7 research outputs found
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Environmental exposures during windows of susceptibility for breast cancer: a framework for prevention research.
BackgroundThe long time from exposure to potentially harmful chemicals until breast cancer occurrence poses challenges for designing etiologic studies and for implementing successful prevention programs. Growing evidence from animal and human studies indicates that distinct time periods of heightened susceptibility to endocrine disruptors exist throughout the life course. The influence of environmental chemicals on breast cancer risk may be greater during several windows of susceptibility (WOS) in a woman's life, including prenatal development, puberty, pregnancy, and the menopausal transition. These time windows are considered as specific periods of susceptibility for breast cancer because significant structural and functional changes occur in the mammary gland, as well as alterations in the mammary micro-environment and hormone signaling that may influence risk. Breast cancer research focused on these breast cancer WOS will accelerate understanding of disease etiology and prevention.Main textDespite the plausible heightened mechanistic influences of environmental chemicals on breast cancer risk during time periods of change in the mammary gland's structure and function, most human studies of environmental chemicals are not focused on specific WOS. This article reviews studies conducted over the past few decades that have specifically addressed the effect of environmental chemicals and metals on breast cancer risk during at least one of these WOS. In addition to summarizing the broader evidence-base specific to WOS, we include discussion of the NIH-funded Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program (BCERP) which included population-based and basic science research focused on specific WOS to evaluate associations between breast cancer risk and particular classes of endocrine-disrupting chemicals-including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, perfluorinated compounds, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, and phenols-and metals. We outline ways in which ongoing transdisciplinary BCERP projects incorporate animal research and human epidemiologic studies in close partnership with community organizations and communication scientists to identify research priorities and effectively translate evidence-based findings to the public and policy makers.ConclusionsAn integrative model of breast cancer research is needed to determine the impact and mechanisms of action of endocrine disruptors at different WOS. By focusing on environmental chemical exposure during specific WOS, scientists and their community partners may identify when prevention efforts are likely to be most effective
Heavy metal exposure and nasal Staphylococcus aureus colonization: analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)
Abstract Background Heavy metals including lead and cadmium can disrupt the immune system and the human microbiota. and are increasingly of concern with respect to the propogation of antibiotic-resistence. Infection by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major cause of global morbidity and mortality. Heavy metal exposure may be associated with increased MRSA colonization and infection, and a decrease in methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) through co-selection mechanisms and natural selection of antibiotic resistance in the presence of heavy metals. This study examines the association between blood lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) level, and MRSA and MSSA nasal colonization. Methods All data used for this analysis came from the 2001–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The analytical sample consisted of 18,626 participants aged 1 year and older. Multivariate logistic regression, including adjustment for demographic and dietary factors, was used to analyze the association between blood Pb and Cd, and nasal colonization by MRSA and MSSA. Results Prevalence of MRSA and MSSA carriage were 1.2%, and 29.3% respectively. MRSA was highest in women, individuals age 70 and older, who self-identified as black, had only a high school diploma, lived below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level, and had a history of smoking. While not significantly different from those colonized with MSSA, geometric mean blood Pb (1.74 μg/dL) and blood Cd (0.31 μg/L) were highest in those colonized with MRSA. Associations with MRSA colonization appeared to increase in a dose-dependent manner with increasing quartile of blood Pb level. Blood Cd level in the fourth quartile was also significantly associated with lower odds of MRSA colonization. Both metals were associated with lower odds of MSSA colonization. Conclusions Both MRSA and MSSA results suggest that general population levels of blood Pb but not Cd are associated with differences in nasal carriage of S. aureus. While further research is needed, reduction in heavy metal exposures such as lead, concurrently with maintaining a healthy microbiota may be two modifiable options to consider in the fight against antibiotic-resistance
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Adopting a "Compound" Exposome Approach in Environmental Aging Biomarker Research: A Call to Action for Advancing Racial Health Equity.
BackgroundIn June 2020, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine hosted a virtual workshop focused on integrating the science of aging and environmental health research. The concurrent COVID-19 pandemic and national attention on racism exposed shortcomings in the environmental research field's conceptualization and methodological use of race, which have subsequently hindered the ability of research to address racial health disparities. By the workshop's conclusion, the authors deduced that the utility of environmental aging biomarkers-aging biomarkers shown to be specifically influenced by environmental exposures-would be greatly diminished if these biomarkers are developed absent of considerations of broader societal factors-like structural racism-that impinge on racial health equity.ObjectivesThe authors reached a post-workshop consensus recommendation: To advance racial health equity, a "compound" exposome approach should be widely adopted in environmental aging biomarker research. We present this recommendation here.DiscussionThe authors believe that without explicit considerations of racial health equity, people in most need of the benefits afforded by a better understanding of the relationships between exposures and aging will be the least likely to receive them because biomarkers may not encompass cumulative impacts from their unique social and environmental stressors. Employing an exposome approach that allows for more comprehensive exposure-disease pathway characterization across broad domains, including the social exposome and neighborhood factors, is the first step. Exposome-centered study designs must then be supported with efforts aimed at increasing the recruitment and retention of racially diverse study populations and researchers and further "compounded" with strategies directed at improving the use and interpretation of race throughout the publication and dissemination process. This compound exposome approach maximizes the ability of our science to identify environmental aging biomarkers that explicate racial disparities in health and best positions the environmental research community to contribute to the elimination of racial health disparities. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP8392