Environment International

The exposome represents all chemical exposures individuals encounter throughout their lifetime. Exposure to harmful chemicals during early life can lead to adverse later-life health outcomes, with prenatal exposure being of particular relevance. Maternal urine samples represent a valuable resource for monitoring the exposome during pregnancy including exposures to environmental, and lifestyle-related toxicants. We examined 446 urine samples from pregnant women living in rural Habiganj district i...

BackgroundPatients at high risk of severe forms of COVID-19 frequently suffer from chronic diseases, but other risk factors may also play a role. Environmental stressors, such as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), can contribute to certain chronic diseases and might aggravate the course of COVID-19. ObjectivesTo explore putative links between EDCs and COVID-19 severity, an integrative systems biology approach was constructed and applied. MethodsAs a first step, relevant data sets were comp...

BackgroundPer- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are environmental toxicants associated with adverse neonatal outcomes. The exact mechanisms by which PFAS impairs neonatal health are undefined, but the placenta is a likely target. ObjectiveWe applied a systems biology approach to identify placental RNA co-expression modules (gene sets) associated with PFAS exposure and birth weight. MethodsPlacental tissue samples (n = 147) from the GLOWING study underwent RNA-sequencing, and PFAS concentr...

Given the complex exposures from both exogenous and endogenous sources that an individual experiences during life, exposome-wide association studies that interrogate levels of small molecules in biospecimens have been proposed for discovering causes of chronic diseases. We conducted a study to explore associations between environmental chemicals and endogenous molecules using Gaussian graphical models (GGMs) of non-targeted metabolomics data measured in a cohort of California women firefighters ...

IntroductionThe association between air pollution and poor respiratory health outcomes is well established, however less is known about the biological mechanisms, especially in early life. Children are particularly at risk from air pollution, especially during the prenatal period as their organs and systems are still undergoing crucial development. Therefore, our study aims to investigate if maternal exposure to air pollution during pregnancy is associated with oxidative stress (OS) and inflamma...

Pesticide gestational exposure may contribute to the development of allergies in childhood, yet evidence on its health impact on urban populations remains limited. This study investigates the association between prenatal exposure to individual and mixed pesticides and allergic outcomes, including asthma, wheezing, and eczema, at age 6 in 387 mother-child pairs from the LiNA cohort. Forty pesticides and metabolites were detected in urine during pregnancy through non-targeted screening, and 11 wer...

A growing body of literature has attempted to characterize how traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) affects molecular and subclinical biological processes in ways that could lead to cardiorespiratory disease. To provide a streamlined synthesis of what is known about the multiple mechanisms through which TRAP could lead cardiorespiratory pathology, we conducted a systematic review of the epidemiological literature relating TRAP exposure to methylomic, proteomic, and metabolomic biomarkers in adul...

In December 2019, a novel disease, coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19), emerged in Wuhan, Peoples Republic of China. COVID-19 is caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) presumed to have jumped species from another mammal to humans. This virus has caused a rapidly spreading global pandemic. To date, thousands of cases of COVID-19 have been reported in England, and over 25,000 patients have died. While progress has been achieved in managing this disease, the factors in addition to age that affect...

BackgroundPer- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been reported in human milk. However, prior U.S. studies have not included novel PFAS alternatives of emerging concern or infants Estimated Daily Intake (EDI) of PFAS. MethodsHuman milk was collected between 2019 and 2020 at 6 weeks after delivery from 100 Cincinnati, Ohio, nursing women participants in the IMPRINT study; 29 PFAS congeners were measured using ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. We performed des...

BackgroundThe Minamata Convention on Mercury (Article 4) prohibits the manufacture, import or export of skin-lightening products containing mercury concentrations above 1 g/g. However, there is a lack of knowledge surrounding the global prevalence of mercury-added skin-lightening products. ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to increase our understanding of worldwide human mercury exposure and associated health risks from the use of skin-lightening products. MethodsA systematic search of ...

