Mortality of individuals in a long-term cohort exposed to polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs).

Background: This study is a long-term follow-up of individuals exposed to polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs). Widespread contamination of PBBs began in 1973 in Michigan when PBBs entered the food chain. PBBs are synthetic chemicals that were once used in industrial products.

A State of the Science Review of Human Health Effects of the Michigan Polybrominated Biphenyl Contamination after Five Decades.

Background: The Michigan Polybrominated Biphenyl (PBB) Registry, followed since 1976, was created after a 1973 chemical manufacturing mistake. The flame retardant PBB was accidentally mixed into animal feed and distributed to Michigan farms for nearly a year, exposing farm residents and animal product consumers.

Objective: We synthesized knowledge to date on health effects of PBB exposure within the Michigan PBB Registry and describe research findings in the context of literature on other persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs).

Sensitive periods for exposure to indoor air pollutants and psychosocial factors in association with symptoms of psychopathology at school-age in a South African birth cohort.

Exposure to environmental toxicants and psychosocial stressors during gestation and early life are particularly harmful and may impact brain development. Specifically, exposure to indoor air pollutants (IAP) and psychosocial factors (PF) during these sensitive periods has been shown to predict childhood psychopathology. Here, we investigated sensitive periods for the individual and joint effects of IAP and PF on childhood psychopathology at 6.

Joint effects of indoor air pollution and maternal psychosocial factors during pregnancy on trajectories of early childhood psychopathology.

Prenatal indoor air pollution and maternal psychosocial factors have been associated with adverse psychopathology. We used environmental-exposure mixture methodology to investigate joint effects of both exposure classes on child behavior trajectories. For 360 children from the South African Drakenstein Child Health Study, we created trajectories of Child Behavior Checklist scores (at 24, 42, and 60 months) using latent-class linear mixed effects models.

Joint effects of prenatal exposure to indoor air pollution and psychosocial factors on early life inflammation.

It is hypothesized that air pollution and stress impact the central nervous system through neuroinflammatory pathways Despite this, the association between prenatal exposure to indoor air pollution and psychosocial factors on inflammatory markers in infancy has been underexplored in epidemiology studies. This study investigates the individual and joint effects of prenatal exposure to indoor air pollution and psychosocial factors on early life inflammation (interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)). We analyzed data from the South African Drakenstein Child Health Study (N = 225).

Joint effects of air pollution and neighborhood socioeconomic status on cognitive decline - Mediation by depression, high cholesterol levels, and high blood pressure.

Air pollution and neighborhood socioeconomic status (N-SES) are associated with adverse cardiovascular health and neuropsychiatric functioning in older adults. This study examines the degree to which the joint effects of air pollution and N-SES on the cognitive decline are mediated by high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure (HBP), and depression. In the Emory Healthy Aging Study, 14,390 participants aged 50+ years from Metro Atlanta, GA, were assessed for subjective cognitive decline using the cognitive function instrument (CFI).

In-utero exposure to polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and menstrual cycle function in adulthood.

Background: There is evidence that in-utero exposure to PBBs, and similar chemicals, are associated with several adverse reproductive health outcomes including altered pubertal timing. However, less is known about the effects of in-utero exposure to PBBs on menstrual cycle function and reproductive hormone levels in adulthood.

Methods: For this menstrual cycle study, we recruited reproductive-aged women in the Michigan PBB Registry who were not pregnant, lactating, or taking hormonal medications (2004-2014).

Assessing Metabolic Differences Associated with Exposure to Polybrominated Biphenyl and Polychlorinated Biphenyls in the Michigan PBB Registry.

Background: Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) are persistent organic pollutants with potential endocrine-disrupting effects linked to adverse health outcomes.

Objectives: In this study, we utilize high-resolution metabolomics (HRM) to identify internal exposure and biological responses underlying PCB and multigenerational PBB exposure for participants enrolled in the Michigan PBB Registry.

Methods: HRM profiling was conducted on plasma samples collected from 2013 to 2014 from a subset of participants enrolled in the Michigan PBB Registry, including 369 directly exposed individuals (F0) who were alive when PBB mixtures were accidentally introduced into the food chain and 129 participants exposed to PBB or through breastfeeding, if applicable (F1).

Polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and prevalence of autoimmune disorders among members of the Michigan PBB registry.

Background: Polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), a class of endocrine disrupting chemicals, were the main chemicals present in one of the largest industrial accidents in the United States. We investigated the association between serum PBB-153 levels and autoimmune disorders among members of the Michigan PBB Registry.

Methods: Eight hundred and ninety-five members of the registry had both a serum PBB-153 measurement and had completed one or more questionnaires about autoimmune disorders.

Sensitive periods for exposure to indoor air pollutants and psychosocial factors in association with symptoms of psychopathology at school-age in a South African birth cohort.

