PMID: 

Chemosphere. 2020 Feb ;240:124904. Epub 2019 Sep 18. PMID: 31550593

Abstract Title: 

Critical windows for maternal fine particulate matter exposure and adverse birth outcomes: The Shanghai birth cohort study.

Abstract: 

BACKGROUND: Prenatal exposure to ambient levels of air pollution has been reported to adversely affect birth outcomes, yet few studies have investigated refined susceptible windows for adverse birth outcomes.OBJECTIVES: The study aimed at estimating associations between maternal exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PMparticles with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μm) and birth outcomes, including birth weight, low birth weight (LBW) and preterm birth (PTB), and identify specific susceptible windows.METHODS: A total of 3692 singleton live births were enrolled between 2013 and 2016 in Shanghai Birth Cohort, China. Based on mothers' residential addresses, weekly mean concentrations of PMover gestation were estimated based on an incorporated evaluating approach combining satellite-based estimates and ground-level measurements. Distributed lag non-liner models (DLNMs) were fitted by incorporating with multiple liner models and Cox proportional hazard models to evaluate weekly-as well as trimester-exposure-lag-response associations between average PMlevel and birth weight, LBW and PTB, and to identify critical windows.RESULTS: In this study, gestational exposure to PMwas associated with adverse birth outcomes in infants, and critical windows were identified as 31st-34th gestational weeks for reduced birth weight, 38th-42 nd weeks for LBW and 27th-30th weeks for PTB, respectively. Trimester-specific associations were found for all birth outcomes during the third trimester.CONCLUSIONS: Ambient PMexposure exhibited adverse impacts on multiple outcomes including reduced birth weight, LBW and PTB in the late pregnancy. The study provides further evidence supporting harmful effects of maternal PMexposure on birth outcomes and identifying critical windows.

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PMID: 

Environ Res. 2019 Dec ;179(Pt A):108730. Epub 2019 Sep 18. PMID: 31550597

Abstract Title: 

Exposure levels of air pollution (PM) and associated health risk in Kuwait.

Abstract: 

It is well established that respiratory and cardiovascular mortality and morbidity rates are associated with poor air quality as measured by high concentrations of fine particulate matter such as PMparameters. Since such information is lacking for the State of Kuwait, this study examined the exposure levels of PMand the associated health risk as evaluated by five mortality measures embodied in ischemic heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and acute lower respiratory infection as well as two morbidity outcomes related to both cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. The measurement models utilized in this investigation followed the WHO guidelines. Over a span of a four-year period (2014-2017), the annual PMconcentration levels ranged from 38.0 μg/mto 75.2 μg/m. In general, exposure levels tended to fluctuate throughout the day with the higher levels recorded during rush hours (early morning and early evening), weekends (particularly Saturdays), and summer (i.e., August and September). The highest number of excess cases and attributable proportions of premature mortalities were related to ischemic heart disease and stroke at 352 (95% CI 275-426) and 70.8% (95% CI 39.7-85.2), respectively. In general, respiratory diseases showed a higher number of excess cases and attributable proportions than cardiovascular diseases. Relative to other findings on the global stage, the results emanating from Kuwait are emerging on the higher side. The study outcomes suggest that control strategies are in dire need to bend the pollution levels in Kuwait.

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PMID: 

Exp Mol Med. 2019 Sep 24 ;51(9):108. Epub 2019 Sep 24. PMID: 31551408

Abstract Title: 

Particulate matter-induced senescence of skin keratinocytes involves oxidative stress-dependent epigenetic modifications.

Abstract: 

Ambient air particulate matter (PM) induces senescence in human skin cells. However, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. We investigated how epigenetic regulatory mechanisms participate in cellular senescence induced by PM with a diameter

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PMID: 

Environ Pollut. 2019 Nov ;254(Pt A):113030. Epub 2019 Aug 9. PMID: 31554141

Abstract Title: 

Short-term exposure to air pollution and conjunctivitis outpatient visits: A multi-city study in China.

