Correlations between human alveolar macrophage particulate matter load, air pollution particulate matter levels, and systemic inflammation markers in Mexico City.

This study explores potential associations among ambient particulate matter (PM) exposure, PM load in alveolar macrophage (AM), and biomarkers collected from 53 healthy, adult, nonsmoking residents of the Iztapalapa and Iztacalco municipalities in Mexico City. Ambient PM concentrations were estimated using an improved Land Use Regression (LUR) model to approximate PM exposure levels. The PM/carbon loading was quantified by the fraction of AM containing PM (%, %AMPM) and the PM area within the AM (µm) from BAC cytospin microphotography using CellProfiler cell image analysis software.

Advancing extreme heat risk assessments to better capture individually-experienced temperatures: A new approach to describe individual and subgroup vulnerabilities.

Background: Extreme heat risk assessments often rely on epidemiologic studies that used the nearest available outdoor airport temperatures (OATs) rather than individually-experienced temperatures (IETs) and frequently lack key individual-level determinants of exposure, including occupation, housing, and air conditioning. This hampers efforts to characterize heat burden inequities and guide interventions for vulnerable populations.

Objectives: We developed an approach to estimate individual and subgroup-specific health impacts from modeled IETs before and during extreme heat events for three U.

Experiences of women farmworkers in Michigan: Perspectives from the Michigan Farmworker Project.

Agricultural work presents significant physical and social challenges globally and in the United States, with women farmworkers facing unique risks that remain underexplored. This study examines the social and occupational hazards confronted by women farmworkers in Michigan using data from the Michigan Farmworker Project. In-depth interviews with farmworkers were thematically analyzed.

Chronic and infectious respiratory mortality and short-term exposures to four types of pollen taxa in older adults in Michigan, 2006-2017.

Introduction: Levels of plant-based aeroallergens are rising as growing seasons lengthen and intensify with anthropogenic climate change. Increased exposure to pollens could increase risk for mortality from respiratory causes, particularly among older adults. We determined short-term, lag associations of four species classes of pollen (ragweed, deciduous trees, grass pollen and evergreen trees) with respiratory mortality (all cause, chronic and infectious related) in Michigan, USA.

Advancing research on greenspace and climate-sensitive adverse birth outcomes for equity and impact.

Environmental epidemiologists are increasingly evaluating whether and how human exposure to vegetation (greenspace) can benefit health. Relatedly, scientists and policymakers have highlighted the need to integrate efforts to address the dual crises of accelerating climate change and rapid loss of biodiversity, including nature-based solutions. Greenspace is one solution that can protect humans from climate-related exposures, including heat, air pollution, and flooding.

Pollen effects in a changing climate: Ragweed pollen exposure and sleepiness in immunotherapy patients of a Southeastern Michigan allergy clinic.

Allergic rhino-conjunctivitis (AR) is a globally relevant health disorder characterized by sneezing, rhinorrhea and sleep disturbance. Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) is a plant common to North America and an important allergen. Coarse methods of measuring airborne pollen counts are used to predict seasonal allergy symptoms.

The Michigan Farmworker Project: A Community-Based Participatory Approach to Research on Precarious Employment and Labor Exploitation of Farmworkers.

Precarious employment is an important social determinant of health inequities. Through in-depth qualitative interviews ( = 35), we examine precarious employment and labor exploitation, their potential impact on the working environment, and, ultimately, the health of farmworkers. We present results from the community-based participatory Michigan Farmworker Project.

Cross-shift changes in pulmonary function and occupational exposure to particulate matter among e-waste workers in Ghana.

Introduction: Little is known on the association between cross-shift changes in pulmonary function and personal inhalation exposure to particulate matter (PM) among informal electronic-waste (e-waste) recovery workers who have substantial occupational exposure to airborne pollutants from burning e-waste.

Methods: Using a cross-shift design, pre- and post-shift pulmonary function assessments and accompanying personal inhalation exposure to PM (sizes <1, <2.5 μm, and the coarse fraction, 2.

Structural racism, air pollution and the association with adverse birth outcomes in the United States: the value of examining intergenerational associations.

Structurally racist policies and practices of the past are likely to be a driving factor in current day differences in exposure to air pollution and may contribute to observed racial and ethnic disparities in adverse birth outcomes in the United States (U.S.).

Effects of PM Airborne Particles from Different Regions of a Megacity on In Vitro Secretion of Cytokines by a Monocyte Line during Different Seasons.

Several epidemiological studies have demonstrated that particulate matter (PM) in air pollution can be involved in the genesis or aggravation of different cardiovascular, respiratory, perinatal, and cancer diseases. This study assessed the in vitro effects of PM on the secretion of cytokines by a human monocytic cell line (THP-1). We compared the chemotactic, pro-inflammatory, and anti-inflammatory cytokines induced by PM collected for two years during three different seasons in five different Mexico City locations.

Greenness and excess deaths from heat in 323 Latin American cities: Do associations vary according to climate zone or green space configuration?

Green vegetation may protect against heat-related death by improving thermal comfort. Few studies have investigated associations of green vegetation with heat-related mortality in Latin America or whether associations are modified by the spatial configuration of green vegetation. We used data from 323 Latin American cities and meta-regression models to estimate associations between city-level greenness, quantified using population-weighted normalized difference vegetation index values and modeled as three-level categorical terms, and excess deaths from heat (heat excess death fractions [heat EDFs]).

