Early-life external exposome in children 2-5 years old in Colombia.

Exposome studies are advancing in high-income countries to understand how multiple environmental exposures impact health. However, there is a significant research gap in low- and middle-income and tropical countries. We aimed to describe the spatiotemporal variation of the external exposome, its correlation structure between and within exposure groups, and its dimensionality. A one-year follow-up cohort study of 506 children under 5 in two cities in Colombia was conducted to evaluate asthma, acute respiratory infections, and DNA damage. We examined 48 environmental exposures during pregnancy and 168 during childhood in eight exposure groups, including atmospheric pollutants, natural spaces, meteorology, built environment, traffic, indoor exposure, and socioeconomic capital. The exposome was estimated using geographic information systems, remote sensing, spatiotemporal modeling, and questionnaires. The median age of children at study entry was 3.7 years (interquartile range: 2.9-4.3). Air pollution and natural spaces exposure decreased from pregnancy to childhood, while socioeconomic capital increased. The highest median correlations within exposure groups were observed in meteorology (r = 0.85), traffic (r = 0.83), and atmospheric pollutants (r = 0.64). Important correlations between variables from different exposure groups were found, such as atmospheric pollutants and meteorology (r = 0.76), natural spaces (r = -0.34), and the built environment (r = 0.53). Twenty principal components explained 70%, and 57 explained 95% of the total variance in the childhood exposome. Our findings show that there is an important spatiotemporal variation in the exposome of children under 5. This is the first characterization of the external exposome in urban areas of Latin America and highlights its complexity, but also the need to better characterize and understand the exposome in order to optimize its analysis and applications in local interventions aimed at improving the health conditions and well-being of the child population and contributing to environmental health decision-making.

Characterization of the external exposome and its contribution to the clinical respiratory and early biological effects in children: The PROMESA cohort study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Air pollution contains a mixture of different pollutants from multiple sources. However, the interaction of these pollutants with other environmental exposures, as well as their harmful effects on children under five in tropical countries, is not well known. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to characterize the external exposome (ambient and indoor exposures) and its contribution to clinical respiratory and early biological effects in children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cohort study will be conducted on children under five (n = 500) with a one-year follow-up. Enrolled children will be followed monthly (phone call) and at months 6 and 12 (in person) post-enrolment with upper and lower Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) examinations, asthma development, asthma control, and genotoxic damage. The asthma diagnosis will be pediatric pulmonologist-based and a standardized protocol will be used. Exposure, effect, and susceptibility biomarkers will be measured on buccal cells samples. For environmental exposures PM2.5 will be sampled, and questionnaires, geographic information, dispersion models and Land Use Regression models for PM2.5 and NO2 will be used. Different statistical methods that include Bayesian and machine learning techniques will be used for the ambient and indoor exposures-and outcomes. This study was approved by the ethics committee at Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana. EXPECTED STUDY OUTCOMES/FINDINGS: To estimate i) The toxic effect of particulate matter transcending the approach based on pollutant concentration levels; ii) The risk of developing an upper and lower ARI, based on different exposure windows; iii) A baseline of early biological damage in children under five, and describe its progression after a one-year follow-up; and iv) How physical and chemical PM2.5 characteristics influence toxicity and children's health.

Prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in the homeless population of Medellín, Colombia: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) in the homeless population in Medellín, Colombia, using molecular diagnostic methods. It also intended to develop a demographic profile, exploring associated factors and the dynamics of the social and sexual interactions of this community. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Two homeless care centres in Medellín, Colombia. PARTICIPANTS: Homeless individuals that assisted to the main homeless care centres of Medellín, Colombia from 2017 to 2019. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The prevalence of CT and NG in this population using qPCR detection, factors associated with CT and NG infection, and the sociodemographic profile of the community. RESULTS: The prevalence of CT infection was 19.2%, while that of NG was 22.6%. Furthermore, being a female was significantly correlated to CT infection p<0.05 (adjusted OR, AOR 2.42, 95% CI 1.31 to 4.47). NG infection was significantly associated with factors such as: sexual intercourse while having a sexually transmitted infection p<0.05 (AOR 3.19, 95% CI 1.48 to 6.85), having more than 11 sexual partners in the last 6 months p=0.04 (AOR 2.91, 95% CI 1.04 to 8.09) and having daily intercourse p=0.05 (AOR 3.15, 95% CI 1.02 to 9.74). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of CT and NG was higher than that reported in the general population. Additionally, females had a higher percentage of infection compared with males.