Abstract: 

BACKGROUND: Conjunctivitis has hazardous effects on patients' quality of life through influencing school performance, work productivity, and daily activities such as driving. However, limited evidence is available on the contributory role of air pollution on conjunctivitis, particularly in China.METHODS: We obtained data of 81,351 conjunctivitis outpatients from the largest comprehensive hospitals of four cities, China, between Jan 1, 2013 and Dec 31, 2014. Data on air pollutants, including particulate matter≤2.5 μm in diameter (PM), particulate matter≤10 μm in diameter (PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO), ozone (O) and sulphur dioxide (SO) were collected from China National Environmental Monitoring Centre. Conjunctivitis outpatient visits were linked with air pollution concentrations by the visiting dates. A time-stratified case-crossover design with conditional logistic regression model was used to examine the effect of short-term exposure to air pollution on conjunctivitis outpatient visits.RESULTS: We found that the associations between air pollutants (per 10 μg/mincrease) and hospital outpatient visits for asthma were [odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals]: 1.004(1.002-1.007) for PM, 1.004 (1.002-1.005) for PM, 1.012(1.005-1.020) for NO, 1.006 (1.001-1.011) for SO, and 1.007 (1.003-1.010) for O, respectively at lag0 day. Outpatients aged 35-64 years showed significant associations with exposure to PM(1.005, 1.001-1.010), PM(1.005, 1.002-1.008), NO(1.014, 1.003-1.026), and O(1.005, 1.000-1.011), while those aged 15-34 years showed significant associations with exposure to O(1.010, 1.004-1.017).CONCLUSIONS: Short-term exposure to air pollution has impacts on outpatient visits for conjunctivitis in China. This study suggests that improving air quality could protect eye health.

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PMID: 

Environ Res. 2019 Dec ;179(Pt A):108748. Epub 2019 Sep 17. PMID: 31561053

Abstract Title: 

Short-term association between ambient air pollution and lung cancer mortality.

Abstract: 

RATIONALE: Long-term exposure to air pollution has been associated with increased lung cancer incidence and mortality. However, the short-term association between air pollution and lung cancer mortality (LCM) remains largely unknown.METHODS: We collected daily data on particulate matter with diameter

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PMID: 

Chemosphere. 2020 Feb ;240:124746. Epub 2019 Sep 13. PMID: 31568946

Abstract Title: 

Proinflammatory properties and oxidative effects of atmospheric particle components in human keratinocytes.

Abstract: 

The skin is one of the main organs exposed to airborne particulate matter (PM), which may contain various pollutants linked to a wide range of adverse health endpoints. In the present work, we analyzed the proinflammatory and oxidative effects of some PM components leading to inflammatory responses, cell proliferation or cell death. We investigated four redox-active chemicals, such as Cu (II) metal and quinones generated from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), i.e., 9,10 phenanthrenequinone and isomers 1,2 and 1,4 naphthoquinone. We performed in vitro biological tests on human keratinocyte (HaCaT) cells and also acellular assays based on the oxidation of dithiothreitol and ascorbic acid, antioxidants to assess the oxidative potential (OP). We found that treated keratinocytes showed increased activation of the redox-sensitive transcriptionfactor NFκB and increased transcript levels of the NFκB-dependent gene IL8. Moreover, the treatment with Cu(II) and quinones increased the activities and the expression of genes involved in the redox response, SOD1 and GPX, suggesting that PM components induced cellular damage due to redox imbalances. Finally, we found alteration of the mitochondrial ultrastructure and increased apoptosis after 24 h of treatment. The results presented suggest that all of the analyzed pollutant components are able to modulate similar signal transduction pathways, resulting in activation of inflammatory processes in the skin, followed by oxidative damage. Altogether these observations indicate that exposure of skin to air pollutants modifies the redox equilibrium of keratinocytes, which could explain the increased skin damage observed in populations that live in high-pollution cities.

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PMID: 

Arch Biochem Biophys. 2019 Dec 15 ;678:108116. Epub 2019 Sep 27. PMID: 31568751

Abstract Title: 

Diesel exhaust particles dysregulate multiple immunological pathways in murine macrophages: Lessons from microarray and scRNA-seq technologies.