The pregnancy research on inflammation, nutrition, & city environment: systematic analyses study (PRINCESA) cohort, 2009-2015.

The Pregnancy Research on Inflammation, Nutrition, & City Environment: Systematic Analyses Study (PRINCESA) cohort was set up to evaluate associations between air pollution and birth outcomes among pregnant persons in Mexico City. Specifically, the study was designed to improve air pollution exposure assessment and elucidate biological mechanisms underlying associations between maternal exposures and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Pregnant persons (all women) (N = 935) between ages 18-45 who lived and/or worked in metropolitan Mexico City, Mexico, from 2009 to 2015 and liveborn singleton infants (N = 815) of participants who completed follow-up were enrolled in the cohort.

Associations between Air Pollution Exposure and Blood Pressure during Pregnancy among PRINCESA Cohort Participants.

High blood pressure (BP) is a risk factor for hypertensive disease during pregnancy. Exposure to multiple toxic air pollutants can affect BP in pregnancy but has been rarely studied. We evaluated trimester-specific associations between air pollution exposure and systolic (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP).

How Blackouts during Heat Waves Amplify Mortality and Morbidity Risk.

The recent concurrence of electrical grid failure events in time with extreme temperatures is compounding the population health risks of extreme weather episodes. Here, we combine simulated heat exposure data during historical heat wave events in three large U.S.

Modification of temperature-related human mortality by area-level socioeconomic and demographic characteristics in Latin American cities.

Background: In Latin America, where climate change and rapid urbanization converge, non-optimal ambient temperatures contribute to excess mortality. However, little is known about area-level characteristics that confer vulnerability to temperature-related mortality.

Objectives: Explore city-level socioeconomic and demographic characteristics associated with temperature-related mortality in Latin American cities.

What is Global Health Equity? A Proposed Definition.

The term "global health equity" has become more visible in recent years, yet we were unable to find a formal definition of the term. Our Viewpoint addresses this gap by offering a discussion of this need and proposing a definition. We define global health equity as mutually beneficial and power-balanced partnerships and processes leading to equitable human and environmental health outcomes (which we refer to as "products") on a global scale.

Integrating Interprofessional Collaborative Practice Into Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety Education: Results of a Feasibility Study.

Objective: Although occupational health and safety programs are expected to prepare graduates to function in an interprofessional collaborative environment, research to support training in this area is far less common in this discipline than among clinical programs. We incorporated interprofessional education (IPE) competencies into an occupational health and safety course for graduate students in diverse disciplines (public health, engineering, nursing) and evaluated effectiveness.

Methods: We assessed course offerings for content learning and attitudes toward IPE and analyzed data using a mixed-methods approach.

Long-Term PM Exposure Is Associated with Symptoms of Acute Respiratory Infections among Children under Five Years of Age in Kenya, 2014.

Introduction: Short-term exposures to air pollutants such as particulate matter (PM) have been associated with increased risk for symptoms of acute respiratory infections (ARIs). Less well understood is how long-term exposures to fine PM (PM2.5) might increase risk of ARIs and their symptoms.

Indoor apparent temperature, cognition, and daytime sleepiness among low-income adults in a temperate climate.

The burden of temperature-associated mortality and hospital visits is significant, but temperature's effects on non-emergency health outcomes is less clear. This burden is potentially greater in low-income households unable to afford efficient heating and cooling. We examined short-term associations between indoor temperatures and cognitive function and daytime sleepiness in low-income residents of Detroit, Michigan.

Association of pre-pregnancy body mass index and rate of weight gain during pregnancy with maternal indicators of cardiometabolic risk.

Background/objective: Changes in metabolism and extensive hemodynamic adjustments occur during normal pregnancy. The presence of maternal obesity imposes an overload to these physiological adaptations that may result in increased risk for the development of cardiometabolic complications during and after pregnancy. The aim of this study is to describe total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), glucose, and arterial blood pressure (BP) trajectories and to analyze the association of these cardiometabolic risk indicators during pregnancy with pre-pregnancy body mass index (pBMI) and monthly gestational weight gain (MGWG).

Gestational Hormone Concentrations Are Associated With Timing of Delivery in a Fetal Sex-Dependent Manner.

Background: Early delivery remains a significant public health problem that has long-lasting impacts on mother and child. Understanding biological mechanisms underlying timing of labor, including endocrine disruption, can inform prevention efforts.

Methods: Gestational hormones were measured among 976 women in PROTECT, a longitudinal birth cohort in Puerto Rico.

Compound Climate and Infrastructure Events: How Electrical Grid Failure Alters Heat Wave Risk.

The potential for critical infrastructure failures during extreme weather events is rising. Major electrical grid failure or "blackout" events in the United States, those with a duration of at least 1 h and impacting 50,000 or more utility customers, increased by more than 60% over the most recent 5 year reporting period. When such blackout events coincide in time with heat wave conditions, population exposures to extreme heat both outside and within buildings can reach dangerously high levels as mechanical air conditioning systems become inoperable.