The effects of genetic polymorphisms on benzene-exposed workers: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Benzene is a group I carcinogen, which has been associated with leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome. Moreover, it has been proposed that polymorphisms in benzene metabolizing genes influence the outcomes of benzene exposure in the human body. This systematic review aims to elucidate the existent relationship between genetic polymorphisms and the risk of developing adverse health effects in benzene-exposed workers. METHODS: Three databases were systematically searched until April 2020. The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses method was used to select articles published between 2005 and 2020. Quality assessment and risk of bias were evaluated by the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. RESULTS: After full-text evaluation, 36 articles remained out of 645 initially screened. The most studied health effects within the reviewed papers were chronic benzene poisoning, hematotoxicity, altered urinary biomarkers of exposure, micronucleus/chromosomal aberrations, and gene methylation. Furthermore, some polymorphisms on NQO1, GSTT1, GSTM1, MPO, and CYP2E1, among other genes, showed a statistically significant relationship with an increased risk of developing at least one of these effects on benzene-exposed workers. However, there was no consensus among the reviewed papers on which specific polymorphisms were the ones associated with the adverse health-related outcomes, except for the NQO1 rs1800566 and the GSTT1 null genotypes. Additionally, the smoking habit was identified as a confounder, demonstrating worse health outcomes in exposed workers that smoked. CONCLUSION: Though there is a positive relationship between genetic polymorphisms and detrimental health outcomes for benzene-exposed workers, broader benzene-exposed cohorts that take into account the genetic diversity of the population are needed in order to determine which specific polymorphisms incur in health risks.

Efecto de la cocaína y las catecolaminas sobre la quimiotaxis y la quimioluminiscencia de neutrófilos humanos in vitro

El objetivo fue determinar el efecto de la cocaína sola y mezclada con catecolaminas sobre la quimiotaxis y la explosión metabólica de los neutrófilos humanos y evaluar si la cocaína se une a estas células. La quimiotaxis se realizó en un gel de agarosa utilizando el péptido quimiotáctico FMLP. La explosión respiratoria se determino mediante la cuantificación de fotones (quimioluminiscencia) emitidos por las celulas activadas con PMA. Para cada prueba, las celulas se expusieron a concentraciones de cocaína de 1 a 1000ug/m y de catecolaminas 0.001 y 0.001 ug/mL y luego a la mezcla de 1000 ug/mL de cocaina con 0.001 ug/mL de catecolamina. La union de la cocaina a las celulas se evaluó mediante un ensayo de competición, con cocaína tritiada 10 nM y cocaína no radioactiva 500 uM. Los resultados no mostraron efecto de la cocaína quimiotaxis, pero sí aumento estadisticamente significativo (p=0.004), de la quimioluminiscencia de los neutrófilos tratados con 1000ug/mL de cocaína. Los valores de quimioluminiscencia sin cocaína fueron 1.2 x 10 a la 6 ñ 10 a la 4 cuentas por minuto (cpm) y con cocaina 1.7 x 10 a la 6 ñ1 x 10 a la 5 cpm. Las catecolaminas no modificaron los resultados obtenidos con la cocaina sola. La union de la cocaína tritiada a los neutrofilos tuvo un valor de 3.893 ñ 343 cpm, que disminuyó significativamente a 301 ñ 124 cpm en el ensayo de competición (p=0.008). Se demostró un incremento en la actividad metabólica de los neutrofilos inducido por cocaína, al parecer por su union a estas celulas. Estos resultados no son extrapolables a la clínica; sin embargo, el aumento de quimioluminiscencia debe ser tenido en cuenta, puesto que la exposición recurrente a la cocaína podría eventualmente conducir al mismo efecto