Childhood exposure to air pollution, noise, and surrounding greenness and incident hypertension in early adulthood in a US nationwide cohort-the Growing Up Today Study (GUTS).

Exposure to increased air pollution, noise, and reduced surrounding greenness have been suggested as potential environmental risk factors for hypertension in adults, but limited evidence exists regarding early-life exposure, particularly from prospective studies. We investigated independent and joint associations of childhood exposure to these factors with incident hypertension in early adulthood in a US nationwide cohort. Study participants were from the Growing Up Today Study (GUTS) established in 1996 (GUTSI) and 2004 (GUTSII), who were ages 9-14 (GUTSI) or 10-17 (GUTSII) at enrollment. Incident hypertension was identified by self-report on questionnaires from 2010 to 2021. We estimated residential exposures to air pollution (from spatiotemporal models), noise, and surrounding greenness throughout childhood (10-18y). We applied Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for potential confounders to assess hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) associated with each interquartile range (IQR) change in exposure. We performed a quantile g-computation to assess the joint association of simultaneous exposure to the mixture. We considered potential effect modification by sex, maternal history of hypertension, overweight/obese status at age 18, urbanicity, and neighborhood socioeconomic status. Among 17,762 participants, 1530 hypertensive cases occurred during an average follow-up of 12.8 years. HRs for all exposures were small with CIs including unity. A joint HR of 1.03 (95% CI: 0.95, 1.11) was associated with a one-quartile increase across simultaneous exposure to the environmental mixture. The joint associations were stronger among non-obese participants or participants living in less advantaged neighborhoods: HRs of 1.07 (95% CI: 0.97, 1.18) and 1.08 (95% CI: 0.98, 1.18), respectively. In conclusion, we did not identify an independent or joint association between childhood exposure to air pollution, noise, and surrounding greenness and early adulthood hypertension. However, a positive joint association was suggested among non-obese participants or those living in less advantaged neighborhoods.

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Association between Childhood Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence and Intimate Partner Violence Victimization/Perpetration in Adulthood in Africa.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is widespread in many African countries. Evidence, mainly from Western countries, shows that exposure to IPV in childhood is an important risk factor for experiences of IPV in adulthood. However, to date, no systematic review has synthesized the evidence on this association for individuals living in Africa, which is the goal of the current study. We used three search strategies: database searches (e.g., MEDLINE and PsycINFO), manual searches, and machine learning tools (e.g., Connected Papers). We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and included peer-reviewed studies (in French or English) that reported quantitative or qualitative associations between childhood exposure to IPV and later IPV victimization/perpetration. A total of 48 studies from 29 African countries were included (N = 520,000 participants). Pooled effects indicated an association between childhood exposure to IPV and IPV victimization for females (odds ratio [OR] = 2.46, 95% CI [2.09, 2.91], p < .001) and males (OR = 1.76, 95% CI [1.57, 1.97], p < .001). Similarly, males (OR = 1.92, 95% CI [1.60, 2.29], p < .001) and females (OR = 3.04, 95% CI [2.51, 3.69], p < .001) who were exposed to IPV in childhood were more likely to perpetrate IPV compared to those with no childhood exposure. Effect sizes varied substantially across studies (0.89-5.66), suggesting that other risk factors should be considered in future studies. This review provides unique insights on cycles of IPV in Africa that may usefully inform practice and research.

Early Childhood Violence Exposure Patterns in The Drakenstein Child Health Study (DCHS).

