaniswamy S, Nevala L, Pesonen P, Rautio A, Järvelin MR, Abass K, Charles D. Environmental contaminants in Arctic human populations: Trends over 30 years. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2024; 189:108777. [PMID: 38838491 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108777] [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: 04/18/2024] [Revised: 05/21/2024] [Accepted: 05/24/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) monitors persistent organic pollutant (POP) levels in the Arctic populations and assesses health effects related to exposure to them. Many internationally regulated POPs persist in humans and biota, while new Emerging Contaminants of Arctic Concern (ECAC), many of which are unregulated, present additional challenges. Biomonitoring offers valuable insights into temporal trends within human matrices, revealing critical information not only about the efficacy of international regulations but also serving as an early warning system for exposure and risks for human health. METHODS Data analyzed in this study is aggregated data presented in the AMAP Human Health in the Arctic assessments, which provide data on contaminant concentrations measured in human matrices from adults, and children across various population studies conducted in the Arctic since the 1980 s. Linear regression analyses were used to assess trends of various POPs including organochlorine (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), measured over time from the Arctic populations in Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Canada and Alaska (USA). RESULTS Overall, decreasing trends were observed for PCBs and OCPs. Regulated PFAS showed decreasing trends, but increasing trends were observed for unregulated PFAS in certain populations. PBDEs showed decreasing or inconsistent trends in certain Arctic populations. CONCLUSIONS Decreasing trends are observed for legacy POPs, but the trends for new emerging contaminants are inconsistent. More focus is needed on biomonitoring the new emerging contaminants of concern in the Arctic and their implications on human health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saranya Palaniswamy
- Research Unit of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Research Unit of Biomedicine and Internal Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Arctic Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
| | - Laura Nevala
- Department of Community Medicine, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Paula Pesonen
- Northern Finland Birth Cohort, Infrastructure for Population Studies, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Arja Rautio
- Research Unit of Biomedicine and Internal Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Arctic Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Thule Institute, University of Arctic, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Marjo-Riitta Järvelin
- Research Unit of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Unit of Primary Care, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; Department of Life Sciences, College of Health and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Khaled Abass
- Research Unit of Biomedicine and Internal Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Arctic Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Department of Environmental Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; Sharjah Institute for Medical Research (SIMR), University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; Research Institute of Science and Engineering, University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
| | - Dolley Charles
- Department of Community Medicine, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
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ZHI M, WANG J. [Advances in the applications of exposomics in the identification of environmental pollutants and their health hazards]. Se Pu 2024; 42:142-149. [PMID: 38374594 PMCID: PMC10877475 DOI: 10.3724/sp.j.1123.2023.12011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Environmental pollution has become a prominent global problem, and the potential health hazards of pollutants have caused widespread concern. However, revealing the relationship between complex-pollutant exposure and disease development remains an immense challenge. The core of environmental-health research and risk assessment is the identification of contaminants and their effects. Exposomics provides a new approach in the study of the relationship between environmental factors and human health. Both "top-down" and "bottom-up" strategies are employed in exposomics research. The development of new technologies for chemical detection and "multi-omics" has greatly facilitated the implementation of these strategies. Exposomics focuses on the measurement of an individual's lifelong exposure and aims to identify the health effects of such exposure. It involves the dynamic monitoring of external and internal exposure levels at different stages of life through traditional biomonitoring and exposomic methods. It also includes the identification of biomarkers, which indicate specific environmental exposures and the adverse effects of these exposures on health. Compared with traditional environmental-health studies, exposomics can more accurately reflect the diversity of exposure factors such as pollutants, natural factors, and lifestyles in the real environment, as well as the complexity of their in vivo processes and the responses they trigger in an organism. Powerful chemical analytical tools such as high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) are widely used in studies related to the field of exposomics. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) has been applied in the detection and analysis of environmental pollutants. Proteomics and metabolomics, as two important tools for biomarker identification and effects analysis, are widely used to explore the relationship between environmental factors and diseases. Pollutants can lead to pathological changes and even toxic effects by interacting with proteins. In the case of mixed exposure, some contaminants may present joint toxicity. The interaction between contaminants may change their environmental behavior or the amount of each contaminant that enters the human body, which, in turn, affects their health effects.
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Palmer RF, Dempsey TT, Afrin LB. Chemical Intolerance and Mast Cell Activation: A Suspicious Synchronicity. J Xenobiot 2023; 13:704-718. [PMID: 37987446 PMCID: PMC10660865 DOI: 10.3390/jox13040045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2023] [Revised: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Chemical Intolerance (CI) is characterized by intolerances for chemicals, foods, and drugs with multi-system symptoms. As yet, the biomechanism remains unclear. One study reported converging lines of evidence supporting a substantive association between mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) and CI. The purpose of this study is to (1) confirm a previous report demonstrating that 60% of MCAS patients report CI and (2) examine the parallels between symptoms and intolerances in CI and MCAS. Methods: Five hundred forty-four MCAS patients were assigned a clinical MCAS score using a validated assessment instrument and were assessed for CI using the validated Quick Environmental Exposure Sensitivity Index. Results: Our outcomes confirm the previously published study where the majority of MCAS patients also have CI. There was a clear overlap between various ICD-10 diagnostic categories and CI symptoms, providing further support for a potential shared mechanism. Conclusions: Exposures to pesticides, volatile organic compounds, combustion products, and mold have previously been reported as initiators of CI. However, until recently, little was known about the biological mechanism involved that could explain the multisystem symptoms associated with CI. This paper addresses a newly identified biomechanism for disease, which may underlie a host of "medically unexplained symptoms" triggered by xenobiotics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raymond F Palmer
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78229-3900, USA
| | - Tania T Dempsey
- AIM Center for Personalized Medicine, Purchase, NY 10577, USA
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Critical Overview on Endocrine Disruptors in Diabetes Mellitus. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24054537. [PMID: 36901966 PMCID: PMC10003192 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24054537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Diabetes mellitus is a major public health problem in all countries due to its high human and economic burden. Major metabolic alterations are associated with the chronic hyperglycemia that characterizes diabetes and causes devastating complications, including retinopathy, kidney failure, coronary disease and increased cardiovascular mortality. The most common form is type 2 diabetes (T2D) accounting for 90 to 95% of the cases. These chronic metabolic disorders are heterogeneous to which genetic factors contribute, but so do prenatal and postnatal life environmental factors including a sedentary lifestyle, overweight, and obesity. However, these classical risk factors alone cannot explain the rapid evolution of the prevalence of T2D and the high prevalence of type 1 diabetes in particular areas. Among environmental factors, we are in fact exposed to a growing amount of chemical molecules produced by our industries or by our way of life. In this narrative review, we aim to give a critical overview of the role of these pollutants that can interfere with our endocrine system, the so-called endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), in the pathophysiology of diabetes and metabolic disorders.
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