Background: Gestation and the first few months of life are important periods for brain development. During these periods, exposure to environmental toxicants and psychosocial stressors are particularly harmful and may impact brain development. Specifically, exposure to indoor air pollutants (IAP) and psychosocial factors (PF) during these sensitive periods has been shown to predict childhood psychopathology.

Joint Effects of Indoor Air Pollution and Maternal Psychosocial Factors During Pregnancy on Trajectories of Early Childhood Psychopathology.

Background: Prenatal indoor air pollution and maternal psychosocial factors have been associated with adverse psychopathology. We used environmental exposure mixture methodology to investigate joint effects of both exposure classes on child behavior trajectories.

Methods: For 360 children from the South African Drakenstein Child Health Study, we created trajectories of Child Behavior Checklist scores (24, 42, 60 months) using latent class linear mixed effects models.

Elimination of PBB-153; findings from a cohort of Michigan adults.

Background: An industrial accident led to the widespread contamination of polybrominated biphenyl (PBB), a flame retardant, into the food system in Michigan in the 1970's. PBB continues to be detected in Michiganders' blood some forty years later. It is necessary to understand the elimination rate and half-life of PBB because it may provide clues on how to hasten the elimination of it from the human body.

The complex relationship of air pollution and neighborhood socioeconomic status and their association with cognitive decline.

Background: Air pollution and neighborhood socioeconomic status (nSES) have been shown to affect cognitive decline in older adults. In previous studies, nSES acts as both a confounder and an effect modifier between air pollution and cognitive decline.

Objectives: This study aims to examine the individual and joint effects of air pollution and nSES on cognitive decline on adults 50 years and older in Metro Atlanta, USA.

Neighborhood characteristics as confounders and effect modifiers for the association between air pollution exposure and subjective cognitive functioning.

Background: Air pollution has been associated with cognitive function in the elderly. Previous studies have not evaluated the simultaneous effect of neighborhood-level socioeconomic status (N-SES), which can be an essential source of bias.

Objectives: We explored N-SES as a confounder and effect modifier in a cross-sectional study of air pollution and subjective cognitive function.

The association between alcohol intake and fecundability during menstrual cycle phases.

Study Question: Is increased alcohol intake in different phases of the menstrual cycle associated with fecundability in women?

Summary Answer: Heavy intake (>6 drinks/week) of alcoholic beverages in the luteal phase and ovulatory subphase was associated with reduced odds of conception; moderate intake (3-6 drinks/week) during the luteal phase was also associated with reduced fecundability.

What Is Known Already: Despite strong indications for increased risk of infertility among drinking women with intention to conceive, inconsistencies in previous results point to possible residual confounding, and have not thoroughly investigated timing of drinking and other drinking patterns during the menstrual cycle.

Study Design, Size, Duration: Participants in The Mount Sinai Study of Women Office Workers (MSSWOW), a prospective cohort study of fertility, were recruited and followed between 1990 and 1994, and completed daily diaries reporting their alcohol intake (type and number of drinks) for a maximum of 19 months of follow-up (N = 413).

Urinary and salivary endocrine measurements to complement Tanner staging in studies of pubertal development.

Background: Many studies investigating pubertal development use Tanner staging to assess maturation. Endocrine markers in urine and saliva may provide an objective, sensitive, and non-invasive method for assessing development.

Objective: Our objective was to examine whether changes in endocrine levels can indicate the onset of pubertal development prior to changes in self-rated Tanner stage.

Prenatal exposure to mixtures of persistent endocrine disrupting chemicals and early menarche in a population-based cohort of British girls.

Exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) is ubiquitous. EDC exposure, especially during critical periods of development like the prenatal window, may interfere with the body's endocrine system, which can affect growth and developmental outcomes such as puberty. Most studies have examined one EDC at a time in relation to disease; however, humans are exposed to many EDCs.

Detrimental effects of flame retardant, PBB153, exposure on sperm and future generations.

In 1973, the Velsicol Chemical Company, which manufactured FireMaster, a brominated flame retardant, and NutriMaster, a nutritional supplement, mistakenly shipped hundreds of pounds of FireMaster to grain mills around Michigan where it was incorporated into animal feed and then into the food chain across the state. An estimated 6.5 million Michigan residents consumed polybrominated biphenyl (PBB)-laced animal products leading to one of the largest agricultural accidents in U.

Hormonal Profiles of Menstrual Bleeding Patterns During the Luteal-Follicular Transition.

Context: Menstrual cycle function is determined by a complex endocrine axis that controls the ovaries and endometrium. While the late luteal phase is characterized by declining progesterone and estrogen, how these hormonal profiles relate to menstrual bleeding patterns is not well understood.

Objective: Characterize associations between luteal phase hormonal profiles and subsequent menstrual bleeding patterns, specifically spotting before bleeding.