Low-Level Environmental Metals Exposures, Biomarkers of Myocardial Injury and Hemodynamic Stress, and Mortality Risk.

Background: The exact pathophysiologic mechanism of environmental toxic metals (particularly lead and cadmium)-associated cardiovascular events remains poorly understood.

Objectives: The authors assessed the impacts of lead and cadmium on myocardial injury and stress and further explored their roles in the risks of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.

Methods: We included participants with studied measurements from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1999 and 2004, followed up to 2019.

Impact of ambient ozone exposure on cardiac biomarkers in heart failure and the role of Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors: Findings from the TRACER-HF trial.

Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of ambient ozone (O) exposure on changes in cardiac biomarkers in heart failure patients, identify vulnerable populations, and explore potential effect modification by concomitant medications.

Methods: A repeated measures analysis was employed to evaluate the association between O exposure and cardiac biomarkers, including 1038 N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), 692 soluble growth stimulation expressed gene 2 (sST2), and Troponin T measurements from 173 heart failure patients enrolled in the TRACER-HF trial across 10 cities in China. Linear mixed models were applied to assess the exposure-response relationships across multiple lag periods.

Maternal exposures to ambient carbon particulate pollution and the risk of gestational hypertension or pre-eclampsia: a retrospective cohort study in Beijing, China, 2014-2018.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the impact of ambient carbon particles on hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (HDP) and evaluate whether the associations differed by maternal characteristics.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was constructed based on data from the Haidian Maternal and Child Health Hospital in Beijing, China. A total of 41 374 participants with last menstrual period dates between 2014 and 2018 were included.

Latent profile analysis of psychological help-seeking stigma and influential factors among Hainan medical students.

Objective: Medical students frequently confront a range of psychological challenges inherent to their profession. Among these, the psychological help-seeking stigma (PHSS) is a crucial yet often neglected barrier, impeding medical students from obtaining necessary psychological support. This research aims to elucidate the characteristics of PHSS in medical students through latent profile analysis (LPA), examine its psycho-social determinants, and establish the threshold for PHSS using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.

Short-Term Relationship Between Air Pollution and Mortality from Respiratory and Cardiovascular Diseases in China, 2008-2020.

Most existing epidemiological studies on the impact of air pollution on noncommunicable diseases have focused on urban areas, rather than nationwide studies that include rural areas. This study utilized a time-stratified case-crossover study that included deaths registered in the National Mortality Surveillance System from 2008 to 2020. Atmospheric particulate matter (PM and PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO), sulfur dioxide (SO), and carbon monoxide (CO) were evaluated via the National Nested Air Quality Prediction Modeling System.

Mortality risk of short-term air pollution exposure in urban and rural Chinese populations: A nationwide time-stratified case-crossover study, 2008-2020.

Background: Epidemiologic evidence underpinning current World Health Organization Air Quality Guidelines (WHO AQGs) is primarily derived from urban populations, which remains challenging for implementing the guidelines in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where most people reside in rural or less developed areas. Here, we aimed to characterize the associations between ambient air pollution and mortality in Chinese populations living in both urban and rural areas, where rural populations have not been studied previously at national level.

Methods: In this nationwide time-stratified case-crossover study, we extracted non-accidental death cases of all ages in both urban and rural areas during 2008-2020 from National Mortality Surveillance System, which covered 40,300 representative township-level administration units from 29 provinces, representing nearly 24 % of Chinese population.

Greenness, nighttime light, and couple fecundability: A national cohort study between 2014 and 2020.

Background: Reduced greenness and increased nighttime light (NTL) have been associated with adverse health outcomes; however, the impacts of greenness and NTL on human fecundability remain uncertain.

Methods: Data was collected from 14,239,365 couples across 31 provinces in China. Greenness exposure was estimated using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) within 1000-m buffer zones, while NTL data was derived from the Visible and Infrared Imaging Suite Day Night Band aboard satellites, both based on individual residential addresses.

Risk factors for severe postpartum hemorrhage in placenta accreta spectrum patients undergoing prophylactic resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta during cesarean delivery.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the risk factors for severe postpartum hemorrhage (SPPH) in patients with placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) undergoing cesarean delivery, despite the prophylactic use of resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA).

