Evaluating the Justice and Risk Dimensions of Ethylene Oxide Governance in the US.

We investigate the governance and environmental justice (EJ) outcomes from the hazard reclassification of ethylene oxide (EtO) by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2016. In response to EtO pollution after 2018, federal and state regulators engaged constituents to respond to complaints about EtO but adhered to a cost-benefit governance approach that ultimately inhibited risk mitigation. We argue risk mitigation was constrained by path dependent approaches that simultaneously enabled recognition of constituent concerns about EtO pollution while minimizing the costs of institutional change.

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.

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.

Beyond the Imodium, a One Health Discussion on Diarrhea and the Impact of Climate Change.

Our ability to tackle the looming human, animal, and global ecosystem health threats arising from the issues of climate change and extreme weather events will require effective and creative cross-disciplinary collaboration. There is a growing national and international interest in equipping the next generation of clinicians and health scientists for success in facing these important challenges by providing interprofessional training opportunities. This paper describes how we assembled an interdisciplinary team of experts to design and deliver a case-based discussion on a cross-species illness outbreak in animals and humans using a One Health framework.

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.

Developing a National-Scale Exposure Index for Combined Environmental Hazards and Social Stressors and Applications to the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort.

Tools for assessing multiple exposures across several domains (e.g., physical, chemical, and social) are of growing importance in social and environmental epidemiology because of their value in uncovering disparities and their impact on health outcomes.

Neighborhood Walkability, Historical Redlining, and Childhood Obesity in Denver, Colorado.

Childhood obesity is a precursor to future health complications. In adults, neighborhood walkability is inversely associated with obesity prevalence. Recently, it has been shown that current urban walkability has been influenced by historical discriminatory neighborhood disinvestment.

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.

Early-life exposure to tobacco and childhood adiposity: Identifying windows of susceptibility.

Background: Early-life exposure to tobacco is associated with obesity, but the most susceptible developmental periods are unknown.

Objective: To explore windows of susceptibility in a cohort of 568 mother-child pairs.

Methods: We measured seven measures of tobacco exposure (five self-reported and two biomarkers) spanning from pre-conception to age 5 years.

Associations between combined exposure to environmental hazards and social stressors at the neighborhood level and individual perinatal outcomes in the ECHO-wide cohort.

Limited studies examine how prenatal environmental and social exposures jointly impact perinatal health. Here we investigated relationships between a neighborhood-level combined exposure (CE) index assessed during pregnancy and perinatal outcomes, including birthweight, gestational age, and preterm birth. Across all participants, higher CE index scores were associated with small decreases in birthweight and gestational age.

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).

Relationships between social climate and indoor environmental quality and frequently reported health symptoms among teachers and staff in a suburban school district.

Public school teachers represent one of the largest occupational groups in the United States and are vulnerable to job stress and burnout. School social and physical environments may be adversely impacting the health of teachers and other staff, though few studies have explored these relationships. We partnered with a suburban school district in Colorado to assess the association between school environmental quality, social climate, and staff member health.

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.

Prenatal exposure to ambient air pollution and traffic and indicators of adiposity in early childhood: the Healthy Start study.

Background: Prenatal exposure to ambient air pollution and traffic have been related to a lower birth weight and may be associated with greater adiposity in childhood. We aimed to examine associations of maternal exposure to ambient air pollution and traffic during pregnancy with indicators of adiposity in early childhood.

Methods: We included 738 participants of the Colorado-based Healthy Start study whose height, weight, waist circumference and/or fat mass were measured at age 4-6 years.

Estimated Mortality and Morbidity Attributable to Smoke Plumes in the United States: Not Just a Western US Problem.

As anthropogenic emissions continue to decline and emissions from landscape (wild, prescribed, and agricultural) fires increase across the coming century, the relative importance of landscape-fire smoke on air quality and health in the United States (US) will increase. Landscape fires are a large source of fine particulate matter (PM), which has known negative impacts on human health. The seasonal and spatial distribution, particle composition, and co-emitted species in landscape-fire emissions are different from anthropogenic sources of PM.

Joint effects of ambient air pollution and maternal smoking on neonatal adiposity and childhood BMI trajectories in the Healthy Start study.

Unlabelled: Coexposure to air pollution and tobacco smoke may influence early-life growth, but few studies have investigated their joint effects. We examined the interaction between fetal exposure to maternal smoking and ozone (O) or fine particulate matter (PM) on birth weight, neonatal adiposity, and body mass index (BMI) trajectories through age 3 years.

Methods: Participants were 526 mother-child pairs, born ≥37 weeks.

A Spatiotemporal Prediction Model for Black Carbon in the Denver Metropolitan Area, 2009-2020.

Studies on health effects of air pollution from local sources require exposure assessments that capture spatial and temporal trends. To facilitate intraurban studies in Denver, Colorado, we developed a spatiotemporal prediction model for black carbon (BC). To inform our model, we collected more than 700 weekly BC samples using personal air samplers from 2018 to 2020.

Associations Between Bioaerosol Exposures and Lung Function Changes Among Dairy Workers in Colorado.

Objective: Limited studies have examined effects of bioaerosols on the respiratory health of dairy workers; previous findings have been inconsistent across populations.

Methods: Using a repeated measures design, exposures to dust, bioaerosols, and ozone were assessed and pre- and post-shift spirometry was performed for dairy workers (n = 36). Workers completed 1 to 8 visits.

Health and Environmental Justice Implications of Retiring Two Coal-Fired Power Plants in the Southern Front Range Region of Colorado.

Despite improvements in air quality over the past 50 years, ambient air pollution remains an important public health issue in the United States. In particular, emissions from coal-fired power plants still have a substantial impact on both nearby and regional populations. Of particular concern is the potential for this impact to fall disproportionately on low-income communities and communities of color.

Prenatal exposure to traffic and ambient air pollution and infant weight and adiposity: The Healthy Start study.

Background: Prenatal exposures to ambient air pollution and traffic have been associated with adverse birth outcomes, and may also lead to an increased risk of obesity. Obesity risk may be reflected in changes in body composition in infancy.

Objective: To estimate associations between prenatal ambient air pollution and traffic exposure, and infant weight and adiposity in a Colorado-based prospective cohort study.

Combined environmental and social exposures during pregnancy and associations with neonatal size and body composition: the Healthy Start study.

Background: Prenatal environmental and social exposures have been associated with decreased birth weight. However, the effects of combined exposures in these domains are not fully understood. Here we assessed multi-domain exposures for participants in the Healthy Start study (Denver, CO) and tested associations with neonatal size and body composition.

Air pollutant strategies to reduce adverse health impacts and health inequalities: a quantitative assessment for Detroit, Michigan.

The development of air quality management (AQM) strategies provides opportunities to improve public health and reduce health inequalities. This study evaluates health and inequality impacts of alternate SO control strategies in Detroit, MI, a designated non-attainment area. Control alternatives include uniform reductions across sources, ranking approaches based on total emissions and health impacts per ton of pollutant emitted, and optimizations that meet concentration and health goals.

Effectiveness of Using Enhanced Filters in Schools and Homes to Reduce Indoor Exposures to PM from Outdoor Sources and Subsequent Health Benefits for Children with Asthma.

Filters can reduce indoor concentrations of particulate matter (PM), but their benefits have not been well-characterized. This study investigates exposure, health, and cost impacts of high efficiency filters in homes and schools, focusing on the asthma-related outcomes. Reductions in indoor exposures to PM from outdoor sources with enhanced filters (e.