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Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Global Health / 20.10.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Philip J. Landrigan, MD, MSc, FAAP Dean for Global Health Professor of Preventive Medicine and Pediatrics Arnhold Institute for Global Health Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
  1.  Pollution is the largest environmental cause of disease and premature death in the world today.  It is responsible for 9 million deaths per year – 16% of all deaths worldwide – three times more deaths than AIDS, malaria and TB combined.  These numbers are growing from year to year as pollution in many parts of the world increase.
  2. Pollution is highly unjust. 92% of all pollution-related deaths occur in low-and middle- income countries, and in the United States and other high-income countries pollution-related disease and death are concentrated among minorities and the poor.  Think Flint.
  3. Pollution is very costly.  Pollution-related diseases cause productivity losses that reduce GDP in low- and middle-income countries by up to 2% per year. Pollution-related disease also results in health-care costs that are responsible for 1.7% of annual health spending in high-income countries like the US and for up to 7% of health spending in heavily polluted and rapidly developing low- and middle-income countries.
  4. Pollution is neglected and its control is seriously underfunded.
  5. The good news is that despite its great magnitude and long-standing neglect, pollution can be controlled, and pollution prevention is highly cost-effective. Pollution is not the inevitable consequence of economic development. High-income and some middle-income countries have enacted legislation and issued regulations mandating clean air and clean water, established chemical safety policies, and curbed their most flagrant forms of pollution. As a result, our air and water are now cleaner, the blood lead concentrations of our children have decreased by more than 90%, our rivers no longer catch fire, our worst hazardous waste sites have been remediated, and many of our cities are less polluted and more livable. Health has improved and people are living longer. High-income countries have achieved this progress while increasing GDP by nearly 250%. The claim that pollution control stifles economic growth, kills jobs and drags down the economy is false and has repeatedly been proven to be untrue. Pollution control is a winnable battle, and the control of pollution will return billions of dollars to the economies of countries around the world as it has already in the United States.
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Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Tobacco Research / 15.10.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Abbas Mohajerani BsEng, MsEng, PhD, FIEAust, MAGS. MACI Senior Lecturer School of Engineering, Civil and Infrastructure Engineering RMIT University Melbourne Victoria  Australia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: I knew about the harmful chemicals in cigarette butts and was not happy to see them everywhere in the environment, in our footpath, parks, and rivers. Cigarette butts (CBs) contain a large number of toxic to highly toxic chemicals and stay in the environment for a long time. Decomposition of CBs can take from a couple of months to many years depending on the environmental factors. Cigarette butts are one of the most common types of waste found around the world. Currently about 6 trillion cigarette butts per year are deposited somewhere in the environment. This is equivalent to an estimated mass of over 1.2 million tonnes of Cigarette butts each year. And this is expected to increase significantly by 2025, mainly due to an increase in the world population. In 2005, I started to think about different ways to recycle CBs in construction materials, and the first idea which struck me was to recycle them in fired clay bricks. After several years of research, we came up with a proposal, that if every brick manufacturer were to produce 2.5% of their bricks with 1% Cigarette butts incorporated, all CBs produced worldwide could be recycled. A 1% CB content would have very little effect on the physical and mechanical properties of the brick. And the estimated firing energy saved by incorporating 1% CBs into clay bricks is about 10%. That is a very significant reduction in the firing energy. This proposal was published in the journal of Waste Management in May 2016. (more…)
Author Interviews, Autism, Environmental Risks, OBGYNE, Toxin Research, UC Davis / 12.09.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rebecca J. Schmidt, M.S., Ph.D.  Assistant Professor, Public Health Sciences UC Davis California MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Maternal folic acid taken near conception has been linked to reduced risk for autism in the child in previous studies. Separate studies show that exposure to pesticides during pregnancy is associated with increased risk for autism. Animal studies demonstrate that folic acid and other B-vitamins can attenuate effects of certain environmental contaminants, including pesticides. This case-control study examined combined maternal folic acid and pesticide exposures in relation to autism in the child. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Weight Research / 13.