Methods for the Analysis of Multiple Epigenomic Mediators in Environmental Epidemiology.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Epigenetic changes can be highly influenced by environmental factors and have in turn been proposed to influence chronic disease. Being able to quantify to which extent epigenomic processes are mediators of the association between environmental exposures and diseases is of interest for epidemiologic research. In this review, we summarize the proposed mediation analysis methods with applications to epigenomic data. RECENT FINDINGS: The ultra-high dimensionality and high correlations that characterize omics data have hindered the precise quantification of mediated effects. Several methods have been proposed to deal with mediation in high-dimensional settings, including methods that incorporate dimensionality reduction techniques to the mediation algorithm. Although important methodological advances have been conducted in the previous years, key challenges such as the development of sensitivity analyses, dealing with mediator-mediator interactions, including environmental mixtures as exposures, or the integration of different omic data should be the focus of future methodological developments for epigenomic mediation analysis.

FSM 2023: Fiocruz participa de debate sobre a situação dos Yanomami e o impacto dos garimpos na saúde dos trabalhadores

Os “Impactos da Saúde Ambiental, Saúde do Trabalhador e Saúde Indígena decorrentes do garimpo na região Amazônica” foram temas de debate do dia 23 de janeiro, no Fórum Social Mundial, na Assembleia Legislativa de Porto Alegre/RS.

Consultorio de Salud Ambiental en un Hospital Privado de Comunidad de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires / Environmental Health consulting office in a Private Community Hospital of the Buenos Aires City

En los últimos años surge el concepto de Una Sola Salud que reconoce la interdependencia sistémica al observar que los cambios en la salud humana se expresan de manera sincrónica e indivisible de la salud del ambiente. Nuevas enfermedades y daños crónicos inespecíficos ocurren a la par de la pérdida de biodiversidad y vitalidad. En las últimas décadas venimos observando el surgimiento de "adaptaciones sistémicas" que requieren un abordaje desde la clínica y la toxicología a nivel individual y desde la epidemiología de la complejidad a nivel poblacional. Luego de un largo recorrido de investigaciones, el Hospital Italiano formalizó el consultorio de Salud Ambiental con la intención de brindar respuesta a la demanda de pacientes que atribuyen síntomas y signos a la polución ambiental. (AU)

In recent years, the concept of One Health has emerged, recognizing the systemic interdependence and the changes in human health that are expressed synchronously and indivisible from the environment. New diseases and nonspecific chronic damage are occuring in parallel with the loss of biodiversity and vitality.In recent decades we have observed the appearance of "systemic adaptations" that require a clinical and toxicological approach at the individual level, and address the population level from an epidemiological and complexity science paradigm. After many years of research, the Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires formalized the Environmental Health consulting office and the measurement of glyphosate levels, giving answer to the demand of patients who associate their signs and symptoms to environmental pollution. (AU)

Environmental factors influencing the prevention of secondary health conditions among people with spinal cord injury, South Africa.

BACKGROUND: The environment where people live, work or play can influence health and disability outcomes. People with spinal cord injury are at risk for secondary health conditions, with this increasing readmission rates and decreasing quality of life. Studies on preventative care for secondary health conditions and factors influencing the prevention of secondary health conditions are scarce in low to middle-income countries. AIM: To explore environmental factors influencing the prevention of secondary health conditions in people with spinal cord injury. SETTING: This study was based at a public rehabilitation hospital, South Africa. METHODS: Explorative qualitative design was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 therapists, 17 people with a spinal cord injury and six caregivers. The interviews were transcribed verbatim. Analysis was conducted using content analysis. RESULTS: The categories that emerged included the impact of social support, inaccessible built environment and transport system, and an inefficient health care system. Sub-categories for the inefficient health care systems were: Shortage of resources, health workers lack of knowledge on prevention of secondary health conditions and inadequate patient care approach. CONCLUSION: Environmental factors influencing the prevention of secondary health conditions are complex and multifactorial. When developing rehabilitation and prevention programmes, environmental factors must be considered.

Influences of health and environmental deprivation on family relationships among children with chronic disease.