Background: Research has highlighted high rates of exposure to violence among South African youth. However, work to date has been largely cross-sectional, focused on violence exposure during the adolescence period, and has been limited to specific types of violence exposure. We examined violence exposure in South African preschool children between 3 and 6 years of age, capturing both direct and indirect forms of violence, and tested for potential sex differences across the several types of exposures. Methods: Lifetime direct and indirect exposure to domestic and community violence was measured by parental report when children were 3.5 years (N = 530), 4.5 years (N = 749) and 6 years of age (N= 417) in a South African birth cohort located in a peri-urban community. Results: There are three main findings. First, a large proportion of children (72%-75%) were reported as having been exposed to some form of direct or indirect violent experience in their homes or communities from a young age. Second, there was significant polyvictimization,  with 49% of the children being exposed to more than one type of violence by age 6. Third, by 4.5 years of age, there was evidence that boys were more likely than girls to be exposed to domestic victimisation (28% vs. 17%) and polyvictimization (38% vs. 28%). Conclusions: These findings highlight the high levels of violence exposure in young South African children, particularly among boys, and the need for prevention at both the community and individual levels.

Determinants affecting the blood mercury levels of preschool children in Shanghai, China: A cross-sectional study.

Infants and children are vulnerable to mercury (Hg)-induced toxicity, which has detrimental effects on their neurological development. This study measured blood Hg levels (BMLs) and identified potential factors influencing BMLs, including demographic and socioeconomic factors, lifestyle, and daily dietary habits, among 0 to 7-year-old children in Shanghai. Our study recruited 1474 participants, comprising 784 boys and 690 girls. Basic demographic and lifestyle information were obtained and blood Hg were analyzed using the Direct Mercury Analyzer 80. The blood Hg concentrations of children in Shanghai ranged from 0.01 to 17.20 µg/L, with a median concentration of 1.34 µg/L. Older age, higher familial socioeconomic status, higher residential floors, and a higher frequency of consuming aquatic products, rice, vegetables, and formula milk were identified as risk factors. Other potential influencing factors including the mother's reproductive history (gravidity and parity), smoking (passive smoking), supplementation of fish oil and calcium need to be further investigated. These findings can be useful in establishing appropriate interventions to prevent children's high blood Hg concentrations in Shanghai and other similar metropolitan cities.

The Epidemiological Surveillance of Mesothelioma Mortality in Italy as a Tool for the Prevention of Asbestos Exposure.

As part of a surveillance plan active since the early 1990s, this study evaluates malignant mesothelioma (MM) mortality for the time-window 2010-2019 in Italy, a country that banned asbestos in 1992. National and regional mortality rates for MM, and municipal standardized mortality ratios (all mesotheliomas, pleural (MPM) and peritoneal (MPeM)), by gender and age group were calculated. A municipal clustering analysis was also performed. There were 15,446 deaths from MM (11,161 males, 3.8 × 100,000; 4285 females, 1.1 × 100,000), of which 12,496 were MPM and 661 were MPeM. In the study period, 266 people ≤50 years died from MM. A slightly decreasing rate among males since 2014 was observed. The areas at major risk hosted asbestos-cement plants, asbestos mines (chrysotile in Balangero), shipyards, petrochemical and chemical plants, and refineries. Female mortality excesses particularly were found in municipalities with a fluoro-edenite-contaminated mine (Biancavilla) and textile facilities. Excesses were also found in a region with the presence of natural asbestos fibres and in males living in two small islands. The Italian National Prevention Plan stated recommendations to eliminate asbestos exposures and to implement health surveillance and healthcare for people exposed to asbestos.

Prenatal and concurrent blood mercury concentrations and associations with IQ in canadian preschool children.