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Heather M. Stapleton PhD Dan and Bunny Gabel Associate Professor of Environmental Ethics and Sustainable Environmental Management EEH Program Chair Nicholas School of the Environment Duke University Durham, North Carolina 27708 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Building materials and products common to most homes (e.g. furniture, TVs, carpets, etc) are often treated with synthetic chemicals, which migrate out of the products over time and accumulate in house dust, where residents can be exposed to these chemicals on a daily basis. This study assessed approximately forty chemicals commonly detected and measured in house dust samples for their ability to stimulate the development of fat cells, using a mouse precursor fat cell model. Approximately two thirds of these chemicals were able to promote lipid accumulation by these cells and/or stimulate the proliferation of the precursor fat cells. We then assessed eleven extracts of indoor house dust samples (containing mixtures of these chemicals) and exposed our cells to these extracts, finding that even low levels of these extracts were sufficient to promote the accumulation of lipids and/or the proliferation of the fat precursor cells. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Environmental Risks, NEJM, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 29.06.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Qian Di, M.S, Doctoral Student Department of Environmental Health and Francesca Dominici, Ph.D. Principal Investigator of this study Professor of Biostatistics co-Director of the Harvard Data Science Initiative Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Boston, MA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The Clean Air Act requires Environmental Protection Agency to set National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). Currently the annual NAAQS for PM2.5 is 12 microgram per cubic meter; and there is no annual or seasonal ozone standard. However, is current air quality standard stringent enough to protect human health? This is our main motivation. We conducted the largest attainable cohort study, including over 60 million Medicare participants, to investigate the association between long-term exposure to ozone/PM2.5 and all-cause mortality. We found significant harmful effect of PM2.5 even below current NAAQS. Each 10 microgram per cubic meter increase in PM2.5 is associated with 13.6% (95% CI: 13.1%~14.1%) increase in all-cause mortality. For ozone, 10 ppb increase in ozone exposure is associated with 1.1% (95% CI: 1.0%~1.2%) increase in mortality. Also, there is no appreciable level below which mortality risk tapered off. In other words, there is no “safe” level for PM2.5 and ozone. In other words, if we would reduce the annual average of PM2.5 by just 1 microgram per cubic meter nationwide, we should save 12,000 lives among elder Americans every year; 5 microgram --- 63,817 lives every year. Similarly, if we would reduce the annual summer average of ozone by just 1 ppb nationwide, we would save 1,900 lives every year; 5 ppb --- 9537 lives. Besides, we found black people, males and people of low SES are more vulnerable to air pollution. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 03.05.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Laura Birks, MPH, Predoctoral Fellow ISGlobal Instituto de Salud Global de Barcelona - Campus MAR Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) (office 183.01B) Barcelona, Spain MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Previous studies in Denmark and the Netherlands have reported associations between prenatal cell phone use and child behavioral problems, but findings have been inconsistent and based on retrospective assessment of cell phone use. This study aimed to assess this association in a multi-national analysis, using data from three cohorts with prospective data on prenatal cell phone use, together with previously published data from two cohorts with retrospectively collected cell phone use data. We found that cell phone use during pregnancy was associated with increased risk for behavioral problems in offspring, specifically hyperactivity/inattention problems. This association was fairly consistent across cohorts and between cohorts with retrospectively and prospectively collected cell phone use data. While our models were adjusted for many confounders, it is possible that other factors could explain this association, such as hyperactivity in the mother or parenting styles (variables that were not collected in these cohorts). Furthermore, to date there is no known biological mechanism that could explain the association. (more…)
