Exposure to Trihalomethanes through Different Water Uses and Birth Weight, Small for Gestational Age, and Preterm Delivery in Spain

Background: Evidence associating exposure to water disinfection by-products with reduced birth weight and altered duration of gestation remains inconclusive

Consumption of ultra-processed foods and drinks and colorectal, breast, and prostate cancer

Aims: To study whether the consumption of ultra-processed foods and drinks is associated with breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers. Methods: Multicentric population-based case-control study (MCC-Spain) conducted in 12 Spanish provinces. Participants were men and women between 20 and 85 years of age with diagnoses of colorectal (n = 1852), breast (n = 1486), or prostate cancer (n = 953), and population-based controls (n = 3543) frequency-matched by age, sex, and region. Dietary intake was collected using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Foods and drinks were categorized according to their degree of processing based on the NOVA classification. Unconditional multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between ultra-processed food and drink consumption and colorectal, breast, and prostate cancer. Results: In multiple adjusted models, consumption of ultra-processed foods and drinks was associated with a higher risk of colorectal cancer (OR for a 10% increase in consumption: 1.11; 95% CI 1.04-1.18). The corresponding odds for breast (OR 1.03; 95% CI 0.96-1.11) and prostate cancer (OR 1.02; 95% CI 0.93-1.12) were indicative of no association. Conclusions: Results of this large population-based case-control study suggest an association between the consumption of ultra-processed foods and drinks and colorectal cancer. Food policy and public health should include a focus on food processing when formulating dietary guidelines

Drinking water disinfection by-products, genetic polymorphisms, and birth outcomes in a European mother–child cohort study

eISSN 1531-5487Background: We examined the association between exposure during pregnancy to trihalomethanes, the most common water disinfection by-products, and birth outcomes in a European cohort study (Health Impacts of Long-Term Exposure to Disinfection By-Products in Drinking Water). We took into account exposure through different water uses, measures of water toxicity, and genetic susceptibility. Methods: We enrolled 14,005 mothers (2002–2010) and their children from France, Greece, Lithuania, Spain, and the UK. Information on lifestyle- and water-related activities was recorded. We ascertained residential concentrations of trihalomethanes through regulatory records and ad hoc sampling campaigns and estimated route-specific trihalomethane uptake by trimester and for whole pregnancy. We examined single nucleotide polymorphisms and copy number variants in disinfection by-product metabolizing genes in nested case–control studies. Results: Average levels of trihalomethanes ranged from around 10 μg/L to above the regulatory limits in the EU of 100 μg/L between centers. There was no association between birth weight and total trihalomethane exposure during pregnancy (β = 2.2 g in birth weight per 10 μg/L of trihalomethane, 95% confidence interval = 3.3, 7.6). Birth weight was not associated with exposure through different routes or with specific trihalomethane species. Exposure to trihalomethanes was not associated with low birth weight (odds ratio [OR] per 10 μg/L = 1.02, 95% confidence interval = 0.95, 1.10), small-for-gestational age (OR = 0.99, 0.94, 1.03) and preterm births (OR = 0.98, 0.9, 1.05). We found no gene–environment interactions for mother or child polymorphisms in relation to preterm birth or small-for-gestational age. [...]Aplinkotyros katedraVytauto Didžiojo universiteta