PURPOSE: Families play a key role in managing chronic illness. Among chronically ill children, we describe the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Family Relationships measure over time and its associations with sociodemographics, environmental deprivation, and health. METHODS: Parents of children aged 8-18 years with asthma (n = 171), type 1 diabetes (n = 199), or sickle cell disease (n = 135), recruited in pediatric clinics and emergency departments (ED), completed demographic surveys. Every six months for up to three years, children completed PROMIS Family Relationships, Anxiety, and Depressive Symptoms short forms (T-scores; mean 50, SD = 10), and a 5-level health status item. Linear mixed models were fit to estimate associations. RESULTS: Older baseline age was associated with weaker family relationships. For example, for each 3-year higher baseline age, relationships were 3 points weaker for males (- 3.0; 95%CI - 5.7 to - .0.2) and females (- 3.1; 95%CI - 6.0 to - 0.3) with asthma recruited in the ED. For each 1-unit higher mean overall health, relationships were 4.6 points (95%CI 3.2-6.1) stronger for children with diabetes and about 2 points stronger for children with asthma (2.3; 0.7-3.9) and sickle cell disease (2.1; 0.3-3.9). Family relationships were 0.3-0.5 points weaker for each 1-unit increment in mean anxiety or depressive symptoms across all three diseases. Relationships were not significantly associated with environmental deprivation and generally stable over time. CONCLUSIONS: Family relationships were weaker among older children and generally stable over time, yet fluctuated with physical and mental health. Monitoring PROMIS Family Relationships scores may facilitate referrals for chronically ill children who need support.

"This is my home-based exercise": exploring environmental influences on home-based exercise participation in oncology.

PURPOSE: Home-based exercise interventions offer many health benefits; however, the environments that constitute home-based exercise are not well-understood. The purpose of this study was to explore what constitutes the "home" for cancer survivors engaging in home-based exercise and identify factors of the environment that may impact exercise participation. METHODS: We conducted a qualitative exploratory study of cancer survivors receiving a home-based exercise prescription to manage their cancer-related impairments. Semi-structured interviews included photo elicitation to actively involve participants in the interview process and provide opportunities to visually "observe" environments utilized for home-based exercise. RESULTS: Sixteen participants were interviewed (n = 11 women, median age = 53.5, range = 26-74 years) and three themes emerged: (1) reasons for participating in a home-based exercise program; (2) physical environmental influences and preferences; and (3) social environmental influences and preferences. The ability to self-manage exercise and accommodate competing demands, having access to exercise facilities, feeling comfortable exercising without qualified supervision, and a desire for autonomy were reasons home-based exercise programs were preferred. Participants reported that the physical environment influenced their experience with home-based exercise and sub-themes related to a dynamic environment, indoor and outdoor characteristics, and aesthetics were identified. The social environment, with sub-themes associated with the presence of people, social climate, exercise modeling, connection, and exercise support, also related to exercise behavior. CONCLUSION: The findings highlight the influence of the physical and social environment on exercise prescription engagement. They further indicate the need for exercise professionals to consider the environment for exercise when delivering home-based exercise interventions.

Selecting Indicators to Monitor and Assess Environmental Health in a Portuguese Urban Setting: A Participatory Approach.

Environmental health (EH) is influenced by complex interactions between health and the built and natural environments, there being little research on its specificities in urban settings. The use of suitable indicators to monitor and assess EH is fundamental in informing evidence-based interventions at the local level. A participatory approach to selecting indicators to inform the monitoring and assessment of EH in Lisbon is herein considered. Evidence derived from a systematic review of literature and data from Lisbon and Portuguese databases were analyzed by 12 Portuguese experts in individual semi-structured interviews. The interviews aimed at identifying relevant indicators and important emerging issues in the Lisbon urban setting. The outputs from the interviews were validated by a two-round Web-Delphi process in which panelists (22 experts) from different areas of expertise expressed their views regarding the relevance of the indicators for the analysis of EH in urban settings. Seventeen indicators were validated in the Web-Delphi process. High participation achieved along this process supports the view that this participatory approach was useful for validation. Results from the adopted participatory approach point out gaps in the collection of noise and mobility indicators data and raise emerging issues on housing indicators that require further research. The results also suggest the need for local action to improve indicators and tools in order to help the monitorization of EH in urban contexts. The adopted participatory approach can be replicated for other Portuguese and European urban settings.

Development and validation of an environmental heat strain risk assessment (EHSRA) index using structural equation modeling based on empirical relations.