Materials And Methods: We conducted a retrospective case-control study on PAS patients who underwent cesarean delivery with prophylactic REBOA at the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from January 2017 to December 2021. Prophylactic REBOA placement was determined by a prenatal ultrasound scoring system.

Nonlinear impacts of climate anomalies on oil palm productivity.

Oil palm contributes to various global needs as one of the most productive oil crops, but there exist ongoing concerns regarding its yield reductions and associated environmental impacts resulting from land conversion. This is the first detailed report investigating the nonlinear threats to estate-level oil palm yields posed by El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, a major driver of climate variability. Using the Malaysian Palm Oil Board administrative records on monthly performances reported by oil palm estates through the e-submissions portal spanning from January 2015 to June 2023, we focused on elucidating the impacts of ENSO on fresh fruit bunch yield, oil extraction rate, and oil yield.

Toward cleaner air and better health: Current state, challenges, and priorities.

The most up-to-date estimate of the global burden of disease indicates that ambient air pollution, including fine particulate matter and ozone, contributes to an estimated 5.2 million deaths each year. In this review, we highlight the challenges in estimating population exposure to air pollution and attributable health risks, particularly in low- and middle-income countries and among vulnerable populations.

Maternal preconceptional and prenatal exposure to El Niño Southern Oscillation levels and child mortality: a multi-country study.

El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has been shown to relate to the epidemiology of childhood infectious diseases, but evidence for whether they increase child deaths is limited. Here, we investigate the impact of mothers' ENSO exposure during and prior to delivery on child mortality by constructing a retrospective cohort study in 38 low- and middle-income countries. We find that high levels of ENSO indices cumulated over 0-12 lagged months before delivery are associated with significant increases in risks of under-five mortality; with the hazard ratio ranging from 1.

Short-Term Effects of Primary and Secondary Particulate Matter on Ceramide Metabolism, Pro-Inflammatory Response, and Blood Coagulation.

Evidence of the precise biological pathway responsible for acute cardiovascular events triggered by particulate matter (PM) exposure from anthropogenic emissions is sparse. We investigated the associations of biomarkers relevant to the pathophysiology of atherothrombosis (ceramide metabolism, pro-inflammatory response, and blood coagulation) with primary and secondary components in particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters less than 2.5 μm (PM).

Low-level ambient ozone exposure associated with neutrophil extracellular traps and pro-atherothrombotic biomarkers in healthy adults.

Background And Aims: Uncertainty of the causality determinations for ambient ozone (O) on cardiovascular events is heightened by the limited understanding of the mechanisms involved in humans. We aimed to examine the pro-atherothrombotic impacts of O exposure and to explore the potential mediating roles of dysfunctional neutrophils, focusing on neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs).

Methods: A longitudinal panel study of 152 healthy adults was conducted in the cool to cold months with relatively low levels of O between September 2019 and January 2020 in Beijing, China.

Association between short-term air pollution exposure and perturbation in thyrotropin levels in 1.38 million Chinese women: A national longitudinal analysis, 2014-2019.

Prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism substantially increased during the last decade in China, which has been commonly/clinically diagnosed as elevation in thyrotropin (thyroid-stimulating hormone [TSH]). Tobacco smoke containing toxic substances has been linked to thyroid dysfunction; however, data on perturbation of TSH following air pollution exposure in human has not been assessed at nationwide population level. We investigated the longitudinal impact of daily ambient air pollution estimated at residential level on serum TSH in 1.

Exposure to ambient oxidant pollution associated with ceramide changes and cardiometabolic responses.

Evidence of impact of ambient oxidant pollution on cardiometabolic responses remains limited. We aimed to examine associations of oxidant pollutants with cardiometabolic responses, and effect modification by ceramides. During 2019-2020, 152 healthy adults were visited 4 times in Beijing, China, and indicators of ceramides, glucose homeostasis, and vascular function were measured.

Adipocyte-Derived Exosomal NOX4-Mediated Oxidative Damage Induces Premature Placental Senescence in Obese Pregnancy.

