Reviews on Environmental Health最新文献

Introduction: The goal is to provide light on the contentious relationship between screen exposure and childhood autism spectrum disorder (ASD). By conducting two meta-analyses that showed a potential association, including screen exposure effect by ASD and ASD risk by screen exposure, we aimed to clarify the potential causality between screen exposure and childhood ASD.

Content: The literature published up to December 2023 were systematically collected, and the combined effect values of weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95 % confidence interval (CI) and odds ratio (OR) and 95 % CI were calculated using two meta-analyses using the STATA 12.0. A total of 197,357 children, including 4,599 childhood ASD, were finally included in 10 studies. The results showed that children with ASD had higher levels of screen time exposure than healthy controls (combined effect value WMD=0.27, 95 % CI: 0.12-0.41, p<0.001). An increased risk of ASD was also found in children with high screen exposure compared to the low screen exposure group (OR=1.5395 % CI: 1.14-2.06).

Summary and outlook: The development of childhood ASD may be associated with screen exposure. Future prospective studies are needed to verify the relationship between screen exposure and ASD in children.

Toxicology and epidemiology are the two traditional public health scientific disciplines which can contribute to investigate harmful health effects of exposure to toxic substances. Several frameworks for integrating different lines of evidence were proposed since 2011, evolving based of the emergence of new methodologies and approaches. Through the comparison of various theoretical frameworks for evidence integration, we examined similarities, differences, strengths, and weaknesses to provide insights into potential directions for future research. We identified several key challenges of the integration approach to be applied to risk assessment. More specifically, collaboration within a multidisciplinary team of scientists, toxicologists, epidemiologists, and risk assessors, is strongly recommended to be aligned with key regulatory objectives and promote a harmonized approach. Moreover, literature search transparency and systematicity have to be ensured by following validated guidelines, developing parallel protocols for collecting epidemiological and toxicological evidence from various sources, including human, animal, and new approach methodologies (NAMs). Also, the adoption of tailored quality assessment tools is essential to grade the certainty in evidence. Lastly, we recommend the use of the Adverse Outcome Pathway framework to provide a structured understanding of toxicity mechanisms and allow the integration of human, animal, and NAMs data within a single framework.

The question of whether dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) exposure is related to breast cancer (BC) remains unanswered, possibly due to methodological constraints in the studies that have been performed. We aimed to update and synthesize the available epidemiological evidence on the relationship of p,p'-DDT, o,p'-DDT and p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'- DDE) biological concentrations with female BC, focusing in methodological characteristics not addressed in previous reviews. We conducted an overview of reviews and a systematic review and meta-analysis. We used six databases and one search engine to identify meta-analyses based on systematic reviews, pooled analyses, and individual studies published from January 2000 to December 2021. For the overview of reviews, we assessed meta-analyses' risk of bias and carried out a narrative synthesis. For the meta-analysis, we estimated summary association measures with fixed or random effects models for each compound stratifying for characteristics of interest. We estimated a positive summary association between p,p'- DDT biological concentrations and BC in prospective studies (nested case control) with >10 years of follow-up (sOR=1.41; 95 %CI: 1.06-1.88). Among retrospective studies (hospital or population-based case-control), BC was positively related with p,p'-DDE biological concentrations (sOR=1.15; 95 %CI: 1.02-1.30), and with p,p'-DDT in women with mean serum concentrations>100 ng/g (sOR=1.33; 95 %CI: 1.25-1.41). Moreover, we detected a positive association between o,p'-DDT and BC (sOR=2.24; 95 %CI: 2.15-2.34). Our results support a positive relationship between DDT exposure and BC, and are useful to reinforce its worldwide prohibition, since this pesticide is still used in some countries, has long persistence in the human body and disseminates to other geographic areas.

In several industrialized countries, there has been a report of a decrease in the proportion of male births. The current study is designed to perform a systematic review and present a comprehensive summary of current epidemiological evidence of an association between exposure to the mentioned pollutants and sex ratio. The present systematic review was executed according to the PRISMA protocol. A comprehensive online search was performed in PubMed Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase databases, Google Scholar, and the World Health Organization databases from 2000 to September 2023. After searching all databases, 20 articles were included in this systematic review. Regarding the studied pollutants found that exposure to increased PM₁₀, PM_2.5, and Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) levels was significantly associated with the sex ratio. Both maternal Benzophenone (BP)-2 and paternal BP-2 were significantly associated with an excess of female births. Finally, it must be said that the effect of some environmental pollutants on the sex ratio is undeniable. However, the sex ratio is the result of multiple factors that interact simultaneously during pregnancy. Additional research is required to examine the mechanisms responsible for the change in sex ratio.

Introduction: Our objective was to identify published, peer-reviewed, epidemiological studies that estimated associations between the risk of developing or dying from malignant breast cancer and past exposure to selected organic solvents with reactive metabolites, to delineate the methods used and to synthesize the results.

Content: We undertook a structured review of case-control and cohort studies used to investigate breast cancer risk and exposure to selected organic solvents that produce reactive metabolites in the body. We used SCOPUS, MEDLINE (Ovid) and Web of Science databases from 1966 to December 31, 2023 to identify epidemiological studies that estimated associations between the risk of developing or dying from malignant breast cancer and past exposure to selected organic solvents with reactive metabolites and organic solvents combined as a group.

Summary: We described essential methodological characteristics of the 35 studies and presented quantitative results by individual solvent and other characteristics. We did not find compelling evidence that any of the selected organic solvents are implicated in the etiology of breast cancer.

Outlook: As millions of workers are exposed to organic solvents, this topic necessitates further investigation. Future research should focus on elucidating organic solvents that may contribute to the burden of breast cancer.