BACKGROUND: Need to a simple, available, accurate, comprehensive, and valid indicator is felt to assess thermal effects. Therefore, the present study was aimed to develop and validate the environmental heat strain risk assessment (EHSRA) index using structural equation modeling (SEM) based on empirical relations. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed on 201 male workers in environments with various climatic conditions. The heart rate and tympanic temperature of the individuals were monitored at times of 30, 60, and 90 min after beginning the work. At these times, values of dry temperature, wet temperature, globe temperature, and air velocity were also measured and metabolism rate and clothing thermal insulation value were estimated. At the end, a theoretical model was depicted in AMOS software and obtained coefficients were applied to develop a novel index. The scores of this indicator were categorized into four risk levels via ROC curves and validate using linear regression analysis. RESULTS: Indirect effect coefficients of the globe temperature, dry temperature, wet temperature, air velocity, metabolism, and clothing thermal insulation variables on the tympanic temperature were computed by 0.77, 0.75, 0.69, 0.24, 0.49, and 0.39, respectively. These coefficients were applied to develop the index. Optimal cut-off points of boundaries between risk levels included 12.02, 15.88, and 17.56. The results showed that the EHSRA index justified 75% of the variations of the tympanic temperature (R2 = 0.75). CONCLUSIONS: The novel index possesses appropriate validity. It was suggested that this indicator is applied and validated in various environments in the next studies.

Association between urinary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and hypertension in the Korean population: data from the Second Korean National Environmental Health Survey (2012-2014).

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are environmental and occupational pollutants derived from incomplete combustion of organic materials, including wood and fossil fuels. Epidemiological studies have evaluated the association between PAH exposure and hypertension or cardiovascular disease in the general population, but the evidence is limited. In this study, we evaluated the association between urinary PAH metabolites and hypertension in the Korean adult population. A total of 6478 adults who participated in the Second Korean National Environmental Health Survey (2012-2014) were included. The differences in urinary concentrations of four PAH metabolites, including 1-hydroxypyrene, 2-hydroxyfluorene, 1-hydroxyphenanthrene, and 2-naphthol, were compared according to hypertension status using a general linear model. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for hypertension were calculated according to the quartile groups of urinary PAH metabolites after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), smoking, and alcohol consumption in multiple logistic regression analyses. The estimated mean concentrations of urinary 1-hydroxyphenanthrene were significantly higher in the hypertension group than in the non-hypertension group. In 1-hydroxyphenanthrene, the OR for hypertension was significantly higher in the third and fourth quartile groups than in the first quartile group (third: OR 1.707, 95% CI 1.203-2.423, fourth: OR 1.604, 95% CI 1.158-2.223). No significant associations were detected for the other metabolites. Our results suggest an association between exposure to PAHs and hypertension in a Korean adult population. Further studies are required to evaluate the effects of low-dose long-term exposure to PAHs on hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

An introduction for the special issue on environmental health and genome integrity.

Environmental exposures and genome maintenance mechanisms that respond to environmentally-induced genotoxicity have a profound impact on human health. Eight review articles in this Special Issue (SI) titled "Environmental Health and Genome Integrity" describe emerging new mechanisms by which distinct forms of environmentally-induced DNA damage are remediated, and explain how DNA repair pathway choices impact genome integrity and disease propensity. Here, we provide an introduction to reviews from this SI. Our expanding knowledge of how genotoxic exposures impact the genome will allow us to better predict, prevent and treat environmentally-induced human diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative disorders.

Circadian Rhythms in Environmental Health Sciences.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review aims to explore how circadian rhythms influence disease susceptibility and potentially modify the effect of environmental exposures. We aimed to identify biomarkers commonly used in environmental health research that have also been the subject of chronobiology studies, in order to review circadian rhythms of relevance to environmental health and determine if time-of-day is an important factor to consider in environmental health studies. Moreover, we discuss opportunities for studying how environmental exposures may interact with circadian rhythms to structure disease pathology and etiology. RECENT FINDINGS: In recent years, the study of circadian rhythms in mammals has flourished. Animal models revealed that all body tissues have circadian rhythms. In humans, circadian rhythms were also shown to exist at multiple levels of organization: molecular, cellular, and physiological processes, including responding to oxidative stress, cell trafficking, and sex hormone production, respectively. Together, these rhythms are an essential component of human physiology and can shape an individual's susceptibility and response to disease. Circadian rhythms are relatively unexplored in environmental health research. However, circadian clocks control many physiological and behavioral processes that impact exposure pathways and disease systems. We believe this review will motivate new studies of (i) the impact of exposures on circadian rhythms, (ii) how circadian rhythms modify the effect of environmental exposures, and (iii) how time-of-day impacts our ability to observe the body's response to exposure.

Translational data analytics in exposure science and environmental health: a citizen science approach with high school students.