BACKGROUND: Prenatal and childhood mercury (Hg) exposures have been associated with negative impacts on child neurodevelopment. It is unclear if associations persist at the low Hg exposures typical in Western countries. OBJECTIVE: To examine associations between prenatal/childhood blood Hg concentrations and child IQ in Canadian male and female children while considering the potential modifying role of prenatal fish consumption. METHODS: We analyzed data from the Maternal-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals study. Hg was measured in first trimester (n = 527), cord (n = 430), and child (at 3-4 years of age, n = 355) blood and examined sex-stratified associations between blood Hg and children's Full Scale IQ (FSIQ), Verbal IQ (VIQ), Performance IQ (PIQ), and General Language Composite (GLC) scores (assessed with WPPSI-III). Prenatal Hg analyses were further stratified by prenatal fish consumption (low: 0-2, moderate: 3-7, or high: ≥8 times/month). RESULTS: Higher cord blood Hg concentrations were associated with lower PIQ (ß = -3.27; 95%CI: 6.44, -0.09) in male children with the lowest prenatal fish consumption. Progressively stronger positive associations were observed with PIQ in male children for moderate (ß = 1.08; 95%CI: 0.10, 2.26) and high (ß = 3.07; 95%CI: 1.95, 4.19) prenatal fish consumption. Cord blood Hg concentrations were positively associated with female children's FSIQ (ß = 1.29; 95% CI: 0.77, 1.81) and PIQ (ß = 2.01; 95% CI: 1.19, 2.83); however, when stratified only in the highest fish consumption subgroup. Among female children, higher child blood Hg concentrations were associated with an approximately 1-point increase in FSIQ, VIQ, and GLC. CONCLUSIONS: Prenatal exposure to low levels of Hg was associated with lower PIQ scores in male children with low prenatal fish intake. Positive associations between cord and child blood Hg concentrations and IQ were primarily observed in female children and may be due to beneficial effects of prenatal fish intake.

Levels, distribution, childhood exposure assessment, and influencing factors of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in household dust from nine cities in China.

Household dust is an important source of premature exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), especially for children. In this onsite study, 246 dust samples were collected from 224 households in nine Chinese cities during 2018-2019. Questionnaires were administered to explore the association between household-related information and PBDEs in household dust. The median concentration of Σ12PBDEs in household dust from 9 cities was 138 ng/g (94-227 ng/g), with the arithmetic mean of 240 ± 401 ng/g. Among the nine cities, the highest median concentration of Σ12PBDEs in household dust was found in Mianyang (295.57 ng/g), while the lowest was found in Wuxi (23.15 ng/g). BDE-71 was the most dominant congener, ranging from 42.08 % to 98.15 % of the 12 PBDE congeners among 9 cities. Three potential sources for the indoor environment were Penta-BDE, Octa-BDE commercial products, and photolytic bromine from Deca-BDEs based on the largest contribution (81.24 %). Under the moderate exposure scenario, the exposure levels through ingestion and dermal absorption for children were 7.30 × 10-1 ng/kg BW/day and 3.26 × 10-2 ng/kg BW/day, respectively. Temperature, CO2, years of residence, income, family size, household size, use of computers, heating, use of insecticide, and use of humidifiers were influential factors for PBDE concentrations in household dust. Based on the evidence of the correlation between PBDEs and these household parameters, it can be applied to reduce PBDE concentrations in household dust, which is a basis for controlling PBDEs pollution in Chinese households and protecting population health.

Association between Childhood Exposure to Family Violence and Telomere Length: A Meta-Analysis.

The aims of this meta-analysis were to examine the association between childhood exposure to family violence and telomere length and the moderating variables that influence this association. Relevant works published on or before 1st September 2022 were identified through a search in five major databases in English and 19 articles (N = 18,977) finally met the inclusion criteria. A meta-analysis was conducted to compute the pooled effect size (correlation; r), and moderator analyses were performed using a random effects meta-analytic model. The studies yielded a significant inverse association between childhood exposure to family violence and telomere length, with a small effect size (r = -0.038, 95% CI [-0.070, -0.005], p = 0.025). Furthermore, the strength of this association was stronger in studies examining the co-occurrence of multiple types of violence than in those examining just one type (Q = 8.143, p = 0.004). These findings suggested that victims' telomere length may be negatively influenced by childhood exposure to family violence and that such impairment appears to be stronger for those who are exposed to multiple types of violence. Future studies are necessary to examine the moderating and mediating factors underlying the association between childhood exposure to family violence and telomere length.

