Chemical exposures often occur in mixtures and exposures during pregnancy may lead to adverse effects on the fetal brain, potentially reducing lower cognitive abilities and fine motor function of the child. We investigated the association of motheŕs exposure to a mixture of chemicals during pregnancy (i.e., organochlorine compounds, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, phenols, phthalates, organophosphate pesticides) with cognitive abilties and fine motor function in their children. We studied 1097 mother-child pairs from five European cohorts participating in the Human Early Life Exposome study (HELIX). Measurement of 26 biomarkers of exposure to chemicals was performed on urine or blood samples of pregnant women (mean age 31 years). Cognitive abilities and fine motor function were assessed in their children (mean age 8 years) with a battery of computerized tests administered in person (Raveńs Coloured Progressive Matrices, Attention Network Test, N-back Test, Trail Making Test, Finger Tapping Test). We estimated the joint effect of prenatal exposure to chemicals on cognitive abilities and fine motor function using the quantile-based g-computation method, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. A quartile increase in all the chemicals in the overall mixture was associated with worse fine motor function, specifically lower scores in the Finger Tapping Test [-8.5 points, 95 % confidence interval (CI) -13.6 to -3.4; -14.5 points, 95 % CI -22.4 to -6.6, and -18.0 points, 95 % CI -28.6 to -7.4) for the second, third and fourth quartile of the overal mixture, respectively, when compared to the first quartile]. Organochlorine compounds, phthalates, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances contributed most to this association. We did not find a relationship with cognitive abilities. We conclude that exposure to chemical mixtures during pregnancy may influence neurodevelopment, impacting fine motor function of the offspring.
- MeSH
- chlorované uhlovodíky * MeSH
- dítě MeSH
- dospělí MeSH
- fluorokarbony * MeSH
- kognice MeSH
- kyseliny ftalové * MeSH
- látky znečišťující životní prostředí * toxicita MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- matka - expozice noxám škodlivé účinky MeSH
- těhotenství MeSH
- zpožděný efekt prenatální expozice * MeSH
- Check Tag
- dítě MeSH
- dospělí MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- těhotenství MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
BACKGROUND: Evidence on the potential interactive effects of heat and ambient air pollution on cause-specific mortality is inconclusive and limited to selected locations. OBJECTIVES: We investigated the effects of heat on cardiovascular and respiratory mortality and its modification by air pollution during summer months (six consecutive hottest months) in 482 locations across 24 countries. METHODS: Location-specific daily death counts and exposure data (e.g., particulate matter with diameters ≤ 2.5 μm [PM2.5]) were obtained from 2000 to 2018. We used location-specific confounder-adjusted Quasi-Poisson regression with a tensor product between air temperature and the air pollutant. We extracted heat effects at low, medium, and high levels of pollutants, defined as the 5th, 50th, and 95th percentile of the location-specific pollutant concentrations. Country-specific and overall estimates were derived using a random-effects multilevel meta-analytical model. RESULTS: Heat was associated with increased cardiorespiratory mortality. Moreover, the heat effects were modified by elevated levels of all air pollutants in most locations, with stronger effects for respiratory than cardiovascular mortality. For example, the percent increase in respiratory mortality per increase in the 2-day average summer temperature from the 75th to the 99th percentile was 7.7% (95% Confidence Interval [CI] 7.6-7.7), 11.3% (95%CI 11.2-11.3), and 14.3% (95% CI 14.1-14.5) at low, medium, and high levels of PM2.5, respectively. Similarly, cardiovascular mortality increased by 1.6 (95%CI 1.5-1.6), 5.1 (95%CI 5.1-5.2), and 8.7 (95%CI 8.7-8.8) at low, medium, and high levels of O3, respectively. DISCUSSION: We observed considerable modification of the heat effects on cardiovascular and respiratory mortality by elevated levels of air pollutants. Therefore, mitigation measures following the new WHO Air Quality Guidelines are crucial to enhance better health and promote sustainable development.
- MeSH
- kardiovaskulární nemoci * MeSH
- látky znečišťující vzduch * toxicita analýza MeSH
- látky znečišťující životní prostředí * MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mortalita MeSH
- nemoci dýchací soustavy * MeSH
- pevné částice škodlivé účinky analýza MeSH
- velkoměsta MeSH
- vysoká teplota MeSH
- vystavení vlivu životního prostředí škodlivé účinky analýza MeSH
- znečištění ovzduší * škodlivé účinky analýza MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- velkoměsta MeSH
Technology-critical elements (TCEs) include most rare earth elements (REEs), the platinum group elements (PGEs), and Ga, Ge, In, Nb, Ta, Te, and Tl. Despite increasing recognition of their prolific release into the environment, their soil to plant transfer remains largely unknown. This paper provides an approximation of the potential for plant uptake by calculating bioconcentration factors (BCFs), defined as the concentration in edible vegetable tissues relative to that in cultivation soil. Here data were obtained from an indoor cultivation experiment growing lettuce, chard, and carrot on 22 different European urban soils. Values of BCFs were determined from concentrations of TCEs in vegetable samples after digestion with concentrated HNO3, and from concentrations in soil determined after 1) Aqua Regia digestion and, 2) diluted (0.1 M) HNO3 leaching. For comparison, BCFs were also determined for 5 traditional metal contaminants (TMCs; As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn). The main conclusions of the study were that: 1)BCF values for the REEs were consistently low in the studied vegetables;2)the BCFs for Ga and Nb were low as well;3) the BCFs for Tl were high relative to the other measured TCEs and the traditional metal contaminants; and 4) mean BCF values for the investigated TCEs were generally highest in chard and lowest in carrot. These findings provide initial evidence that there are likely to be real and present soil-plant transfer of TCEs, especially in the case of Tl. Improvements in analytical methods and detection limits will allow this to be further investigated in a wider variety of edible plants so that a risk profile may be developed.