BACKGROUND: Translational data analytics aims to apply data analytics principles and techniques to bring about broader societal or human impact. Translational data analytics for environmental health is an emerging discipline and the objective of this study is to describe a real-world example of this emerging discipline. METHODS: We implemented a citizen-science project at a local high school. Multiple cohorts of citizen scientists, who were students, fabricated and deployed low-cost air quality sensors. A cloud-computing solution provided real-time air quality data for risk screening purposes, data analytics and curricular activities. RESULTS: The citizen-science project engaged with 14 high school students over a four-year period that is continuing to this day. The project led to the development of a website that displayed sensor-based measurements in local neighborhoods and a GitHub-like repository for open source code and instructions. Preliminary results showed a reasonable comparison between sensor-based and EPA land-based federal reference monitor data for CO and NOx. CONCLUSIONS: Initial sensor-based data collection efforts showed reasonable agreement with land-based federal reference monitors but more work needs to be done to validate these results. Lessons learned were: 1) the need for sustained funding because citizen science-based project timelines are a function of community needs/capacity and building interdisciplinary rapport in academic settings and 2) the need for a dedicated staff to manage academic-community relationships.

Age period cohort analysis: a review of what we should and shouldn't do.

Context: Age, period and birth cohort (APC) effects have been known for decades in biological, health and social sciences. However, exact collinearity between these three (Age = Year - Birth Year) leads to difficulty estimating these effects. It is thus impossible to estimate linear components of these effects without strong assumptions about at least one of these. This is problematic for anyone interested in APC patterns. Attempts to 'solve' this identification problem without strong assumptions are, in fact, making hidden unintended assumptions.Objective: Provide an overview of what APC effects are and the nature of the identification problem, before reviewing and critiquing methodological literature across the health and social sciences. I also present an argument for what researchers should do.Method: Non-systematic review of methodological literature across health and social sciences.Results: Recommendations include considering non-linearities around linear APC effects and stating strong and explicit theory-based assumptions. Mechanical solutions to the identification problem do not work.Conclusion: These recommendations acknowledge there is a 'line of solutions' of possible combinations of APC effects, and not a single answer that can be estimated empirically. None of these methods solve the identification problem - rather they acknowledge that methods are limited by assumptions.

Assessing short-term impact of PM10 on mortality using a semiparametric generalized propensity score approach.

BACKGROUND: The shape of the exposure-response curve describing the effects of air pollution on population health has crucial regulatory implications, and it is important in assessing causal impacts of hypothetical policies of air pollution reduction. METHODS: After having reformulated the problem of assessing the short-term impact of air pollution on health within the potential outcome approach to causal inference, we developed a method based on the generalized propensity score (GPS) to estimate the average dose-response function (aDRF) and quantify attributable deaths under different counterfactual scenarios of air pollution reduction. We applied the proposed approach to assess the impact of airborne particles with a diameter less than or equal to 10 µm (PM10) on deaths from natural, cardiovascular and respiratory causes in the city of Milan, Italy (2003-2006). RESULTS: As opposed to what is commonly assumed, the estimated aDRFs were not linear, being steeper for low-moderate values of exposure. In the case of natural mortality, the curve became flatter for higher levels; this behavior was less pronounced for cause-specific mortality. The effect was larger in days characterized by higher temperature. According to the curves, we estimated that a hypothetical intervention able to set the daily exposure levels exceeding 40 µg/m3 to exactly 40 would have avoided 1157 deaths (90%CI: 689, 1645) in the whole study period, 312 of which for respiratory causes and 771 for cardiovascular causes. These impacts were higher than those obtained previously from regression-based methods. CONCLUSION: This novel method based on the GPS allowed estimating the average dose-response function and calculating attributable deaths, without requiring strong assumptions about the shape of the relationship. Its potential as a tool for investigating effect modification by temperature and its use in other environmental epidemiology contexts deserve further investigation.

Environmental health: emancipatory care challenges and possibilities by the nurse.

OBJECTIVES: to discuss challenges and possibilities for the construction of Environmental Health emancipatory care practices by the nurse. METHODS: reflective analysis based on conceptual, theoretical, and methodological aspects of nursing care, under the emancipatory and critical perspective. RESULTS: contemporary environmental issues involve complex determinants of the health-disease process. This fact requires the accomplishment of educative actions that encourage the change of environmental attitudes related to health-risk situations. In this sense, there are significant demands for emancipatory practices of primary care in Environmental Health by nurses, which need to be systematized by health and education institutions. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: the nurse, as an educator and social actor, should offer emancipatory practices of risk management, empowerment, and shared social and environmental responsibility, with a view to recovering an ecological well-being and social transformation, to improve environmental quality and human life.