Childhood exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and neurodevelopment in the CHARGE case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are shown to have neurotoxic effects on animals, but epidemiological evidence for associations between childhood PFAS exposure and neurodevelopment is inconclusive. We examined if childhood PFAS concentrations are associated with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), developmental delay (DD), and other early concerns (OEC) in development. METHODS: We included 551 children 2-5 years old from the CHildhood Autism Risks from Genetics and Environment (CHARGE) case-control study. Children were clinically diagnosed and classified as having ASD, DD, OEC, and typical development (TD). Fourteen PFAS were quantified in child serum samples collected when diagnostic assessments were performed. We used multinomial logistic regression models to investigate the cross-sectional associations of individual PFAS concentrations with neurodevelopmental outcomes and weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression models with repeated holdout validation to investigate the associations with PFAS mixtures. RESULTS: Childhood perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was associated with increased odds of ASD (odds ratio [OR] per ln ng/mL increase: 1.99, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.20, 3.29) and DD (OR: 2.16, 95% CI: 1.21, 3.84) versus TD. Perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA) was associated with increased odds of ASD (OR: 1.61, 95% CI: 1.21, 2.13). However, perfluroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA) was associated with decreased odds of ASD (OR: 0.43, 95% CI: 0.26, 0.69). From mixture analyses, the WQS index was associated with increased odds of ASD (average OR: 1.57, 5th and 95th percentile: 1.16, 2.13). Child's sex and homeownership modified associations of perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) with DD and ASD, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In this case-control study, childhood PFOA, PFHpA, and a PFAS mixture was associated with increased odds of ASD, while PFUnDA was associated with decreased odds of ASD. Because we used concurrent measurements of PFAS, our results do not imply causal relationships and thus need to be interpreted with caution.

Exploring associations between urine levels of phthalates and autism spectrum disorder symptoms: a case-control study in Tianjin, China.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) comprises a group of neurodevelopmental disorders. The etiology of autism remains unclear, but a growing body of evidence indicates that phthalates play a role in its pathogenesis. The aim of this study was to compare the urine levels of phthalates in children with ASD and healthy children. We also explored whether phthalates have an effect on ASD symptoms. The participants in this study included 101 children with ASD (79 boys and 22 girls) and 101 sex- and age-matched controls. The levels of phthalates were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). We detected significant differences in monoethyl phthalate (MEP) levels between the severe ASD and control groups (p < 0.05). Mono-n-butyl phthalate (MBP) concentration was positively correlated with language skill impairment in ASD (ß: 0.387, p = 0.041). MEP levels were associated with the CARS "Imitation" score in all children (OR: 1.470). MBP levels were associated with the "Nonverbal Communication" score among boys (OR: 1.233), and MEP levels were associated with the "Nonverbal Communication" score among girls (OR: 2.648). MEP levels were related to the CARS total score after adjustment for sex (ß: 1.524, p = 0.047). Compared with the reference mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP) group, children with ASD in the medium-exposure group had an OR of 3.370 for aggravating ASD severity. These results suggested that increased exposure to phthalates contributes to more ASD symptoms and that there are potentially sex-specific associations. These findings warrant further confirmation.

Family Financial Pressure in Childhood and Telomere Length in Early Adolescence: A Prospective Study.

Much research on children in high-risk environments has focused on the biological consequences of maltreatment, adversity, and trauma. Whether other early-life stress sources such as family financial hardship are implicated in the cellular mechanism of disease development remains unclear. This study investigated the long-term effect of childhood exposure to family financial pressure on telomere length. It involved two waves of data collection occurring when participants reached Grade 3 (W1) and 7 (W2), respectively. In W1, parents reported family demographics and perceived financial stressors and pressure. In W2, participants provided buccal swab samples for measurement of their telomere length. Data from 92 participants (Mage in W2 = 13.2 years; 56.5% male) were analyzed. The main type of stressors reported by parents who perceived high family financial pressure in W1 were child-level stressors including affordability of their medical and educational expenses. Participants exposed to high parent-perceived family financial pressure in W1 had shorter telomeres in W2 when compared to those exposed to low parent-perceived family financial pressure (ß = -0.61, p = 0.042). Subgroup analyses revealed stronger associations in girls than boys. These findings reveal an important spillover effect between parental financial perceptions and stress and children's health at the cellular level.