Author Interviews, Autism, Environmental Risks, JAMA, Toxin Research / 10.04.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Keith Fluegge BS Institute of Health and Environmental Research (IHER) Cleveland Graduate School, The Ohio State University, Columbus Ohio MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The research letter discusses the possible link between rainfall precipitation and risk of autism. Earlier research suggested a link, although there remained quite a bit of skepticism surrounding the findings at the time. The purpose of the study was to briefly highlight the role of environmental exposure to the agricultural and combustion pollutant, nitrous oxide (N2O), as a possible etiological factor in neurodevelopmental disorders. We have published a series of epidemiological investigations, reviews, and correspondences discussing this possibility. In my continued research on this topic, I learned that rainfall and extreme weather-related events, like hurricanes, drive N2O emissions, especially from nitrogen amended soils. Exposure to this particular air pollutant may, therefore, plausibly undergird the relationship between rainfall precipitation and risk of autism. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Environmental Risks, Toxin Research / 05.04.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sumi Dinda, PhD, NRP, IC. Associate Professor Biomedical Diagnostic and Therapeutic Sciences, School of Health Sciences and Adjunct Associate Professor Department of Biological Sciences School of Health Sciences Oakland University Rochester, MI 48309. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Bisphenol-S (BPS), a substitute for bisphenol-A (BPA), has been suggested to be an endocrine disrupting compound interfering with normal hormonal activity. This bisphenol analogue is found in plastic substitutes, paper currency, and most products marked “BPA free.” Endocrine disrupting compounds interfere with the normal hormonal activity in the body. Bisphenols, specifically, disrupt the proper functioning of estrogen receptors, such as ERα causing interference with the normal activity of the hormone estrogen. Studies suggest BPS induces ERα pathways via its estrogen-mimicking properties in the body causing increased cell proliferation resulting in increased breast cancer risk. Despite the hope of a safer substitute, studies have shown that BPS exhibits similar estrogenic activity compared to its analogue BPA, due to their structural commonalities. BRCA1 is a commonly mutated gene in breast cancer; therefore, it is also important to study the effects of BPS on the expression of this protein. The potency of the endocrine disrupting abilities of BPS compared to BPA could show whether BPS is a suitable alternative to BPA in many everyday products. The results of this study may contribute to the understanding of the relationship between ERα, BRCA1 expression and Bisphenol-S in breast cancer treatment and prevention. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Pediatrics, Toxin Research / 05.04.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jing Liu, Ph.D. Associate Professor College of Environmental & Resource Sciences Zhejiang University Hangzhou, China MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: In addition to consistent observations of earlier pubertal onset in female since late 19th century, acceleration in male pubertal development also has been reported in more recent studies. Improved nutrition, health and living conditions may contribute to the secular trend towards an earlier pubertal onset. However, the potential role of environmental agents, specifically endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), also has been emphasized. Pyrethroids are among the currently used pesticide classes placed on the list of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as potential EDCs. Pyrethroids are one of the top 10 classes of pesticides and account for greater than 30% of global insecticide usage. Increased human exposure to pyrethroids is thought to occur mainly via residues in diets and indoor residential use. The metabolites of pyrethroids have been widely identified in urine samples of adults, children and adolescents worldwide and the detection rate is usually more than 60% in human populations. Here, we recognize pyrethroids as a new environmental contributor to the observed secular trend toward earlier male sexual maturity. For the first time to our knowledge, this work reveal a significant and positive association between pyrethroids exposure and gonadotropins levels in 463 Chinese boys, in which a 10% increase in 3-PBA (a common urinary metabolite of pyrethroids) is associated with more than 2% increase in both LH and FSH. Boys with increased urinary levels of 3-PBA have a significantly increased risk of earlier pubertal development, in which the odds of being in an advanced testicular volume and genitalia stage are increase by 113% and 268%, respectively. Because it is difficult to test the direct causality of environmental risk factors in humans, we further sought to identify in animals how pyrethroids alter the timing of puberty. Postnatal exposure to a widely used pyrethroid pesticide, cypermethrin, can accelerate pubertal timing and induce circulating levels of gonadotropins and testosterone in male mice. Our findings reveal the activation of voltage-gated calcium channels pathway in pituitary gonadotropes and testicular Leydig cells as a newly discovered mechanism of pyrethroid-induced early pubertal development in the male. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Thyroid, Thyroid Disease / 02.04.