Environmental health perspectives
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Environ. Health Perspect. · May 2021
Confronting Racism in Environmental Health Sciences: Moving the Science Forward for Eliminating Racial Inequities.
The twin pandemics of COVID-19 and systemic racism during 2020 have forced a conversation across many segments of our society, including the environmental health sciences (EHS) research community. We have seen the proliferation of statements of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and commitments to fight racism and health inequities from academia, nonprofit organizations, governmental agencies, and private corporations. Actions must now arise from these promises. As public health and EHS scientists, we must examine the systems that produce and perpetuate inequities in exposure to environmental pollutants and associated health effects. ⋯ Race is best considered a political label that promotes inequality. Thus, we should be wary of equating race with biology. Further, EHS researchers should seriously consider racism as a plausible explanation of racial disparities in health and consider structural racism as a factor in environmental health risk/impact assessments, as well as multiple explanations for racial differences in environmental exposures and health outcomes. Last, the EHS research community should develop metrics to measure racism and a set of guidelines on the use and interpretation of race and ethnicity within the environmental sciences. Numerous guidelines exist in other disciplines that can serve as models. By taking action on each of these recommendations, we can make significant progress toward eliminating racial disparities. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP8186.
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Environ. Health Perspect. · Jan 2021
Redlines and Greenspace: The Relationship between Historical Redlining and 2010 Greenspace across the United States.
Redlining, a racist mortgage appraisal practice of the 1930s, established and exacerbated racial residential segregation boundaries in the United States. Investment risk grades assigned >80y ago through security maps from the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) are associated with current sociodemographics and adverse health outcomes. We assessed whether historical HOLC investment grades are associated with 2010 greenspace, a health-promoting neighborhood resource. ⋯ Estimates adjusted for historical characteristics indicate that neighborhoods assigned worse HOLC grades in the 1930s are associated with reduced present-day greenspace. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP7495.
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Environ. Health Perspect. · Dec 2020
450K epigenome-wide scan identifies differential DNA methylation in newborns related to maternal smoking during pregnancy.
Epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation, due to in utero exposures may play a critical role in early programming for childhood and adult illness. Maternal smoking is a major risk factor for multiple adverse health outcomes in children, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. ⋯ We identified a set of genes with methylation changes present at birth in children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy. This is the first study of differential methylation across the genome in relation to maternal smoking during pregnancy using the 450K platform. Our findings implicate epigenetic mechanisms in the pathogenesis of the adverse health outcomes associated with this important in utero exposure.
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Environ. Health Perspect. · Sep 2020
Exposure to Manganese in Drinking Water during Childhood and Association with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Nationwide Cohort Study.
Manganese (Mn) in drinking water may increase the risk of several neurodevelopmental outcomes, including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Earlier epidemiological studies on associations between Mn exposure and ADHD-related outcomes had small sample sizes, lacked spatiotemporal exposure assessment, and relied on questionnaire data (not diagnoses)-shortcomings that we address here. ⋯ Mn in drinking water was associated with ADHD, specifically the ADHD-Inattentive subtype. Our results support earlier studies suggesting a need for a formal health-based drinking water guideline value for Mn. Future Mn-studies should examine ADHD subtype-specific associations and utilize direct subtype measurements rather than relying on ICD-10 codes alone. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP6391.
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Environ. Health Perspect. · Sep 2020
ReviewMethodological Considerations for Epidemiological Studies of Air Pollution and the SARS and COVID-19 Coronavirus Outbreaks.
Studies have reported that ambient air pollution is associated with an increased risk of developing or dying from coronavirus-2 (COVID-19). Methodological approaches to investigate the health impacts of air pollution on epidemics should differ from those used for chronic diseases, but the methods used in these studies have not been appraised critically. ⋯ Studies of air pollution and novel coronaviruses have relied mainly on ecological measures of exposures and outcomes and are susceptible to important sources of bias. Although longitudinal studies with individual-level data may be imperfect, they are needed to adequately address this topic. The complexities involved in these types of studies underscore the need for careful design and for peer review. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP7411.