Adverse Birth Outcomes Associated with Heat Stress and Wildfire Smoke Exposure During Preconception and Pregnancy.

We investigated associations between preconception and prenatal heat stress and wildfire (WF) smoke exposures on adverse birth outcomes and whether neighborhood climate vulnerability is an effect modifier in the Maternal And Developmental Risks from Environmental and Social stressors cohort ( = 713). Generalized linear models were fit to test the association between exposures and small-for-gestational-age (SGA), low birthweight (LBW), and Fenton growth -score outcomes, adjusting for confounders. Living in a high climate vulnerability index neighborhood was tested as an effect modifier.

Neighborhood deprivation and iodine levels influence air pollution effects on maternal thyroid function in early pregnancy.

Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy that disrupts thyroid function can lead to adverse health outcomes in mother and child. We evaluated the overall effect and critical exposure window of residential ambient air pollution exposures on thyroid function in the MADRES pregnancy cohort. We also investigated whether these associations varied by iodine deficiency status and neighborhood deprivation.

Impact of Anti-obesity Medication Initiation and Duration on Weight Loss.

Introduction: Real-world studies of anti-obesity medication (AOM) use have shown lower adherence and persistence than clinical trials; however, the impact of this reduced adherence in real-world settings remains largely unexplored. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of AOM use, timing of initiation, and duration on 18-month weight loss outcomes in comprehensive obesity care practice, offering critical insights into the role of adherence in optimizing treatment efficacy.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study assessed the electronic health records of adults with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m enrolled in a digital obesity program for ≥ 18 months.

Independent and joint effects of neighborhood-level environmental and socioeconomic exposures on body mass index in early childhood: The environmental influences on child health outcomes (ECHO) cohort.

Past studies support the hypothesis that the prenatal period influences childhood growth. However, few studies explore the joint effects of exposures that occur simultaneously during pregnancy. To explore the feasibility of using mixtures methods with neighborhood-level environmental exposures, we assessed the effects of multiple prenatal exposures on body mass index (BMI) from birth to age 24 months.

Multiple prenatal exposures and acute-care clinical encounters for asthma among children born to mothers living near a Superfund site.

Prenatal exposures are associated with childhood asthma, and risk may increase with simultaneous exposures. Pregnant women living in lower-income communities tend to have elevated exposures to a range of potential asthma risk factors, which may interact in complex ways. We examined the association between prenatal exposures and the risk of childhood acute-care clinical encounters for asthma (hospitalizations, emergency department visits, observational stays) using conditional logistic regression with a multivariable smoothing term to model the interaction between continuous variables, adjusted for maternal characteristics and stratified by sex.

Prenatal environmental exposures and associations with teen births.

Background: Children's prenatal exposure to multiple environmental chemicals may contribute to subsequent deficits in impulse control, predisposing them to risk-taking.

Objective: Our goal was to investigate associations between prenatal exposure mixtures and risk of teen birth, a manifestation of high-risk sexual activity, among 5865 girls (1st generation) born in southeast Massachusetts from 1992-1998.

Methods: Exposures included prenatal modeled polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), ρ,ρ'-dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethylene (DDE), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg).

Correction to: Early-life exposure to PM2.5 and risk of acute asthma clinical encounters among children in Massachusetts: a case-crossover analysis.

After publication of the article [1], it was brought to our attention that a number in Table 1 is incorrect.

Early-life exposure to PM and risk of acute asthma clinical encounters among children in Massachusetts: a case-crossover analysis.

Background: Associations between ambient particulate matter < 2.5 μm (PM) and asthma morbidity have been suggested in previous epidemiologic studies but results are inconsistent for areas with lower PM levels. We estimated the associations between early-life short-term PM exposure and the risk of asthma or wheeze clinical encounters among Massachusetts children in the innovative Pregnancy to Early Life Longitudinal (PELL) cohort data linkage system.

Monomethylarsonous acid, but not inorganic arsenic, is a mitochondria-specific toxicant in vascular smooth muscle cells.

Arsenic exposure has been implicated as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, and cancer, yet the role mitochondrial dysfunction plays in the cellular mechanisms of pathology is largely unknown. To investigate arsenic-induced mitochondrial dysfunction in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), we exposed rat aortic smooth muscle cells (A7r5) to inorganic arsenic (iAs(III)) and its metabolite monomethylarsonous acid (MMA(III)) and compared their effects on mitochondrial function and oxidative stress. Our results indicate that MMA(III) is significantly more toxic to mitochondria than iAs(III).