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Julie Sosa, MD MA FACS Professor of Surgery and Medicine Chief, Section of Endocrine Surgery Director, Surgical Center for Outcomes Research Leader, Endocrine Neoplasia Diseases Group Duke Cancer Institute and Duke Clinical Research Institute Durham, NC 2771 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The incidence of thyroid cancer has dramatically increased world-wide over the last several decades. In the United States, thyroid cancer is the fastest increasing cancer among women and men. This observation has been almost exclusively the result of an epidemic of papillary thyroid cancer, or PTC, which now comprises approximately 90% of new cases. The use of flame retardant chemicals, or Flame Retardant Chemicals, also increased over the last several decades due to the implementation of mandatory and voluntary flammability standards for furniture, electronics, and construction materials. Over time, FRs come out of these products and accumulate in indoor environments where humans are exposed. Animal studies suggest that FRs can disrupt thyroid function, and many contribute to cancer risk. But many human health endpoints have not been investigated. Our work was aimed at investigating whether exposure to Flame Retardant Chemicals could be associated with PTC. To address our research question, we recruited 140 adults, 70 with PTC and 70 who were healthy volunteers without evidence for thyroid cancer or thyroid disease. Then we visited participants’ homes and collected dust samples, a metric that we have previously shown is an indicator of long-term exposure to Flame Retardant Chemicals in the home. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Environmental Risks, Melanoma / 27.03.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Matthew Reynolds Acting Team Lead, Office of Communication Division of Cancer Prevention and Control (DCPC) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Chamblee GA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Indoor tanning and sunburns, particularly during adolescence and young adulthood, increases the risk of developing skin cancer. Researchers examined trends in the prevalence of indoor tanning and the relationship between indoor tanning and sunburn among US high school students. Pooled cross-sectional data from the 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015 national Youth Risk Behavior Surveys. The study included nationally representative samples of U.S. high school students. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Nature / 23.03.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Norbert Kamjunke Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research UFZ Department of River Ecology Magdeburg, Germany  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Aquacultures are of great importance worldwide but pollute pristine headwater streams, lakes, and estuaries. Chilean salmon production is economically important, contributing ~25% of the worldwide salmon yield (Chile ranks second of the world’s salmon-producing countries). Salmon farming has continuously increased in recent decades; the annual salmonid production in Chile was 820,000 tons in 2012, representing a value of 4.9 billion USD (32% of the total worldwide value of salmonid production). Small salmon are reared in land-based aquacultures supplied with stream water, whereas mid-sized fish are grown in cages in lakes and adult fish in cages along the coast. The effluents from land-based aquaculture pollute pristine streams with nutrients, antibiotics and organic carbon, resulting in oxygen depletion and negative consequences for the abundance and biodiversity of stream organisms. While aquacultures have recently started to remove suspended matter from waste water using sedimentation basins and rotating drum filters, dissolved components are still discharged untreated. Nutrients and dissolved organic matter (DOM) originating from the leaching of remaining food pellets, fish faeces and fish excretions are major components released by aquacultures. One aquaculture in northern Patagonia was estimated to release DOM amounting to 21% of the carbon applied as feed and 76% of the annual fish production. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Heart Disease, Medical Imaging / 19.03.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Marco Valgimigli, MD, PhD Interventional Cardiology Sandro Pertini Hospital, ASL RM2, Rome, Italy MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Every year millions of people with coronary artery disease are treated worldwide with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Radial access as compared to femoral access reduces bleeding and mortality in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) undergoing invasive management. However, prior studies have raised concerns over the increased risk of radiation exposure for both patients and operators with radial instead of femoral access and it remains still unclear whether radial access increases the risk of operator or patient radiation exposure in contemporary practice when performed by expert operators. The MATRIX (Minimizing Adverse Haemorrhagic Events by TRansradial Access Site and Systemic Implementation of angioX) trial is the largest randomized trial comparing radial versus femoral access in ACS patients undergoing invasive management. In this radiation sub-study (RAD-MATRIX), we collected fluoroscopy time and dose area product (DAP) and equipped radial operators consenting to participate with dedicated dosimeters, each wearing a thorax (primary endpoint), wrist and head (secondary endpoints) lithium fluoride thermo luminescent dosimeter, during study conduct to establish non-inferiority of radial versus femoral access. Among eighteen operators, performing 777 procedures in 767 patients, the non-inferiority primary endpoint was not achieved. Operator equivalent dose at the thorax was significantly higher with radial than femoral access. After normalization of operator radiation dose by fluoroscopy time or DAP, the difference remained significant. Radiation dose at wrist or head did not differ between radial and femoral access. Thorax operator dose did not differ in the right radial compared to the left radial access. In the overall MATRIX population, fluoroscopy time and DAP were higher with radial as compared to femoral access. (more…)