Does early life phthalate exposure mediate racial disparities in children's cognitive abilities?

Early life exposure to phthalates may be associated with reduced cognition. However, it is unknown if disproportionate exposure to phthalates contributes to racial disparities in children's intellectual abilities. Methods: We used data from 253 mother-child pairs in Cincinnati, OH (the Health Outcomes and Measures of the Environment study, 2003-2006). We measured urinary concentrations of 11 phthalate metabolites twice during pregnancy and up to six times in childhood. We evaluated children's cognitive abilities at ages 5 and 8 years. Using mediation models, we quantified covariate-adjusted direct and indirect effects of race on children's Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient (IQ) scores for individual phthalate metabolite concentrations during gestation and childhood. Results: Average IQ scores among Black children (n = 90) were 7.0 points lower (95% confidence interval [CI] = -12, -1.8) than among White children (n = 145) after adjustment for socioeconomic factors. Urinary monobenzyl phthalate and monoethyl phthalate (MEP) concentrations during gestation and childhood were higher among Black than White children. We did not observe evidence that phthalate concentrations mediated the race-IQ association, with the exception of MEP. Childhood MEP concentrations partially mediated the race-IQ association. For instance, each 10-fold increase in MEP concentrations at age 2 years contributed to a 1.9-point disparity in IQ scores between Black and White children (95% CI = -4.7, 0.7). Other phthalate metabolite concentrations during pregnancy or childhood did not mediate the race-IQ association. Conclusions: Despite observing racial disparities in exposure to some phthalates and IQ, we found little evidence that phthalates contribute to IQ disparities.

Prenatal and childhood exposure to chlordecone and adiposity of seven-year-old children in the Timoun mother-child cohort study in Guadeloupe (French West Indies).

BACKGROUND: Exposure to persistent environmental organic pollutants may contribute to the development of obesity among children. Chlordecone is a persistent organochlorine insecticide with estrogenic properties that was used in the French West Indies (1973-1993) and is still present in the soil and the water and food consumed by the local population. We studied the association between prenatal and childhood exposure to chlordecone and the adiposity of prepubertal children. METHODS: Within the Timoun Mother-Child Cohort Study in Guadeloupe (French West Indies), 575 children had a medical examination at seven years of age, including adiposity measurements. A Structural Equation Modeling approach was used to create a global adiposity score from four adiposity indicators: the BMI z-score, percentage of fat mass, sum of the tricipital and subscapular skinfold thickness, and waist-to-height ratio. Chlordecone concentrations were measured in cord blood at birth and in the children's blood at seven years of age. Models were adjusted for prenatal and postnatal covariates. Sensitivity analyses accounted for co-exposure to PCB-153 and pp'-DDE. Mediation analyses, including intermediate birth outcomes, were conducted. RESULTS: Prenatal chlordecone exposure tended to be associated with increased adiposity at seven years of age, particularly in boys. However, statistical significance was only reached in the third quartile of exposure and neither linear nor non-linear trends could be formally identified. Consideration of preterm birth or birth weight in mediation analyses did not modify the results, as adjustment for PCB-153 and pp'-DDE co-exposures. CONCLUSION: Globally, we found little evidence of an association between chlordecone exposure during the critical in utero or childhood periods of development and altered body-weight homeostasis in childhood. Nevertheless, some associations we observed at seven years of age, although non-significant, were consistent with those observed at earlier ages and would be worth investing during further follow-ups of children of the Timoun Mother-Child Cohort Study when they reach puberty.

Gender differences in trace element exposures with cognitive abilities of school-aged children: a cohort study in Wujiang city, China.

