Essential and Toxic Elements in Infant Cereal in Brazil: Exposure Risk Assessment.

Infant cereals, one of the first solid foods introduced to infants, have been reported to pose risks to human health because they contain toxic elements and an excess of essential elements. The objective of this study was to assess the cancer and non-cancer risk of exposure to essential and toxic elements in infant cereal in Brazil. In our analyses, we included data from 18 samples of infant cereals made from different raw materials and estimated the incremental lifetime cancer risks and non-cancer hazard quotients (HQs) for their consumption. Rice cereal is particularly concerning because it is immensely popular and usually contains high levels of inorganic arsenic. In addition to arsenic, we assessed aluminum, boron, barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, manganese, nickel, selenium, silver, strontium, and zinc. The cancer risk was highest for rice cereal, which was also found to have an HQ > 1 for most of the tested elements. Inorganic As was the element associated with the highest cancer risk in infant cereal. All of the infant cereals included in this research contained at least one element with an HQ > 1. The essential and non-essential elements that presented HQ > 1 more frequently were zinc and cadmium, respectively. The cancer and non-cancer risks could potentially be decreased by reducing the amount of toxic and essential elements (when in excess), and public policies could have a positive influence on risk management in this complex scenario.

Exposure to Inorganic Arsenic in Rice in Brazil: A Human Health Risk Assessment.

In certain populations, rice is the main source of exposure to inorganic arsenic (iAs), which is associated with cancer and non-cancer effects. Although rice is a staple food in Brazil, there have been few studies about the health risks for the Brazilian population. The objective of this study was to assess the risks of exposure to iAs from white rice and brown rice in Brazil, in terms of the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic effects, and to propose measures to mitigate those risks. The incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) and hazard quotient (HQ) were calculated in a probabilistic framework. The mean ILCR was 1.5 × 10-4 for white rice and 6.0 × 10-6 for brown rice. The HQ for white and brown rice was under 1. The ILCR for white and brown rice was high, even though the iAs concentration in rice is below the maximum contaminant level. The risk for brown rice consumption was lower, which was not expected. Various mitigation measures discussed in this report are estimated to reduce the risk from rice consumption by 5-67%. With the support of public policies, measures to reduce these risks for the Brazilian population would have a positive impact on public health.

Trends in Temperature-associated Mortality in São Paulo (Brazil) between 2000 and 2018: an Example of Disparities in Adaptation to Cold and Heat.

Exposure to non-optimal temperatures remains the single most deathful direct climate change impact to health. The risk varies based on the adaptation capacity of the exposed population which can be driven by climatic and/or non-climatic factors subject to fluctuations over time. We investigated temporal changes in the exposure-response relationship between daily mean temperature and mortality by cause of death, sex, age, and ethnicity in the megacity of São Paulo, Brazil (2000-2018). We fitted a quasi-Poisson regression model with time-varying distributed-lag non-linear model (tv-DLNM) to obtain annual estimates. We used two indicators of adaptation: trends in the annual minimum mortality temperature (MMT), i.e., temperature at which the mortality rate is the lowest, and in the cumulative relative risk (cRR) associated with extreme cold and heat. Finally, we evaluated their association with annual mean temperature and annual extreme cold and heat, respectively to assess the role of climatic and non-climatic drivers. In total, we investigated 4,471,000 deaths from non-external causes. We found significant temporal trends for both the MMT and cRR indicators. The former was decoupled from changes in AMT, whereas the latter showed some degree of alignment with extreme heat and cold, suggesting the role of both climatic and non-climatic adaptation drivers. Finally, changes in MMT and cRR varied substantially by sex, age, and ethnicity, exposing disparities in the adaptation capacity of these population groups. Our findings support the need for group-specific interventions and regular monitoring of the health risk to non-optimal temperatures to inform urban public health policies.

Incidence and mortality risk for respiratory tract cancer in the city of São Paulo, Brazil: Bayesian analysis of the association with traffic density.

BACKGROUND: There is evidence that exposure to traffic-related air pollution is related to the incidence of and mortality associated with lung cancer. The aim of this study was to perform a spatial analysis, with a Bayesian approach, to test the hypothesis that high traffic density is associated with increased respiratory tract cancer incidence and mortality risk among individuals over 20 years of age residing in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. METHODS: We employed data from two different databases: the São Paulo Municipal Population-Based Cancer Registry (2002-2011 cancer incidence data); and the Mortality Database of the São Paulo Municipal Health Department (2002-2013 cancer mortality data). The relationships between the number of cases of respiratory tract cancer in each area analyzed and the standardized covariates-traffic density and the Municipal Human Development Index (MHDI)-were evaluated with a Besag-York-Mollié ecological model with relative risks (RRs) estimates. RESULTS: Per 1-unit standard-deviation increase in traffic density and in the MHDI, the RR for respiratory tract cancer incidence was 1.07 (95% CI: 1.02-1.13) and 1.25 (95% CI: 1.18-1.32), respectively, whereas the RR for mortality was 1.04 (95% CI: 0.99-1.09) and 1.23 (95% CI: 1.16-1.30), respectively. CONCLUSION: Our findings support the hypothesis that residing in areas with high traffic density is associated with increased respiratory tract cancer incidence and mortality risk in the city of São Paulo.