Multi-site study of communities with PFAS-contaminated drinking water: Methods, demographics, and PFAS serum concentrations.

A nationwide cross-sectional study led by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in collaboration with research and community partners, was designed to investigate health outcomes linked to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure among residents of communities with contaminated drinking water. The objective was to describe the study design, methods, participant demographics, and PFAS serum concentrations. From 2019 to 2023, adult (18+) and child (ages 4-17) participants were recruited from communities with past or ongoing PFAS contamination of drinking water across eight sites in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Heat exposure, heat strain, and off-work recovery of Guatemalan sugarcane workers.

Agricultural workers are at high risk for heat-related illnesses when performing heavy labor in hot conditions. Occupational heat strain, the physiological response to heat stress, is hypothesized to be common in this worker population but has rarely been measured objectively through core body temperature (T). The objective of this study was twofold: ) evaluate workday heat strain and ) examine the trajectory of heat exposure and T from the workday through the off-work hours to advance understanding of the recovery process and conditions of heat-exposed agricultural workers.

Airborne particulate matter exposure in male sugarcane workers at risk for chronic kidney disease in Guatemala.

Background: There is an international epidemic of chronic kidney disease of unknown cause (CKDu) in agricultural working populations. Particulate air pollution is a likely contributing factor in populations at risk for CKDu, but there is little personal breathing zone data for these workers.

Methods: We collected 1 to 3 personal breathing zone particulate matter <5 microns (PM5) gravimetric measurements in 143 male sugarcane harvesters over 2 seasons and concurrent ambient samples using personal sampling pumps and cyclone inlets as a sampling train.

Neurobehavioral effects of gestational exposure to mixtures of non-persistent endocrine disruptors in preschool-aged children: The environmental influences on child health outcomes (ECHO) program.

Unlabelled: Exposures to phthalates and synthetic phenols are common among expectant mothers in the US. Previous studies on the neurotoxicity of these compounds have primarily assessed the effects of individual compounds on child behavior, but have not assessed potential combined effects of these substances. We assessed associations between prenatal exposure to a mixture of phthalates and phenols with behavioral problems among preschool-age children participating in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcome (ECHO) Program.

Variation in Proximity to Oil and Gas Well Pads across Race-Ethnicity and Income Groups in Colorado: An Inquiry into Distributive Environmental Justice Patterns.

Proximity to oil and gas (OG) wells is associated with health risks. Evidence on the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and OG well proximity is mixed. To investigate this question in Colorado, we combined OG location data with data on birthing people's race-ethnicity and Medicaid eligibility from the state's birth registry.

Prenatal black carbon exposure and DNA methylation in umbilical cord blood.

Background/objectives: Prenatal exposure to ambient air pollution is associated with adverse cardiometabolic outcomes in childhood. We previously observed that prenatal black carbon (BC) was inversely associated with adiponectin, a hormone secreted by adipocytes, in early childhood. Changes to DNA methylation have been proposed as a potential mediator linking in utero exposures to lasting health impacts.

A data-driven approach to identifying PFAS water sampling priorities in Colorado, United States.

Background: Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a class of environmentally and biologically persistent chemicals, have been used across many industries since the middle of the 20 century. Some PFAS have been linked to adverse health effects.

Objective: Our objective was to incorporate known and potential PFAS sources, physical characteristics of the environment, and existing PFAS water sampling results into a PFAS risk prediction map that may be used to develop a PFAS water sampling prioritization plan for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).

Application and comparison of point-of-care devices for field evaluation of underlying health status of Guatemalan sugarcane workers.

With chronic disease prevalence on the rise globally, surveillance and monitoring are critical to improving health outcomes. Point-of-care (POC) testing can facilitate epidemiological research and enhance surveillance systems in limited resource settings, but previous research has identified bias between POC devices and laboratory testing. We compared the performance of two POC blood analyzers, the iSTAT handheld (Abbott, Princeton, NJ, USA) and the StatSensor Creatinine (Nova Biomedical, Waltham, MA, USA) to concurrent blood samples analyzed at a local laboratory that were collected from 89 agricultural workers in Guatemala.

Prenatal Exposure to Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (2009-2014) and Vaccine Antibody Titers of Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Varicella in Children Four to Eight Years Old from the Healthy Start Cohort.

Background: Prenatal exposures to certain poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are associated with reduced humoral responses to some childhood immunizations.

Objective: We estimated associations between prenatal PFAS exposure and child antibody titers for measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), and varicella after immunization.

Methods: We measured serum antibody titers of 145 children (4-8 y old) enrolled in the Healthy Start cohort in Colorado, whose mothers had PFAS quantified mid-pregnancy (2009-2014).

Prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and early childhood adiposity and cardiometabolic health in the Healthy Start study.

