Environmental public health tracking of childhood asthma using California health interview survey, traffic, and outdoor air pollution data.

BackgroundDespite extensive evidence that air pollution affects childhood asthma, state-level and national-level tracking of asthma outcomes in relation to air pollution is limited.ObjectivesOur goals were to evaluate the feasibility of linking the 2001 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), air monitoring, and traffic data; estimate associations between traffic density (TD) or outdoor air pollutant concentrations and childhood asthma morbidity; and evaluate the usefulness of such databases, linkages, and analyses to Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT).MethodsWe estimated TD within 500 feet of residential cross-streets of respondents and annual average pollutant concentrations based on monitoring station measurements. We used logistic regression to examine associations with reported asthma symptoms and emergency department (ED) visits/hospitalizations.ResultsAssignment of TD and air pollution exposures for cross-streets was successful for 82% of children with asthma in Los Angeles and San Diego, California, Counties. Children with asthma living in high ozone areas and areas with high concentrations of particulate matter < 10 microm in aerodynamic diameter experienced symptoms more frequently, and those living close to heavy traffic reported more ED visits/hospitalizations. The advantages of the CHIS for asthma EPHT include a large and representative sample, biennial data collection, and ascertainment of important socio-demographic and residential address information. Disadvantages are its cross-sectional design, reliance on parental reports of diagnoses and symptoms, and lack of information on some potential confounders.ConclusionsDespite limitations, the CHIS provides a useful framework for examining air pollution and childhood asthma morbidity in support of EPHT, especially because later surveys address some noted gaps. We plan to employ CHIS 2003 and 2005 data and novel exposure assessment methods to re-examine the questions raised here

Lifetime Traumatic Brain injury and Risk of Post-Concussive Symptoms in the Millennium Cohort Study

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is prevalent among active duty military service members, with studies reporting up to 23% experiencing at least one TBI, with 10-60% of service members reporting at least one subsequent repeat TBI. A TBI has been associated with an increased risk of cumulative effects and long-term neurobehavioral symptoms, impacting operational readiness in the short-term and overall health in the long term. The association between multiple TBI and post-concussive symptoms (PCS), however, defined as symptoms that follow a concussion or TBI, in the military has not been adequately examined. Previous studies in military populations are limited by methodological issues including small sample sizes, the use of non-probability sampling, or failure to include the total number of TBI. to overcome these limitations, we examined the association between the total lifetime number of TBI and total number of PCS among U.S. active duty military service members who participated in the Millennium Cohort Study. A secondary data analysis was conducted using the Millennium Cohort Study\u27s 2014 survey

Occupation and Risk of Traumatic Brain injury in the Millennium Cohort Study

INTRODUCTION: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an occupational health hazard of military service. Few studies have examined differences in military occupational categories (MOC) which take into consideration the physical demands and job requirements across occupational groups. METHODS: This study was approved by the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Institutional Review Board. Data for this cross-sectional study were obtained from the Naval Health Research Center\u27s Millennium Cohort Study, an ongoing DoD study. Univariate analyses were employed to calculate frequencies and proportions for all variables. Bivariate analyses included unadjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% CI for the association between all variables and TBI. Multivariable logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted ORs and 95% CIs to assess the association between MOC and TBI, adjusted for potential confounders: sex, race/ethnicity, rank, military status, branch of service, before-service TBI, and panel. Logistic regression models estimated odds of TBI for each MOC, and stratified models estimated odds separately for enlisted and officer MOCs. RESULTS: Approximately 27% of all participants reported experiencing a service-related TBI. All MOCs were statistically significantly associated with increased odds of service-related TBI, with a range of 16 to 45%, except for Health Care MOCs (OR: 1.01, 95% CI 0.91-1.13). Service members in Infantry/Tactical Operations had the highest odds (OR: 1.45, 95% CI 1.31-1.61) of service-related TBI as compared to Administration & Executives. Among enlisted service members, approximately 28% reported experiencing a service-related TBI. Among enlisted-specific MOCs, the odds of TBI were elevated for those serving in Infantry, Gun Crews, Seamanship (OR: 1.79, 95% CI 1.58-2.02), followed by Electrical/Mechanical Equipment Repairers (OR: 1.23, 95% CI 1.09-1.38), Service & Supply Handlers (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.08-1.37), Other Technical & Allied Specialists (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.02-1.43), Health Care Specialists (OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.04-1.36), and Communications & Intelligence (OR: 1.16, 95% CI 1.02-1.31), compared to Functional Support & Administration. Among officer service members, approximately 24% reported experiencing a service-related TBI. After adjustment the odds of TBI were found to be significant for those serving as Health Care Officers (OR: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.52-0.80) and Intelligence Officers (OR: 1.27, 95% CI: 1.01-1.61). CONCLUSIONS: A strength of this analysis is the breakdown of MOC associations with TBI stratified by enlisted and officer ranks, which has been previously unreported. Given the significantly increased odds of service-related TBI reporting within enlisted ranks, further exploration into the location (deployed versus non-deployed) and mechanism (e.g., blast, training, sports, etc.) for these injuries is needed. Understanding injury patterns within these military occupations is necessary to increase TBI identification, treatment, and foremost, prevention.Results highlight the importance of examining specific occupational categories rather than relying on gross categorizations, which do not account for shared knowledge, skills, and abilities within occupations. The quantification of risk among enlisted MOCs suggests a need for further research into the causes of TBI

