93 research outputs found
The EXIMIOUS projectâMapping exposure-induced immune effects: connecting the exposome and the immunome
External exposome; Immune-mediated diseases; ImmunomeExposoma extern; Malalties immunomediades; ImmunomaExposoma externo; Enfermedades inmunomediadas; InmunomaImmune-mediated, noncommunicable diseasesâsuch as autoimmune and inflammatory diseasesâare chronic disorders, in which the interaction between environmental exposures and the immune system plays an important role. The prevalence and societal costs of these diseases are rising in the European Union. The EXIMIOUS consortiumâgathering experts in immunology, toxicology, occupational health, clinical medicine, exposure science, epidemiology, bioinformatics, and sensor developmentâwill study eleven European study populations, covering the entire lifespan, including prenatal life. Innovative ways of characterizing and quantifying the exposome will be combined with high-dimensional immunophenotyping and -profiling platforms to map the immune effects (immunome) induced by the exposome. We will use two main approaches that âmeet in the middleââone starting from the exposome, the other starting from health effects. Novel bioinformatics tools, based on systems immunology and machine learning, will be used to integrate and analyze these large datasets to identify immune fingerprints that reflect a personâs lifetime exposome or that are early predictors of disease. This will allow researchers, policymakers, and clinicians to grasp the impact of the exposome on the immune system at the level of individuals and populations.This project has received funding from the European Unionâs Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 874707
Cancer Risk following Residential Exposure to Airborne Polychlorinated Biphenyls:A Danish Register-Based Cohort Study
BACKGROUND: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are biopersistent chemicals classified as human carcinogens. This classification is primarily based on evidence on higher-chlorinated PCBs found in food. The carcinogenic potential of airborne lower-chlorinated PCBs remains largely unexplored. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate cancer risk following residential exposure to airborne PCBs. METHODS: Cancer risk was examined in the Health Effects of PCBs in Indoor Air (HESPAIR) cohort of 38,613 residents of two partly PCB-contaminated residential areas in Greater Copenhagen, identified by nationwide registries. PCB exposure was based on relocation dates and indoor air PCB measurements in subsets of apartments. Cancer diagnoses were extracted from the Danish Cancer Registry for the follow-up period of 1970â2018. We estimated adjusted hazard ratios with time-varying cumulative exposure and a 10-y lag using Cox regression. RESULTS: Overall risk of cancer was not associated with [Formula: see text] , [hazard ratio (HR) for high-exposed vs. low-exposed [Formula: see text]; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.88, 1.09], but residents exposed to [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] had higher risk of liver cancer (HR [Formula: see text]; 95% CI: 1.28, 6.15) and meningiomas (HR [Formula: see text]; 95% CI: 1.84, 6.64), with indications of exposureâresponse relationships. Results were suggestive of a higher risk of pancreatic cancer (HR [Formula: see text]; 95% CI: 0.95, 2.64) at the highest aggregated PCB level. For testis cancer, a higher risk was observed among residents exposed to [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] relative to residents exposed to [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] (HR [Formula: see text]; 95% CI: 1.41, 6.28), but the risk was not higher for residents exposed to [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text]. Apart from this, the risk of specific cancers was similar across exposure groups. DISCUSSION: In this, to our knowledge, first population-based cohort study of residential exposure to airborne PCBs, we found no association between exposure to PCBs in indoor air in private homes and the risk for most of the specific cancers. Higher risk of liver cancer and meningiomas were observed. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1060
Occupational exposure during handling and loading of halloysite nanotubes â A case study of counting nanofibers
Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) are abundant naturally-occurring hollow aluminosilicate clay mineral fibers with a typical diameterâŻâŻ3 and in lengthâŻ>âŻ2âŻÎźm. These particles were agglomerated and/or aggregated particles where the longest individual fiber was 2âŻÎźm in length. The occupational exposure limits for refractory mineral fibers vary from 0.1 to 2âŻfibersâŻcmâ3. Following standard protocols for fiber analysis, detection of 0.1âŻfibersâŻcmâ3 would require analysis on 4âŻĂâŻ104 images when the filter loading is good. Thus, the fiber sampling and quantification procedures needs to be improved significantly if nanofibers <100âŻnm in diameter are included in regulatory exposure assessment. Due to very limited toxicological information of HNTs we recommend avoiding inhalation exposure
Fetal programming of semen quality (Fepos) cohort â a dnbc male-offspring cohort
Background: Prenatal exposures may contribute to male infertility in adult life, but large-scale epidemiological evidence is still lacking. The Fetal Programming of Semen quality (FEPOS) cohort was founded to provide means to examine if fetal exposures can interfere with fetal reproductive development and ultimately lead to reduced semen quality and reproductive hormone imbalances in young adult men. Methods: Young adult men at least 18 years and 9 months of age born to women in the Danish National Birth Cohort living in relative proximity to Copenhagen or Aarhus and for whom a maternal blood sample and two maternal interviews during pregnancy were available were invited to FEPOS. Recruitment began in March 2017 and ended in December 2019. The participants answered a comprehensive questionnaire and underwent a physical examination where they delivered a semen, urine, and hair sample, measured their own testicular volume, and had blood drawn. Results: In total 21,623 sons fulfilled eligibility criteria of whom 5697 were invited and 1058 participated making the response rate 19%. Semen characteristics did not differ between sons from the Copenhagen and Aarhus clinics. When comparing the FEPOS semen parameters to similar cohorts, the median across all semen characteristics was slightly lower for FEPOS participants, although with smaller variation. Conclusion: With its 1058 young adult men, the FEPOS cohort is the largest population-based male-offspring cohort worldwide specifically designed to investigate prenatal determinants of semen quality. Wide-ranging information on maternal health, lifestyle, socioeconomic status, occupation, and serum concentrations of potential reproductive toxicants during pregnancy combined with biological markers of fertility in their sons collected after puberty allow for in-depth investigations of the âfetal origins of adult disease hypothesisâ
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