Current Environmental Health Reports This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

A State-of-the-Science Review on Metal Biomarkers
AbstractPurpose of ReviewBiomarkers are commonly used in epidemiological studies to assess metals and metalloid exposure and estimate internal dose, as they integrate multiple sources and routes of exposure. Researchers are increasingly using multi-metal panels and innovative statistical methods to understand how exposure to real-world metal mixtures affects human health. Metals have both common and unique sources and routes of exposure, as well as biotransformation and elimination pathways. The development of multi-element analytical technology allows researchers to examine a broad spectrum of metals in their studies; how...
Source: Current Environmental Health Reports - June 20, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research

A Review on The Role of Environmental Exposures in IgG4-Related Diseases
AbstractPurpose of ReviewImmunoglobulin G4-related diseases (IgG4-RDs) are immune-mediated fibroinflammatory multisystemic conditions identified by the presence of tumefactive lesions with a rich infiltrate of IgG4-positive plasma cells, and often by a high IgG4 serum concentration. IgG-RDs have a prevalence of at least 1 case every 100,000 persons, and they are mostly diagnosed after age 50, with a male to female ratio of about 3:1. IgG4-RD pathophysiology is still uncertain: it has been proposed that both genetic predisposition and chronic environmental exposures may play a role by triggering abnormal immune activation t...
Source: Current Environmental Health Reports - June 14, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research

Dairy and Plant-Based Milks: Implications for Nutrition and Planetary Health
AbstractPurpose of ReviewDairy milk products are dominant in the market; however, plant-based milks are gaining prominence among USA consumers. Many questions remain about how plant-based milk products compare to dairy milk from a nutrition, public health, and planetary health perspective. Here, we compare the retail sales, nutrient profiles, and known health and environmental impacts of the production and consumption of dairy and plant-based milks and identify knowledge gaps for future studies. For our plant-based milk comparisons, we reviewed almond, soy, oat, coconut, rice, pea, cashew, and other plant-based milks as da...
Source: Current Environmental Health Reports - June 10, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research

The Gut Microbiome and Residential Surrounding Greenness: a Systematic Review of Epidemiological Evidence
AbstractPurpose of ReviewA healthy indigenous intestinal microbiome is essential for human health. Well-established gut microbiome determinants only explain 16% of the inter-individual variation in gut microbiome composition. Recent studies have focused on green space as a potential determinant of the intestinal microbiome. We systematically summarize all evidence concerning the association between green space and intestinal bacterial diversity, evenness, and richness indices, specific bacterial taxa, and potential underlying mechanisms.Recent FindingsSeven epidemiological studies were included in this review. The majority...
Source: Current Environmental Health Reports - June 9, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research

A Decision Framework for Selecting Critically Important Nutrients from Aquatic Foods
AbstractPurpose of ReviewAquatic foods are increasingly being recognized as a diverse, bioavailable source of nutrients, highlighting the importance of fisheries and aquaculture for human nutrition. However, studies focusing on the nutrient supply of aquatic foods often differ in the nutrients they examine, potentially biasing their contribution to nutrition security and leading to ineffective policies or management decisions.Recent FindingsWe create a decision framework to effectively select nutrients in aquatic food research based on three key domains: human physiological importance, nutritional needs of the target popul...
Source: Current Environmental Health Reports - May 25, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research

Equitable Urban Planning: Harnessing the Power of Comprehensive Plans
Purpose of ReviewDescribe the role of comprehensive plans in promoting health equity in urban communities. Specifically, the review aims to identify recent findings related to using comprehensive plans to shape social determinants of health and to discuss the challenges that comprehensive plans face in promoting health equity. The review also presents recommendations for how urban planners, public health practitioners, and policymakers can work together to promote health equity through comprehensive planning efforts.Recent FindingsThe evidence highlights the importance of comprehensive plans in promoting health equity in c...
Source: Current Environmental Health Reports - April 27, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research

Environmental Exposure Disparities and Neurodevelopmental Risk: a Review
AbstractPurpose of ReviewNeurotoxicant exposures are of particular concern in historically marginalized communities. Often a consequence of structural racism, low-income minoritized populations experience a disproportionate burden of hazardous exposures through proximity to industrial facilities, high traffic roads, and suboptimal housing. Here, we summarize reports on exposures and neurodevelopment focused on differences by education, income, race/ethnicity, or immigration status from 2015 to 2022, discuss the importance of such investigations in overburdened communities, and recommend areas for future research.Recent Fin...
Source: Current Environmental Health Reports - April 1, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research

