Environmental health perspectives
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Environ. Health Perspect. · Nov 2009
ReviewEnvironmental health indicators of climate change for the United States: findings from the State Environmental Health Indicator Collaborative.
To develop public health adaptation strategies and to project the impacts of climate change on human health, indicators of vulnerability and preparedness along with accurate surveillance data on climate-sensitive health outcomes are needed. We researched and developed environmental health indicators for inputs into human health vulnerability assessments for climate change and to propose public health preventative actions. ⋯ A review of environmental health indicators for climate change shows that data exist for many of these measures, but more evaluation of their sensitivity and usefulness is needed. Further attention is necessary to increase data quality and availability and to develop new surveillance databases, especially for climate-sensitive morbidity.
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Environ. Health Perspect. · Nov 2009
Black carbon exposure, oxidative stress genes, and blood pressure in a repeated-measures study.
Particulate matter (PM) air pollution has been associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and elevated blood pressure (BP) is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease. A small number of studies have investigated the relationship between PM and BP and found mixed results. Evidence suggests that traffic-related air pollution contributes significantly to PM-related cardiovascular effects. ⋯ We observed positive associations between BP and BC, but not between BP and PM(2.5), and found no evidence of effect modification of the association between BC and BP by gene variants related to antioxidative defense.
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The built environment may influence health in part through the promotion of physical activity and exposure to pollution. To date, no studies have explored interactions between neighborhood walkability and air pollution exposure. ⋯ Increased concentration of activities in urban settings yields both health costs and benefits. Our research identifies neighborhoods that do especially well (and especially poorly) for walkability and air pollution exposure. Work is needed to ensure that the poor do not bear an undue burden of urban air pollution and that neighborhoods designed for walking, bicycling, or mass transit do not adversely affect resident's exposure to air pollution. Analyses presented here could be replicated in other cities and tracked over time to better understand interactions among neighborhood walkability, air pollution exposure, and income level.
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Environ. Health Perspect. · Sep 2009
Maternal pregnancy levels of polychlorinated biphenyls and risk of hypospadias and cryptorchidism in male offspring.
The etiologies of the male urogenital anomalies cryptorchidism and hypospadias are poorly understood. It has been suggested, however, that in utero hormone levels may be related to risk. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals, including polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) compounds, may alter hormone levels and thereby affect the fetus. ⋯ Given the large number of associations examined, these findings do not strongly support the hypothesis that PCBs are associated with cryptorchidism or hypospadias. Because population serum PCB levels at the time of sample collection were considerably higher than levels at present, it is unlikely that current PCB exposure is related to the development of either anomaly.
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Environ. Health Perspect. · Jul 2009
Endometriosis and organochlorinated environmental pollutants: a case-control study on Italian women of reproductive age.
Endometriosis is a common gynecologic disease characterized by the ectopic growth of endometrial tissue. In industrialized countries, it affects approximately 10% of women of reproductive age. Its etiology is unclear, but a multifactorial origin is considered to be most plausible. Environmental organochlorinated persistent pollutants, in particular dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), have been hypothesized to play a role in the disease etiopathogenesis. However, results of studies carried out on humans are conflicting. ⋯ The results of this study show that an association exists between increased PCB and p,p'-DDE serum concentrations and the risk of endometriosis.