Background: A recent study has reported that maternal obesity is linked to placental oxidative damage and premature senescence. NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4) is massively expressed in adipose tissue, and its induced reactive oxygen species have been found to contribute to cellular senescence. While, whether, in obese pregnancy, adipose tissue-derived NOX4 is the considerable cause of placental senescence remained elusive.

Pro-inflammation and pro-atherosclerotic responses to short-term air pollution exposure associated with alterations in sphingolipid ceramides and neutrophil extracellular traps.

Air pollution has been associated with the development of atherosclerosis; however, the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying pro-atherosclerotic effects of air pollution exposure remain unclear. We conducted a prospective panel study in Beijing and recruited 152 participants with four monthly visits from September 2019 to January 2020. Linear mixed-effect models were applied to estimate the associations linking short-term air pollution exposure to biomarkers relevant to ceramide metabolism, pro-inflammation (neutrophil extracellular traps formation and systemic inflammation) and pro-atherosclerotic responses (endothelial stimulation, plaque instability, coagulation activation, and elevated blood pressure).

Ambient Anthropogenic Carbons and Pediatric Respiratory Infections: A Case-Crossover Analysis in the Megacity Beijing.

Carbon loading in airway cells has shown to worsen function of antimicrobial peptides, permitting increased survival of pathogens in the respiratory tract; however, data on the impacts of carbon particles on childhood acute respiratory infection (ARI) is limited. We assembled daily health data on outpatient visits for ARI (bronchitis, pneumonia, and total upper respiratory infection [TURI]) in children aged 0-14 years between 2015 and 2019 in Beijing, China. Anthropogenic carbons, including black carbon (BC) and its emission sources, and wood smoke particles (delta carbon, ultra-violet absorbing particulate matter, and brown carbon) were continuously monitored.

The prenatal diagnostic indicators of placenta accreta spectrum disorders.

Placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) disorders refers to a heterogeneous group of anomalies distinguished by abnormal adhesion or invasion of chorionic villi through the myometrium and uterine serosa. PAS frequently results in life-threatening complications, including postpartum hemorrhage and hysterotomy. The incidence of PAS has increased recently as a result of rising cesarean section rates.

Associations of climate variability driven by El Niño-southern oscillation with excess mortality and related medical costs in Chinese elderly.

Climate variability driven by El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a significant public health concern in parallel with global population aging; however, its role in healthy aging is less studied. We examined the longitudinal impacts of ENSO exposure on excess mortality and related medical costs in the elderly from 23 provinces of China. A total of 27,533 non-accidental all-cause deaths were recorded in 30,763 participants during 1998-2018.

Combustion-Derived Particulate PAHs Associated with Small Airway Dysfunction in Elderly Patients with COPD.

Evidence of the respiratory effects of ambient organic aerosols (e.g., polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs) among patients with chronic diseases is limited.

Maternal exposure to traffic-related ambient particles and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus with isolated fasting hyperglycaemia: A retrospective cohort study in Beijing, China.

Background: Ambient particles have been associated with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), however, no study has evaluated the effects of traffic-related ambient particles on the risks of GDM subgroups classified by oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) values.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted among 24,001 pregnant women who underwent regular prenatal care and received OGTT at Haidian Maternal and Child Health Hospital in Beijing, China, 2014-2017. A total of 3,168 (13.

Short-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution and STEMI events: Insights into STEMI onset and related cardiac impairment.

Aims: Evidence on the impacts of traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) on ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) events is limited. We aimed to assess the acute effects of TRAP exposure on the clinical onset of STEMI and related cardiac impairments.

Methods And Results: We recruited patients who were admitted for STEMI and underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention at Peking University Third Hospital between 2014 and 2020.

The effect of using personal-level indoor air cleaners and respirators on biomarkers of cardiorespiratory health: a systematic review.

Background: Emerging studies have investigated potential cardiovascular and respiratory health impacts from the use of personal-level intervention equipment against air pollution exposure. The objective of this systematic review is to assess the efficacy of personal-level air pollution intervention on mitigating adverse health effects from air pollution exposure by using portable air cleaner or wearing respirator.

Methods: In this systematic review, we searched PubMed and Web of Science for published literatures up to May 31, 2020, focusing on personal-level air pollution intervention studies.