Trace elements persist in the environment, and their early exposure may adversely affect children's intellectual development. To clarify the influence of blood trace element levels in newborns and school-aged children, we used Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children (WISC-CR) to explore intellectual development level of 148 school-aged children based on a population cohort study. Lead (Pb), selenium (Se), arsenic (As), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn) and chromium (Cr) in cord blood and Pb, As, Cu in venous blood were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS). Our analysis of the correlation between children's mental development and trace element content found children's cognitive abilities negatively correlate with Pb (PIQ: ß=-0.109, P=0.03737) and Cu (PIQ: ß=-0.031, P=0.04431; FISQ: ß=-0.031, P=0.02137) levels in cord blood. Prenatal low-level As exposure may negatively affect girls' performance intelligence quotient (PIQ) and verbal intelligence quotient (VIQ). There were differences in Se levels in cord blood and venous blood between boys and girls (P=0.010; P=0.073). High Se levels were associated with a lower VIQ in boys and a higher VIQ in girls. Prenatal exposure to Pb, As and Cu may weaken children's cognitive abilities at school age. Se exposure may have opposite effects on cognitive abilities affected by dose and gender.

Never-smokers and the fraction of breast cancer attributable to second-hand smoke from parents during childhood: the Norwegian Women and Cancer Study 1991-2018.

BACKGROUND: Second-hand smoke (SHS) is not an established risk factor for breast cancer. We examined exposure to SHS from parents during childhood and breast-cancer risk overall and by oestrogen- and progesterone-receptor status in the Norwegian Women and Cancer Study. Furthermore, we utilized our nationally representative prospective cohort study to estimate the fraction of breast cancer attributable to parental SHS during childhood. METHODS: We followed 45 923 never-smoking women, aged 34-70 years, who completed a baseline questionnaire between 1991 and 2007 through linkages to national registries through December 2018. We used Cox proportional-hazards models to estimate age-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We estimated the attributable and the population attributable fraction of breast cancer with 95% CIs. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up of 19.8 (6.8) years, 2185 women developed invasive breast cancer, confirmed by histology. Women exposed to SHS from parents during childhood had an 11% higher (95% CI: 1.02-1.22) risk of breast cancer compared with those who were not. No difference was found for oestrogen (Pheterogeneity = 0.31) and progesterone (Pheterogeneity = 0.95) receptor status. For women exposed, the attributable fraction was 10.3% (95% CI: 1.8-18.0), whereas the population attributable fraction of breast cancer was 7.0% (95% CI: 1.0-13.0). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that 1 in 14 breast-cancer cases could have been avoided in the absence of SHS exposure from parents during childhood in a population of never-smoking women. The cancer burden attributable to SHS may be underestimated.

Investigating adjustment profiles in children exposed to intimate partner violence using a biopsychosocial resilience framework: A Canadian population-based study.

BACKGROUND: The variability observed across different profiles of adjustment in children exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) and the factors associated with resilience in this population are not yet well understood. OBJECTIVE: Within a biopsychosocial framework, this study aimed to identify and describe profiles of adjustment in a cohort of children who had previously experienced IPV exposure, as well as the specific risk and promotive factors that significantly predicted membership in the identified adjustment profiles. The moderating effect of children's biological sex was also tested. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Population-based administrative data on all residents of the Province of Manitoba (Canada) over a 12-year period (2006-2017) were used to create a cohort of 3886 children aged 6-11 years who experienced IPV exposure and to extract information on these children and their mothers. METHOD: Within a retrospective cohort study design, all study variables were extracted by linking multiple administrative health, social and justice datasets that were available in the Manitoba Population Research Data Repository. RESULTS: Person-centered latent class analysis revealed four distinct adjustment profiles in the cohort of children, which differed for boys and girls. These included a resilient profile in which children showed no adjustment problems, as well as three profiles showing different combinations of children's externalizing problems and physical health problems. Positive maternal mental and physical health were the strongest predictors of resilient profile membership in both boys and girls. CONCLUSIONS: Study results suggest interconnectedness among biological, psychological and social domains in shaping the adjustment of children exposed to IPV and corroborate existing evidence on the key role that mothers play in promoting the resilience of these children. Thus, future resilience research with this group and resilience-promoting programming for IPV-affected families would benefit from adopting a multisystemic biopsychosocial resilience framework that simultaneously accounts for factors at all levels of human ecologies.

