Few studies have investigated the independent health effects of different size fractions of particulate matter (PM), in multiple locations, especially in Europe. The researchers estimated the short-term effects of PM with aerodynamic diameter less than 10μm (PM10), less than 2.5μm (PM2.5), and between 2.5 and 10μm (PM2.5-10) on all-cause, cardiovascular and respiratory mortality in 10 European Mediterranean metropolitan areas within the MED-PARTICLES project.

On July 10, 1976, a chemical explosion in Seveso, Italy, resulted in the highest known residential exposure to TCDD. Using data from the Seveso Women’s Health Study (SWHS), a cohort study of the health of the women, the researchers examined the relation of serum TCDD to diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and obesity over 30 years later.

Arsenic-based drugs are permitted in poultry production. Inorganic arsenic (iAs) causes cancer and maybe other adverse health outcomes. The contribution of chicken consumption to iAs intake, however, is unknown. The objective of the study is to characterize arsenic species profile in chicken meat and estimate bladder and lung cancer risk associated with consuming chicken produced with arsenic-based drugs.

Prospective studies that evaluate the influence of arsenic methylation capacity on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk are lacking. The objective of the study is to evaluate the association of arsenic exposure from drinking water and arsenic methylation capacity with CVD risk..

In many parts of the world, livestock production is undergoing a process of rapid intensification. The health implications of this development are uncertain. Intensification creates cheaper products, allowing more people to access animal-based foods. However, some practices associated with intensification may contribute to zoonotic disease emergence and spread, for example the sustained use of antibiotics, concentration of animals in confined units, and long distance and frequent movement of livestock.

Ambient air pollution may have neurotoxic effects in children. Data examining associations between traffic-related air pollution and attention domains remain sparse. The researchers examined associations between black carbon (BC), a marker of traffic particles, and attention measures ascertained at age 7-14 years among 174 children in a Boston-based birth cohort.

Serum levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) have been associated with decreased renal function in cross-sectional analyses, but the direction of the association is unclear. The researchers examined the association of measured and model-predicted serum PFOA concentrations with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), a marker of kidney function, in a highly exposed population (median serum PFOA, 28.3 ng/mL).

Globally, solid fuels are used by about 3 billion people for cooking. These fuels have been associated with many health effects, including acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) in young children. Nepal has a high prevalence of use of biomass for cooking and heating. This case–control study was conducted among a population in the Bhaktapur municipality, Nepal, to investigate the relationship of cookfuel type to ALRI in young children.

Recently, the Joint Policy Committee (JPC) of the Societies of Epidemiology (SE), a consortium of national and international epidemiologic societies and organizations, released a statement calling for the global ban of asbestos use (JPC-SE 2012). This is not the first such call for an international ban (Collegium Ramazzini 2010), but it is a significant one because it is endorsed by 10 member organizations of the JPC-SE, numerous major epidemiologic and public health associations, and many epidemiologists (JPC-SE 2012).

Health effects associated with diesel exhaust (DE) are thought to be mediated in part by oxidative stress, but the detailed mechanisms therein are largely unknown. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression post­transcriptionally and may respond to exposures such as DE. The researchers profiled peripheral blood cellular miRNAs in mild asthmatic participants exposed to controlled DE with and without antioxidant supplementation.