Abstract: 

Exposure to ambient particulate matter has been shown to promote a variety of disorders, including cardiovascular diseases predominantly of ischemic etiology. However, the mechanisms linking inhaled particulates with systemic vascular effects, resulting in worsened atherosclerosis, are not well defined. We assessed the potential role of macrophages in translating these effects by analyzing gene expression patterns in response to diesel exhaust particles (DEP) at the average cell level, using Affymetrix microarrays in peritoneal macrophages in culture (in vitro), and at the individual cell level, using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) in alveolar macrophages collected from exposed mice (in vivo). Peritoneal macrophages were harvested from C57BL/6J mice and treated with 25 μg/mL of a DEP methanol extract (DEPe). These cells exhibited significant (FDR 

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PMID: 

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2019 Oct 2. Epub 2019 Oct 2. PMID: 31578416

Abstract Title: 

Association between ambient air pollution and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: are there potentially susceptible groups?

Abstract: 

This study aimed to examine the association between air pollution and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), and the effects of underlying diseases. Between January 2015 and December 2016, data on particulate matter (PM)and other air pollutants in Kaohsiung City were collected, and an emergency medical service database was used for information on patients who experienced OHCA. Overall, 3566 patients were analyzed and subgroup analyses by sex, age, and preexisting morbidities were performed. Interquartile increments in PM, PM, and Olevels on lag 1 and NOlevel on lag 3 were associated with increments of 10.8%, 11.3%, 6.2%, and 1.7% in OHCA incidence, respectively. Subgroup analyses showed that patients with diabetes (1.363; interaction p = 0.009), heart disease (1.612; interaction p = 0.001), and advanced age (≥70 years, 1.297; interaction p = 0.003) were more susceptible to NOon lag 3. Moreover, patients were more susceptible to Oduring the cold season (1.194; interaction p = 0.001). We found that PM, PM, NO, and Omay play an important role in OHCA events, and the effects vary by underlying condition, age and season.

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PMID: 

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 10 7 ;16(19). Epub 2019 Oct 7. PMID: 31591354

Abstract Title: 

Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Cognitive Impairment in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: The Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study.

Abstract: 

The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between ambient air pollutants and cognitive impairment in Korean older adults. The cognitive function of 2,896 participants aged 70 to 84 years was measured using the Korean version of the mini-mental state examination, the digit span test, the word list learning test, and the frontal assessment battery. After matching the average concentrations of particulate matter (PM)

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PMID: 

Environ Res. 2019 Dec ;179(Pt A):108777. Epub 2019 Sep 26. PMID: 31593836

Abstract Title: 

Association between fire smoke fine particulate matter and asthma-related outcomes: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Abstract: 

BACKGROUND: Asthma-related outcomes are regularly used by studies to investigate the association between human exposure to landscape fire smoke and health. Robust summary effect estimates are required to inform health protection policy for fire smoke exposure.OBJECTIVE: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the association between short-term exposure to landscape fire smoke (LFS) fine particulate matter (PM) and asthma-related outcomes.METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis following PRISMA guidelines. Four databases (PubMed, Medline, EMBASE and Scopus) and reference lists of recent fire smoke and health reviews were searched. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to evaluate the quality of case-crossover studies, and a previously validated quality assessment framework was used for observational studies lacking control groups. Publication bias was assessed using funnel plots and Egger's Test. The trim and fill method was used when there was evidence of publication bias. Sensitivity and influence analyses were conducted on all endpoints to test the robustness of estimates. Summary estimates were obtained for hospitalisations and emergency department (ED) visits. A descriptive analysis was conducted for physician visits, medication use, and salbutamol dispensations.RESULTS: From an initial 181 articles (after duplicate removal), 20 studies were included for quantitative assessment and descriptive synthesis. LFS PMlevels were positively associated with asthma hospitalisations (RR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.02-1.09) and emergency department visits (RR = 1.07, 95% CI: 1.04-1.09). Subgroup analyses found that females were more susceptible than males for ED visits, and that there was an increasing association by age groups for hospital admissions and ED visits. High heterogeneity between studies was observed, but results were robust to sensitivity analysis.CONCLUSIONS: Females and all adults aged over 65 years appear to be the population groups most sensitive to asthma-related outcomes when exposed to LFS PM. Overall, results were higher than those obtained for a typical PMmixture.

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