Short-term exposure to air pollution has adverse effects among patients with asthma, but whether long-term exposure to air pollution is a cause of adult-onset asthma is unclear. The researchers aimed to investigate the association between air pollution and adult onset asthma.

Ambient coarse, fine, and ultrafine particles have been associated with mortality and morbidity. Few studies have compared how various particle size fractions affect systemic biomarkers. The researchers examined changes of blood and urinary biomarkers following exposures to three particle sizes.

Using the natural experiment of air pollution declines during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the researchers evaluated whether having specific months of pregnancy (i.e. 1st…8th) during the 2008 Olympic period was associated with larger birth weights, compared with pregnancies during the same dates in 2007 or 2009.

Exposure to traffic-related air pollutants is an important public health issue. Here, the researchers present a systematic review and meta-analysis of research examining the relationship of measures of nitrogen oxides and of various measures of traffic related air pollution exposure with lung cancer.

Recent organic diet intervention studies suggest that diet is a significant source of pesticide exposure in young children. These studies have focused on children living in suburban communities. The objective of the study was to determine whether consuming an organic diet reduced urinary pesticide metabolite concentrations in 40 Mexican-American children, 3-6 years, living in California urban and agricultural communities.

Radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer worldwide. Most indoor exposure occurs by diffusion of soil gas. Radon is also found in well water, natural gas and
ambient air. Pennsylvania has high indoor radon concentrations; buildings are often tested during real estate transactions with results reported to the Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP).

Developmental processes in the placenta and the fetal brain are shaped by the same biological signals. Recent evidence suggests that adaptive responses of the placenta to the maternal environment may influence central nervous system development. The researchers studied the association between in utero exposure to fine particle air pollution with a diameter less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) and placental expression of genes implicated in neural development.

Pesticides have been associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD), but there are few data on important exposure characteristics such as dose-effect relations. It is unknown whether associations depend on clinical PD subtypes. The researchers examined quantitative aspects of occupational pesticide exposure associated with PD and investigated whether associations were similar across PD subtypes.

Original Source

Displacing the use of polluting and inefficient cookstoves in developing countries is necessary to achieve the potential health and environmental benefits sought through clean cooking solutions. Yet little quantitative context has been provided on how much displacement of traditional technologies is needed to achieve targets for household air pollutant concentrations or fuel savings. The objective of this paper provides instructive guidance on the usage of cooking technologies required to achieve health and environmental improvements.

Previous studies indicate that breast milk arsenic concentrations are relatively low even in areas with high drinking water arsenic. However, it is uncertain whether breastfeeding leads to reduced infant exposure to arsenic in regions with lower arsenic concentrations. The researchers estimated the relative contributions of breast milk and formula to arsenic exposure during early infancy in a U.S. population.