Traffic-related air pollution, biomarkers of metabolic dysfunction, oxidative stress, and CC16 in children.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has revealed links between air pollution exposure and metabolic syndrome in adults; however, these associations are less explored in children. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the association between traffic-related air pollutants (TRAP) and biomarkers of metabolic dysregulation, oxidative stress, and lung epithelial damage in children. METHODS: We conducted cross-sectional analyses in a sample of predominantly Latinx, low-income children (n = 218) to examine associations between air pollutants (nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), elemental carbon, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide (CO), fine particulates (PM2.5)) and biomarkers of metabolic function (high-density lipoprotein (HDL), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), oxidative stress (8-isoprostane), and lung epithelial damage (club cell protein 16 (CC16)). RESULTS: HDL cholesterol showed an inverse association with NO2 and NOx, with the strongest relationship between HDL and 3-month exposure to NO2 (-15.4 mg/dL per IQR increase in 3-month NO2, 95% CI = -27.4, -3.4). 8-isoprostane showed a consistent pattern of increasing values with 1-day and 1-week exposure across all pollutants. Non-significant increases in % HbA1c were found during 1-month time frames and decreasing CC16 in 3-month exposure time frames. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that TRAP is significantly associated with decreased HDL cholesterol in longer-term time frames and elevated 8-isoprostane in shorter-term time frames. TRAP could have the potential to influence lifelong metabolic patterns, through metabolic effects in childhood.

Early childhood exposure to maternal smoking and behavioral development.

We examined the association between early childhood exposure to maternal smoking and behavioral issues at 8 years old using a large nationwide population-based longitudinal survey in Japan that began in 2001. We included 46,737 children with information about maternal smoking taken from the 6-month survey. We used logistic regression analysis to examine the hypothesis. Early childhood exposure to maternal smoking increased the risk of behavioral problems related to attention and aggressive or disruptive behavior. The adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) were 1.37 (1.22-1.54) for inability to wait their turn during play and 1.40 (1.27-1.55) for destroying toys and, compared with children of nonsmoking mothers. Children of mothers who were heavy smokers were more likely to develop behavioral problems than others. Stopping early childhood exposure to maternal exposure can protect children's neurodevelopment.

Dual-system Involvement: Exploring the Overlap Between Domestic and Family Violence and Child Maltreatment Perpetration.

This longitudinal population-based study aimed to understand the dual-system involvement of males who engage in domestic and family violence (DFV) and child maltreatment perpetration. Specifically, this study investigates the prevalence of male perpetration of DFV, child maltreatment, and dual-system involvement, and compares the frequency and nature of perpetration by males with single-system contact and males with dual-system contact. The effect of race (Indigenous Australian/non-Indigenous Australian) and parental status on dual-system involvement is also examined. This study utilizes data from the Queensland Cross-sector Research Collaboration repository. These data contain each contact an individual male born in 1983 or 1984 had with the Queensland civil court system as a respondent to a domestic violence order (DVO) and the Queensland statutory child protection system, where, after an investigation, they were identified as the person responsible for substantiated harm to a child. The results from the study show a high level of overlap between males who perpetrate DFV and child maltreatment. Of males identified as being responsible for substantiated harm to a child, 58% have also been a respondent of a DVO, and approximately 16% of male DVO respondents were identified as being responsible for substantiated harm to a child. Differences were found in the frequency and nature of perpetration by males with dual-system involvement compared to those with single-system contact for either DFV or child maltreatment. Our results also show differences for Indigenous status, parental status, number of maltreatment events, harm type, number of DVOs, and number of breaches of a DVO. The implications of this study for both policy and practice are discussed.