Author Interviews, CDC, Dermatology, Education, Environmental Risks, JAMA / 16.03.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sherry Everett Jones PhD, MPH, JD, FASHA Health Scientist, Division of Adolescent School Health Centers for Disease Control & Prevention MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. Results from the School Health Policies and Practices Study found that in 2014, most schools lacked practices that could protect children and adolescents from sun exposure while at school. Positive attitudes and beliefs about sun safety behavior, which would make such behavior more likely, can be promoted and supported by school system policies and practices. (more…)
Author Interviews, CDC, Dermatology, Environmental Risks, JAMA, Melanoma / 07.03.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gery P. Guy Jr., PhD, MPH Senior Health Economist Division of Unintentional Injury CDC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The incidence of skin cancer is increasing in the United States, and individuals who indoor tan are at an increased risk of skin cancer. Treating skin cancer costs $8.1 billion annually. The number of high school students who indoor tan dropped by half from 2009 to 2015. In 2015, 1.2 million high school students indoor tanned, down from 2.5 million in 2009. This is a much bigger decrease than we have seen in the past and is an encouraging finding. We also found that 82% of indoor tanners reported sunburn in the past year compared with 54% of those who did not engage in indoor tanning. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Environmental Risks, Mental Health Research, Pediatrics, Toxin Research / 02.03.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Jean-Francois Viel Department of Epidemiology and Public Health University Hospital Rennes, France MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The use of pyrethroid insecticides has increased substantially throughout the world over the past several decades, replacing organophosphate and carbamate insecticides, because of their chemical potency against many pests, their relatively low mammalian toxicity and their favorable environmental profiles. However, despite the neurotoxicity of these insecticides at high doses, the potential impact of environmental exposure to pyrethroid insecticides on child neurodevelopment has only just started to receive attention. Using a longitudinal design (PELAGIE mother-child cohort), we were able to assess pyrethroid exposure (trough urine concentrations) both prenatally and during childhood (at 6 years of age). We showed that increased prenatal concentrations of one pyrethroid metabolite (cis-DCCA, a metabolite of permethrin, cypermethrin and cyfluthrin) were associated with internalising difficulties (children showing behaviours that are inhibited and over-controlled). Moreover, for childhood 3-PBA (a common metabolite of up to 20 synthetic pyrethroid insecticides) concentrations, a positive association was observed with externalising difficulties (children showing behaviours that are under-controlled and having generally a more challenging temperament). (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Global Health / 01.03.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Meiyun Lin PhD Research  Scholar NOAA and Princeton University’s Cooperative Institute for Climate Science MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Ground-level ozone, also known as smog, has climbed in the rural West over the past 25 years, even in such seemingly pristine places as Yellowstone National Park. We have found out why – and why cutting our own output of smog-forming chemicals such as nitrogen oxides by 50% hasn’t helped. This study found that increased pollution from Asia, which has tripled its nitrogen oxide emissions since 1990, contribute to the persistence of smog in the West. While ozone in the eastern U.S. has decreased overall, the levels can spike during heat waves, characterized by large-scale air stagnation, warm temperatures, and plentiful radiation needed for ozone formation locally. As heat waves appears to be on the rise due to global climate change, progress in reducing smog in the eastern US is likely to be slower in the coming decades. (more…)