Determinants of Agricultural Pesticide Concentrations in Carpet Dust

Background: Residential proximity to agricultural pesticide applications has been used as a surrogate for exposure in epidemiologic studies, although little is known about the relationship with levels of pesticides in homes

Living Near Heavy Traffic Increases Asthma Severity

Children and adults who suffer from asthma and live near heavy vehicular traffic are nearly three times more likely to visit the emergency room or be hospitalized for their condition than those who live near low traffic areas, according to this policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. For adults with asthma, medium and high traffic exposure increases the likelihood of daily or weekly asthma symptoms by 40 percent and 80 percent, respectively, compared with low traffic exposure. The policy brief also notes that living in areas of heavy traffic is a burden borne disproportionately by asthma sufferers who are ethnic/racial minorities or from low-income households. Researchers were able to link traffic-related air pollution to asthma severity after merging data from Los Angeles and San Diego County respondents to the 2001 California Health Interview Survey with traffic counts provided by the California Department of Transportation

Living Near Heavy Traffic Increases Asthma Severity

Children and adults who suffer from asthma and live near heavy vehicular traffic are nearly three times more likely to visit the emergency room or be hospitalized for their condition than those who live near low traffic areas, according to this policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. For adults with asthma, medium and high traffic exposure increases the likelihood of daily or weekly asthma symptoms by 40 percent and 80 percent, respectively, compared with low traffic exposure. The policy brief also notes that living in areas of heavy traffic is a burden borne disproportionately by asthma sufferers who are ethnic/racial minorities or from low-income households. Researchers were able to link traffic-related air pollution to asthma severity after merging data from Los Angeles and San Diego County respondents to the 2001 California Health Interview Survey with traffic counts provided by the California Department of Transportation

Study on Yield of Cucumber 1 : Effect for yield by photoperiodical treatment

This experiment was caried out the investgate of productive power which had the lateral branch and main stem of cucumber. The cucumbers were made the photoperidical treatment, so that the cucumbers were promoted the occurence of lateral branch, or were inhibited. This treatments were conducted under the photoperiod condition of 8 and 14 hour, and the control plant was set under natural day condition in glass house. These results were as follows. The control plant had more yield than that of the cucumber which recieved the influence of photo-periodical treatment. The cucumber that recieved the influence by photoperiodical treatment of 8 hour showed the least yield than other. The cucumber that was set under natural day condition occured many more the lateral branch. But the cucumber that recieved the influence of photoperiodical treatment of 8 hour was very few yield. The control plant was promoted the occurence of lateral branch in consequence of the long day of spring and high temperature in glass house and was thought to lead to high yield. While, the in short day condition inhibited the occurense of lateral branch by itself and low temperature, so that the cucumber under condition of short day that had no lateral branch decreased the yield. In according, to have the lateral branch of high productive power seems to be very impotant for an increace of yield

Urinary cadmium and timing of menarche and pubertal development in girls

BackgroundCadmium (Cd) is a developmental toxicant that is released into the environment during industrial processes. Previous animal studies suggest that Cd may impact the onset of puberty.ObjectivesTo determine whether Cd exposure, measured as urinary Cd concentration, was associated with ages at menarche and pubertal development.MethodsA cohort of 211 girls, ages 10-13 years at baseline, was followed for up to two years. Girls completed an interview and self-assessment of Tanner stages of breast development and pubic hair growth. They were followed monthly until menarche. Urinary Cd concentrations were measured in overnight urine specimens. Multivariable Cox regression was used to evaluate the association between urinary Cd and age at menarche and cumulative logit regression was used to evaluate the associations between urinary Cd and breast development and pubic hair growth.ResultsThe baseline geometric mean creatinine-adjusted Cd concentration was 0.22 μg/g creatinine (geometric standard deviation = 1.6) and decreased with increasing age (p-trend = 0.04). Cd levels were higher among Asian than White girls or girls of other/mixed race/ethnicity (p = 0.04). In multivariable analyses, girls with urinary Cd ≥ 0.4 μg/L were less likely to have attained menarche than girls with urinary Cd < 0.2 μg/L (hazard ratio = 0.42; 95% confidence interval, 0.23-0.78). Urinary Cd was negatively associated with pubic hair growth (p-trend = 0.01) but not with breast development (p-trend = 0.72) at baseline.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that a higher Cd body burden may delay some aspects of pubertal development among girls