Interventions to Reduce Exposure to Synthetic Phenols and Phthalates from Dietary Intake and Personal Care Products: a Scoping Review
AbstractPurpose of ReviewA scoping review was conducted to identify interventions that successfully alter biomarker concentrations of phenols, glycol ethers, and phthalates resulting from dietary intake and personal care product (PCPs) use.Recent FindingsTwenty-six interventions in populations ranging from children to older adults were identified; 11 actively removed or replaced products, 9 provided products containing the chemicals being studied, and 6 were education-only based interventions. Twelve interventions manipulated only dietary intake with a focus on bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates, 8 studies intervened only on...
Source: Current Environmental Health Reports - March 29, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research

Early Environment and Telomeres: a Long-Term Toxic Relationship
AbstractPurpose of ReviewTelomere length (TL) shortening is a hallmark of biological aging. While studies have extensively focused on the impact of environmental exposures on TL in older populations, consistent evidence indicates that prenatal environmental exposures to air pollutants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, metals, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals influence TL shortening. Here, we summarize evidence linking prenatal environmental exposures with children ’s TL and discuss potential long-term effects.Recent FindingsCurrent evidence shows that prenatal environmental exposures alter TL and identify pregnancy as...
Source: Current Environmental Health Reports - March 22, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research

A Systematic Review of the Placental Translocation of Micro- and Nanoplastics
AbstractPurpose of ReviewDespite increasing awareness of the ubiquity of microplastics (MPs) in our environments, little is known about their risk of developmental toxicity. Even less is known about the environmental distribution and associated toxicity of nanoplastics (NPs). Here, we review the current literature on the capacity for MPs and NPs to be transported across the placental barrier and the potential to exert toxicity on the developing fetus.Recent FindingsThis review includes 11 research articles covering in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo models, and observational studies. The current literature confirms the placent...
Source: Current Environmental Health Reports - February 27, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research

A Systematic Review of Culture-Based Methods for Monitoring Antibiotic-Resistant Acinetobacter, Aeromonas, and Pseudomonas as Environmentally Relevant Pathogens in Wastewater and Surface Water
AbstractPurpose of ReviewMounting evidence indicates that habitats such as wastewater and environmental waters are pathways for the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and mobile antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). We identified antibiotic-resistant members of the generaAcinetobacter,Aeromonas, andPseudomonas as key opportunistic pathogens that grow or persist in built (e.g., wastewater) or natural aquatic environments. Effective methods for monitoring these ARB in the environment are needed to understand their influence on dissemination of ARB and ARGs, but standard methods have not been developed. This systemat...
Source: Current Environmental Health Reports - February 23, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research

Wearable Passive Samplers for Assessing Environmental Exposure to Organic Chemicals: Current Approaches and Future Directions
The objective of this review is to provide an overview of wearable passive samplers as alternative tools to active samplers in environmental health research. The review highlights the advances and challenges in using wearable passive samplers for assessing personal exposure to organic chemicals and further presents a framework to enable quantitative measurements of exposure and expanded use of this monitoring approach to the population scale.Recent FindingsOverall, wearable passive samplers are promising tools for assessing personal exposure to environmental contaminants, evident by the increased adoption and use of silico...
Source: Current Environmental Health Reports - February 23, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research

Evaluating Race in Air Pollution and Health Research: Race, PM2.5 Air Pollution Exposure, and Mortality as a Case Study
AbstractPurpose of ReviewRacial inequities in air pollution exposure have been documented. There is also interest in documenting the modifying role of race in the link between air pollution and health. However, the empirical literature in this area has yielded mixed results with potentially unclear policy implications. We critically evaluate recent empirical papers on the interactive association between race and air pollution exposure on adult mortality in the USA as a case study of the race, pollution, and health literature. Specifically, we evaluate these studies for the conceptualization and discussion of race and the u...
Source: Current Environmental Health Reports - January 23, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research

The Utility of Machine Learning Models for Predicting Chemical Contaminants in Drinking Water: Promise, Challenges, and Opportunities
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThis review aims to better understand the utility of machine learning algorithms for predicting spatial patterns of contaminants in the United States (U.S.) drinking water.Recent FindingsWe found 27 U.S. drinking water studies in the past ten years that used machine learning algorithms to predict water quality. Most studies (42%) developed random forest classification models for groundwater. Continuous models show low predictive power, suggesting that larger datasets and additional predictors are needed. Categorical/classification models for arsenic and nitrate that predict exceedances of pollution...
Source: Current Environmental Health Reports - December 17, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research

Select Early-Life Environmental Exposures and DNA Methylation in the Placenta
AbstractPurpose of ReviewTo summarize recent literature relating early-life environmental exposures on DNA methylation in the placenta, to identify how variation in placental methylation is regulated in an exposure-specific manner, and to encourage additional work in this area.Recent FindingsMultiple studies have evaluated associations between prenatal environmental exposures and placental methylation in both gene-specific and epigenome-wide frameworks. Specific exposures lead to unique variability in methylation, and cross-exposure assessments have uncovered certain genes that demonstrate consistency in differential place...
Source: Current Environmental Health Reports - December 5, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research