Background/objectives: Observational and experimental studies have suggested that prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) can increase childhood adiposity and cardiometabolic disruption. However, most previous studies have used weight-based measures that cannot distinguish between fat mass and lean mass. We evaluated associations of prenatal PFAS exposure with precisely measured body composition and cardiometabolic biomarkers in early childhood.

Early-life exposure to residential black carbon and childhood cardiometabolic health.

Background: Early life exposure to air pollution, such as particulate matter ≤2.5 μm (PM), may be associated with obesity and adverse cardiometabolic health outcomes in childhood. However, the toxicity of PM varies according to its chemical composition.

Midpregnancy Phthalate and Phenol Biomarkers in Relation to Infant Body Composition: The Healthy Start Prospective Cohort.

Background: Gestational phthalate and phenol exposure disrupts adipogenesis, contributing to obesity in mice. Whether gestational phthalate or phenol exposure is associated with infant body composition has not been investigated in humans.

Objective: We examined associations between biomarkers of phthalate and phenol exposure in midpregnancy and infant size and body composition at birth and at 5 months of age.

Prenatal exposures to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and epigenetic aging in umbilical cord blood: The Healthy Start study.

Background: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are ubiquitous, environmentally persistent chemicals, and prenatal exposures have been associated with adverse child health outcomes. Prenatal PFAS exposure may lead to epigenetic age acceleration (EAA), defined as the discrepancy between an individual's chronologic and epigenetic or biological age.

Objectives: We estimated associations of maternal serum PFAS concentrations with EAA in umbilical cord blood DNA methylation using linear regression, and a multivariable exposure-response function of the PFAS mixture using Bayesian kernel machine regression.

Estimating historical exposure to perfluoroalkyl acids in Security, Fountain, and Widefield Colorado: use of water-infrastructure blending and toxicokinetic models.

Drinking water can be a major source of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) exposure for humans. The lack of historic data on PFAS drinking-water concentrations and consumption patterns are a limiting factor for developing estimates of past exposure. Here, in contribution to a community-scale PFAS health effects study near fire training facilities that contaminated a local aquifer with PFASs, we present a novel water-infrastructure, mass-balance mixing model coupled to a non-steady state, single-compartment toxicokinetic model that used Monte Carlo simulations to estimate the start of PFAS exposure in drinking water for individuals within three PFAS-impacted communities in El Paso County, Colorado.

Power and sample size analysis for longitudinal mixed models of health in populations exposed to environmental contaminants: a tutorial.

Background: When evaluating the impact of environmental exposures on human health, study designs often include a series of repeated measurements. The goal is to determine whether populations have different trajectories of the environmental exposure over time. Power analyses for longitudinal mixed models require multiple inputs, including clinically significant differences, standard deviations, and correlations of measurements.

Using non-parametric Bayes shrinkage to assess relationships between multiple environmental and social stressors and neonatal size and body composition in the Healthy Start cohort.

Background: Both environmental and social factors have been linked to birth weight and adiposity at birth, but few studies consider the effects of exposure mixtures. Our objective was to identify which components of a mixture of neighborhood-level environmental and social exposures were driving associations with birth weight and adiposity at birth in the Healthy Start cohort.

Methods: Exposures were assessed at the census tract level and included air pollution, built environment characteristics, and socioeconomic status.

Vaccination Trends and Family-Level Characteristics Associated With Incomplete or Delayed Childhood Immunizations: The Healthy Start Study.

Purpose: Assess family-level factors associated with childhood immunization schedule adherence.

Design: Prospective cohort; Setting; The Healthy Start study enrolled 1,410 pregnant women in Denver, Colorado 2009-2014.

Subjects: Children with available vaccination data in medical records (0-6 years old).

Ambient air pollution during pregnancy and DNA methylation in umbilical cord blood, with potential mediation of associations with infant adiposity: The Healthy Start study.

Background: Prenatal exposure to ambient air pollution has been associated with adverse offspring health outcomes. Childhood health effects of prenatal exposures may be mediated through changes to DNA methylation detectable at birth.

Methods: Among 429 non-smoking women in a cohort study of mother-infant pairs in Colorado, USA, we estimated associations between prenatal exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM) and ozone (O), and epigenome-wide DNA methylation of umbilical cord blood cells at delivery (2010-2014).

Ambient air pollution during pregnancy and cardiometabolic biomarkers in cord blood.

Unlabelled: Prenatal air pollution exposure has been associated with adverse childhood cardiometabolic outcomes. It is unknown whether evidence of metabolic disruption associated with air pollution is identifiable at birth. We examined exposure to prenatal ambient air pollution and cord blood cardiometabolic biomarkers among 812 mother-infant pairs in the Healthy Start study.