Author Interviews, Endocrinology, Environmental Risks, Pediatrics, Thyroid Disease, Toxin Research / 27.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jana Weiss PhD Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry Stockholm University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: In an earlier publication, we could see an association between elevated concentrations of brominated flame retardants (BFR) in the blood of cats with developed Feline hyperthyroidism, compared to healthy cats (Norrgran et al 2015, ES&T 49:5107-5014). To establish the exposure pathway we now took paired samples from healthy cats and dust from their households. We also analysed the cats food to include another major exposure pathway. In total 17 families participated. They lived in houses in the countryside or in apartments in the city. All families had kids under 12 years of age living at home, thus representing a household with typical child products. The dust was sampled from the living room, the child’s room and from the adult’s bedrooms. We could not see any difference in the composition of compounds between the rooms, but we saw that levels were in general higher in the living room compared to the other two rooms. This was expected as many products being treated with BFRs can be found in the living room. We could see that higher levels of some  brominated flame retardants in the dust were correlated to elevated levels in the cat’s blood. Therefore, this hypothesized exposure pathways is now statistically established. We could also confirm cat food to be the major exposure pathway for naturally brominated compounds coming from the marine food web, such as6-OH-BDE47, a known thyroid hormone disruptor. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Heart Disease, Radiology / 22.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alessandro Sciahbasi, MD, PhD Sandro Pertini Hospital Rome, Italy MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Radiation exposure is an important issue for interventional cardiologists due to the deterministic and stochastic risks for operators, staff and patients. Consequently, it is important to know which are the determinants of operator radiation exposure during percutaneous coronary procedures in order to reduce radiation exposure. Despite different studies have already evaluated the radiation dose during percutaneous coronary procedures, most data were obtained using an indirect measure of the operator dose expressed in term of fluoroscopy time or dose area product (DAP) and only in a minority of studies dedicated operator dosimeters were used. The aim of our study was to evaluate operator radiation exposure during percutaneous coronary procedures with dedicated electronic dosimeters in a high volume center for transradial procedures. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Global Health, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 18.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Chris Malley PhD The Stockholm Environment Institute University of York MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: When a baby is born preterm (at less than 37 weeks of gestation, an indicator of premature birth), there is an increased risk of infant death, or long-term physical and neurological disabilities. For example, 965,000 infant deaths in 2013 (35% of all neonatal deaths) have been estimated to be due to preterm birth complications. In 2010, an estimated 14.9 million births were preterm – about 4–5% of the total in some European countries, but up to 15–18% in some African and South Asian countries. The human and economic costs are enormous. There are many risk factors for preterm birth – from the mother’s age, to illness, to poverty and other social factors. Recent research has suggested that exposure to air pollution could also be a risk factor. Our study quantifies for the first time the global impact of pregnant women's exposure to outdoor fine particulate matter (PM2.5) by combining data about air pollution in different countries with knowledge about how exposure to different levels of air pollution is associated with preterm birth rates. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Gender Differences, Heart Disease / 14.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Nathalie Auger MD MSc FRCPC Montréal, Québec MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Snow shoveling is a challenging cardiovascular activity. Some studies suggest a link between snowfall and myocardial infarction, but use aggregate data which are limited. We used health data for individuals in the province of Quebec, Canada to analyze the association between snowfall and likelihood of hospital admission or death due to myocardial infarction. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Herpes Viruses, Pulmonary Disease / 20.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Tobias Stöger Group Leader, Dynamics of Pulmonary Inflammation Comprehensive Pneumology Center Institute of Lung Biology and Disease (iLBD) Helmholtz Zentrum München  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Particulate air pollution is common in urban areas and the inhalation of nanoparticles is known to trigger inflammatory effects in humans potentially altering the immune system. Herpes viruses are ubiquitous and well adapted pathogens hiding in host cells and persist thus continuing in a greater part of our population. Under certain stress conditions and if the immune system becomes weakened, the viruses can become active again, begin to proliferate and destroy the host cell. Thus we raised the question whether NP-exposure of persistently herpesvirus-infected cells as a second hit might provoke reactivation of latent virus and eventually lead to an inflammatory response and tissue damage. Our main finding is that NP-exposure of persistently herpesvirus-infected cells – murine or human – restores molecular signatures found in acute virus infection and boosts production of lytic viral proteins. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Environmental Risks, Melanoma / 10.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sophie Seite, Ph. D La Roche-Posay Dermatological Laboratories Asnières, France. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The survey included nearly 20,000 men and women in 23 countries, ages 16-65, and was primarily conducted online. The questionnaire collected data regarding demographics, sun exposure, behaviors regarding prevention and tanning, risk knowledge, self-examination, medical advice seeking, and social attitude. This unprecedented international survey on sun exposure behaviors and skin cancer detection found that there are many imperfections and geographical inequalities in primary and secondary prevention of skin cancer. The study was published in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology & Venereology by researchers from La Roche-Posay and the George Washington University (GW) Department of Dermatology. Survey results indicate that 88 percent of those questioned were aware of the risks of developing skin cancer when exposed without protection to the sun. However, just 1 in 2 respondents has ever consulted a dermatologist for a mole screening and 4 in 10 people don’t think to protect themselves from the sun outside of vacation. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 06.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Nathalie Auger MD MSc FRCPC Montréal, Québec MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We carried out this study because congenital heart defects take a large share of birth defects, but not much is known on its risk factors. In previous research, we found that very high temperatures in the summer were associated with a greater risk of stillbirth. We sought to determine whether elevated outdoor heat could also be linked with congenital heart defects in a sample of about 700,000 pregnancies. (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Environmental Risks, Lancet / 05.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Hong Chen, PhD Scientist, Environmental Health Assessment Public Health Ontario | Santé publique Ontario Assistant Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health University of Toronto Adjunct Scientist, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences Toronto, ON MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Over the past several decades, there is unequivocal evidence that living close to major roadways may lead to various adverse health outcomes, such as cardio-respiratory related mortality and mortality. In the past decade, concern is growing that exposures associated with traffic such as air pollution and noise may also have an adverse impact on brain health. Several experimental studies show that air pollutants and diesel exhaust induce oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, activate microglia (which act as the first and main form of immune defense in the central nervous system), and stimulate neural antibodies. There are also a small number of epidemiological studies linking traffic-related noise and air pollution to cognitive decline and increased incidence of Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Studies also showed that living near roads was associated with reduced white matter hyperintensity volume and cognition, but its effect on the incidence of dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis is unknown. Given hundreds of millions of people worldwide live close to major roads, we conducted this population-based cohort study to investigate the association between residential proximity to major roadways and the incidence of these three neurological diseases in Ontario, Canada. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Infections / 26.08.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lin Op De Beeck, PhD student Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology, Evolution and Conservation University of Leuven Leuven, Belgium MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Mosquitoes transmit quite a few deadly diseases, including West Nile Virus. Around the world, therefore, the fight against these insects is high on the agenda. Existing strategies for mosquito control often involve the use of chemical pesticides that harm the environment. These pesticides are increasingly less effective as well, as insects can become resistant to existing products relatively quickly. Biopesticides are a possible alternative. The most commonly used biological pesticide is the Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) bacteria. Unfortunately, mosquitoes are already developing resistance to this pesticide as well. This means we have to keep increasing the dose of Bti to kill mosquitoes, so that this biological substance, too, is beginning to harm the environment. Therefore we set out to find a new strategy in the fight against mosquitoes. We already knew that chemical substances emitted by the backswimmer – a natural enemy of mosquito larvae in the water – trigger a stress response in mosquitoes. This stress response, in turn, suppresses the mosquito’s immune system. What makes the use of these predator cues even more interesting for mosquito control is that scientists recently found a way to produce a synthetic version of these chemical substances. We discovered that this synthetic version triggers a stress response in the mosquitoes and impairs their immune system, just like the natural predator cues. This gave us the idea to combine these synthetic predator cues with the biological pesticide Bti. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, NIH, OBGYNE, Ovarian Cancer / 18.08.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Clarice Weinberg, Ph.D. Deputy Branch Chief Biostatistics and Computational Biology Branch National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences National Institutes of Health Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: A number of studies have reported a link between genital use of talc powders and ovarian cancer. We wondered whether the practice of douching could contribute to that risk by moving fibers and chemicals into and up the reproductive tract. We are carrying out the Sister Study, a large cohort study that enrolled more than 50,000 women who each had a sister diagnosed with breast cancer and who are consequently at increased risk of ovarian cancer. During the Sister Study enrollment interview, we asked each of them about their douching and use of talc in the previous 12 months. During approximately 6 years of follow up, 154 participants developed ovarian cancer. Our statistical analyses did not show any relationship between talc use and risk of ovarian cancer, but we estimated that women who had said they douched had almost double the risk for ovarian cancer compared to women who did not douche. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Environmental Risks, Toxin Research / 10.08.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Courtney C. Carignan PhD Research Fellow Department of Environmental Health Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We used mapping technology coupled with drinking water data from EPA to identify military bases, airports, industrial sites, and wastewater treatment plants as major sources of PFOS and PFOA contamination in drinking water. These measurements suggest that at least six million people have drinking water that exceeds the recent EPA health advisorylevels for PFOA and PFOS. These are chemicals that have been historically manufactured in the US and used widely in consumer products such as stain-proof carpeting, non-stick pans and aqueous firefighting foam. They have been replaced with new generation of shorter-chain fluorinated chemicals, which also do not break down in the environment and may be similarly toxic. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Environmental Risks, Lung Cancer / 05.08.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sandrah P. Eckel PhD Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine USC Division of Biostatistics MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Lung cancer is the most common cancer and it is responsible for 1 in 5 cancer deaths. There is a growing body of evidence that ambient air pollution exposures are linked to lung cancer incidence and mortality, but the effect on survival of exposures after diagnosis are unclear. The International Agency for Research on Cancer recently classified ambient air pollution as carcinogenic. We reasoned that if air pollution drives lung cancer development, it could impact lung cancer progression—and shorten survival—through the same biological pathways. We used 20 years of data on more than 300,000 newly diagnosed lung cancer cases from the California Cancer Registry and calculated average air pollution exposures at each patient’s residence from the date of diagnosis through the end of follow-up. We found that patients living in areas with higher pollution levels had shorter survival, particularly for patients who were diagnosed at an early stage and for those diagnosed at an early stage with adenocarcinoma histology. Interestingly, adenocarcinoma is the most common histological subtype of lung cancer in non-smokers. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Toxin Research / 29.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Courtney Carignan PhD Research Fellow Department of Environmental Health Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We collected urine samples from a team of 11 collegiate gymnasts before and after a gymnastics practice. There were higher levels of flame retardants in samples collected after practice compared to before, indicating that the gymnastics training environment is a source of exposure to these chemicals. We previously measured elevated levels of flame retardants in the air and dust of the gym. Foam equipment appears to be the primary source of flame retardants to the gym, especially foam in the loose foam pit, which is used by gymnasts to learn new skills safely. Over the past several decades, flame retardant chemical have been used in foam, such as in upholstered furniture, and electronics. They easily escape these products and enter the air, dust and our bodies. Most Americans have flame retardant chemicals in their bodies. There is growing concern about the harmful effects of many of these chemicals such that some have been phased out of use. (more…)