Introduction: Climate change is raising global temperatures, leading to more extreme heat events, even in temperate climates like Aotearoa|New Zealand (A|NZ). The impact of rising temperatures and the adequacy of planning measures remain underexplored. This paper highlights A|NZ's anticipated heat-health challenges by analyzing vulnerable populations and assessing current response systems, thereby reinforcing the need for system-level redress, mitigation and adaptation.

Content: A scoping review examined the impact of heat and existing mitigation and adaptation responses for vulnerable populations in temperate regions, with a focus on A|NZ. Additionally, temperature trend analysis was conducted for current and projected trends using Climate CHIP for six major heat-affected cities in A|NZ to assess the recognition of heat as a societal concern.

Summary and outlook: The review identified mitigation and adaptation strategies for existing vulnerable groups and discovered other potential vulnerable groups in A|NZ, including Indigenous people (Māori), Pacific communities, low-income groups, migrants, and visitors. Temperature trends show an increasing pattern, suggesting heightened future heat-related impacts on these populations. This review reveals A|NZ's growing vulnerability to rising temperatures, particularly among high-risk groups, and calls for stronger mitigation and adaptation strategies to address future heat-health risks.

Plastic waste enters the oceans and soil and is consumed by organisms and humans. Some of the ingested microplastics may remain in the human body and cause toxicity. We conducted a systematic review to estimate the extent to which humans are exposed to microplastics through consumption and performed a quality assessment of research results. We searched for studies published up to December 2023 and included studies that reported on the characteristics and estimated intake of microplastics. The quality assessment tool reported in previous studies was used for food and drinking water studies. We included 76 studies in the analysis, and the types of foods were classified into seven categories: seafood, drinking water, table salt, fruits and vegetables, beverages, condiments, and meat. The estimated daily intake of microplastics via food was 0.0002-1,531,524 MP/day, with the highest value in bottled water. The quality of food and drinking water studies was evaluated using a quantitative tool to assess reliability. The quality of food studies was 11.50 out of 20 points and the quality of drinking water studies was 11.16 out of 19 points. These results indicate that the closer the score is to the maximum, the more reliable the research findings. The quantitative assessment can be used as an indicator for evaluating the risks of microplastics and can help reduce biases that may occur during the research process. This study confirmed microplastics in foods and human exposure to up to one million microplastics daily. Our study emphasizes the potential for microplastic exposure through food intake and subsequent accumulation in the human body; therefore, efforts are needed to reduce exposure to microplastics in daily life.

Throughout the history of medicine, clinical decision-making strategies have largely been dependent on the implementation of novel technologies. Artificial intelligence (AI) has not only made a leap into a new dimension of medical measures & decisions' shaping but has also served as a strategic backup of medical practice. Due to its nature, and military technologies in use, the Gulf War (1990-1991) is considered to be the verge of the contemporary warfare era. Soldiers had been engaged into a highly complex military operation theatre contaminated with both chemical and radiological noxious agents, and burdened with side-effects of prophylactic measurements. The aim of this review is to present a comprehensive approach to clinical decision-making strategy using the Gulf War veterans' syndrome as an example. The model is based on the processing of all data coming from the military operation theatre and their unification with medical data, so as to obtain the final product, i.e., the decision needed for a personalised therapeutic approach. Due to the complexity and a huge amount of data gathered at a given location in a given time, the functioning of this model unanimously calls for the interlace between military system AI and that of the medical sector.

Atrazine is a widely used chlorinated triazine herbicide in agricultural settings, which has raised concerns over its potential adverse effects on human health. The extensive application of atrazine has resulted in its pervasive presence in the environment, contaminating soil, groundwater, and surface water. While earlier research suggested that atrazine is unlikely to pose a health concern, recent evidence has indicated the necessity to reassess this point of view. This review aims to assess the recent evidence on atrazine's adverse effects on human health, focusing on (i) Cancer, (ii) Metabolic Diseases, (iii) Reproductive System, (iv) Neural System, and (v) Epigenetic Effects. Strategies to mitigate atrazine contamination and limitations of previous studies are also discussed. We strongly believe that further investigation is necessary to determine the potential detrimental consequences of atrazine in humans, particularly in developing countries, where herbicides are widely used without stringent safety regulations. Therefore, the current review will be beneficial for guiding future research and regulatory measures concerning the use of atrazine.

The escalating issue of environmental pollutants necessitates efficient, sustainable, and innovative wastewater treatment technologies. This review comprehensively analyzes the mechanisms and isotherms underlying the adsorption processes of semi-interpenetrating polymer network (semi-IPN) polysaccharide-based hydrogels to remove heavy metal ions and dyes from wastewater. Polysaccharides are extensively utilized in hydrogel synthesis due to their biocompatibility, cost-effectiveness, and non-toxic nature. The synthesis of these hydrogels as semi-IPNs enhances their mechanical and structural robustness and adsorption capacity. This review explores the key parameters affecting adsorption performance, including pH, temperature, contact time, and adsorbent dosage. Findings highlight that semi-IPN polysaccharide-based hydrogels exhibit remarkable adsorption capabilities through electrostatic interactions, ion exchange, and surface complexation. Furthermore, this review highlights the distinct advantages of semi-IPNs over other polymer networks. Semi-IPNs offer improved mechanical stability, higher adsorption efficiencies, and better reusability, making them a promising solution for wastewater treatment. Detailed isotherm models, including Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms, were studied to understand these hydrogels' adsorption behavior and capacity for different pollutants. This study highlights the potential of semi-IPN polysaccharide-based hydrogels as effective adsorbents for heavy metals and dyes and as a promising solution for mitigating environmental pollution. The insights provided herein contribute to developing advanced materials for environmental remediation, aligning with global sustainability goals, and advancing wastewater treatment technology.