ObjectiveTotal petroleum hydrocarbons are a significant environmental health concern globally, due to their extensive consumption and environmental release. However, their toxicological mechanisms and associated health consequences, particularly in their unburned forms, are poorly understood in humans. A notable gap is research on kerosene and kerosene-based jet fuels, with the latter accounting for 8% of total daily petroleum consumption.While previous reviews have examined health effects assoc...

Humans are extensively exposed to Quaternary Ammonium Compounds (QACs). QACs are ubiquitously used in medical settings, restaurants, and homes as cleaners and disinfectants. They are also used on food and in personal care products as preservatives. Despite their prevalence, nothing is known about the health effects associated with chronic low-level exposure. Chronic QAC toxicity was recently identified in mice and resulted in developmental and reproductive deficits and altered immune function. C...

BackgroundObservational studies of raised dietary antioxidants suggest a beneficial effect on health, but the results from interventional studies generally show no effect. There are no robust studies targeting people exposed to high levels of environmental oxidants where any effects of raised antioxidants are plausibly stronger. ObjectivesTo examine whether people genetically predisposed to raised dietary serum antioxidants have improved respiratory health. MethodsWe identified single-nucleoti...

BackgroundLow levels of mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA-CN) are a biomarker of mitochondrial dysfunction often induced by oxidative stress. Air pollution is a pervasive source of oxidative stress, but the association between air pollution exposure and mtDNA-CN is inconclusive. ObjectiveWe evaluated the association between long-term exposure to PM [≤] 10 {micro}m diameter (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) with mtDNA-CN in 195,196 adults in the UK Biobank study. MethodsAnnual average PM1...

Non-genetic exposures comprising the "exposome," including diet, lifestyle, infections, and pollutants, shape many clinical phenotypes, yet the evidence remains fragmented. We conducted an Exposome-Wide Association study (ExWAS) incorporating 619 exposure indicators and 305 quantitative phenotypes across 10 independent waves of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (CDC NHANES). Replicable and stable signals were most concentrated in c...

BackgroundMany analytical methods used in gut microbiome research focus on either single bacterial taxa or the whole microbiome, ignoring multi-bacteria relationships (microbial cliques). We present a novel analytical approach to identify multiple bacterial taxa within the gut microbiome of children at 9-11 years associated with prenatal Pb exposure. MethodsData came from a subset of participants (n=123) in the Programming Research in Obesity, Growth, Environment and Social Stressors (PROGRESS)...

Phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA) are plasticizers used in many industrial products that can act as endocrine disruptors. In the frame of the LIFE PERSUADED project, we measured the urinary concentrations of BPA and Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) metabolites in 900 Italian women enrolled between 2015 and 2017 and living in North, Centre and South of Italy in both rural and urban areas. The whole cohort, representative of the Italian female adult population, was exposed to DEHP and BPA with m...

Pesticides represent an economical, labor-saving, and efficient tool for pest management, but their intrinsic toxic properties may endanger workers and the general population. Risk assessment is necessary, and biological monitoring represents a potentially valuable tool. Several international agencies propose biological exposure indices (BEI), especially for substances which are commonly absorbed through the skin. Biological monitoring for pesticide exposure and risk assessment seems a natural c...

ObjectivesRecent studies have shown that immune and cardiometabolic biomarker levels increased in individuals exposed to ambient air pollution. We sought to explore the feasibility of identifying a pollution exposure signature using the Olink Explore platform in a small, pilot cohort of firefighters and age-matched controls in the Bay Area. MethodsDemographics and plasma samples were collected at two study visits, one following the resolution of Californias record-setting 2020 wildfires and ano...

Maternal smoking during pregnancy is associated with adverse effects on offspring health through impaired placental structure and function. Nicotine and other tobacco-related compounds readily cross the placental barrier, disrupt metabolic pathways, and increase the risk of long-term developmental disorders in newborn. Here, placental metabolic alterations associated with maternal smoking exposure were examined with metabolomics. We used placental samples from the Kuopio Birth Cohort study from ...