The outbreak of COVID-19 raised numerous questions on the interactions between the occurrence of new infections, the environment, climate and health. The European Union requested the H2020 HERA project which aims at setting priorities in research on environment, climate and health, to identify relevant research needs regarding Covid-19. The emergence and spread of SARS-CoV-2 appears to be related to urbanization, habitat destruction, live animal trade, intensive livestock farming and global travel. The contribution of climate and air pollution requires additional studies. Importantly, the severity of COVID-19 depends on the interactions between the viral infection, ageing and chronic diseases such as metabolic, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and obesity which are themselves influenced by environmental stressors. The mechanisms of these interactions deserve additional scrutiny. Both the pandemic and the social response to the disease have elicited an array of behavioural and societal changes that may remain long after the pandemic and that may have long term health effects including on mental health. Recovery plans are currently being discussed or implemented and the environmental and health impacts of those plans are not clearly foreseen. Clearly, COVID-19 will have a long-lasting impact on the environmental health field and will open new research perspectives and policy needs.
- MeSH
- COVID-19 * MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- pandemie MeSH
- podnebí MeSH
- SARS-CoV-2 MeSH
- znečištění ovzduší * MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- přehledy MeSH
To gain a better understanding of which pharmaceuticals could pose a risk to fish, 94 pharmaceuticals representing 23 classes were analyzed in blood plasma from wild bream, chub, and roach captured at 18 sites in Germany, the Czech Republic and the UK, respectively. Based on read across from humans, we evaluated the risks of pharmacological effects occurring in the fish for each measured pharmaceutical. Twenty-three compounds were found in fish plasma, with the highest levels measured in chub from the Czech Republic. None of the German bream had detectable levels of pharmaceuticals, whereas roach from the Thames had mostly low concentrations. For two pharmaceuticals, four individual Czech fish had plasma concentrations higher than the concentrations reached in the blood of human patients taking the corresponding medication. For nine additional compounds, determined concentrations exceeded 10% of the corresponding human therapeutic plasma concentration in 12 fish. The majority of the pharmaceuticals where a clear risk for pharmacological effects was identified targets the central nervous system. These include e.g. flupentixol, haloperidol, and risperidone, all of which have the potential to affect fish behavior. In addition to identifying pharmaceuticals of environmental concern, the results emphasize the value of environmental monitoring of internal drug levels in aquatic wildlife, as well as the need for more research to establish concentration-response relationships.
- MeSH
- chemické látky znečišťující vodu * analýza toxicita MeSH
- krevní plazma chemie MeSH
- léčivé přípravky * MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- monitorování životního prostředí MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Česká republika MeSH
- Německo MeSH
BACKGROUND: In modern urban environments children have a high incidence of inflammatory disorders, including allergies, asthma, and type1 diabetes. The underlying cause of these disorders, according to the biodiversity hypothesis, is an imbalance in immune regulation caused by a weak interaction with environmental microbes. In this 2-year study, we analyzed bacterial community shifts in the soil surface in day-care centers and commensal bacteria inhabiting the mouth, skin, and gut of children. We compared two different day-care environments: standard urban day-care centers and intervention day-care centers. Yards in the latter were amended with biodiverse forest floor vegetation and sod at the beginning of the study. RESULTS: Intervention caused a long-standing increase in the relative abundance of nonpathogenic environmental mycobacteria in the surface soils. Treatment-specific shifts became evident in the community composition of Gammaproteobacteria, Negativicutes, and Bacilli, which jointly accounted for almost 40 and 50% of the taxa on the intervention day-care children's skin and in saliva, respectively. In the year-one skin swabs, richness of Alpha-, Beta-, and Gammaproteobacteria was higher, and the relative abundance of potentially pathogenic bacteria, including Haemophilus parainfluenzae, Streptococcus sp., and Veillonella sp., was lower among children in intervention day-care centers compared with children in standard day-care centers. In the gut, the relative abundance of Clostridium sensu stricto decreased, particularly among the intervention children. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that a 2-year biodiversity intervention shapes human commensal microbiota, including taxa that have been associated with immune regulation. Results indicate that intervention enriched commensal microbiota and suppressed the potentially pathogenic bacteria on the skin. We recommend future studies that expand intervention strategies to immune response and eventually the incidence of immune-mediated diseases.
- MeSH
- Bacteria MeSH
- biodiverzita MeSH
- dítě MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mikrobiota * MeSH
- půda MeSH
- zařízení denní péče pro děti MeSH
- Check Tag
- dítě MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
The holistic characterisation of the human internal chemical exposome using high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) would be a step forward to investigate the environmental ætiology of chronic diseases with an unprecedented precision. HRMS-based methods are currently operational to reproducibly profile thousands of endogenous metabolites as well as externally-derived chemicals and their biotransformation products in a large number of biological samples from human cohorts. These approaches provide a solid ground for the discovery of unrecognised biomarkers of exposure and metabolic effects associated with many chronic diseases. Nevertheless, some limitations remain and have to be overcome so that chemical exposomics can provide unbiased detection of chemical exposures affecting disease susceptibility in epidemiological studies. Some of these limitations include (i) the lack of versatility of analytical techniques to capture the wide diversity of chemicals; (ii) the lack of analytical sensitivity that prevents the detection of exogenous (and endogenous) chemicals occurring at (ultra) trace levels from restricted sample amounts, and (iii) the lack of automation of the annotation/identification process. In this article, we discuss a number of technological and methodological limitations hindering applications of HRMS-based methods and propose initial steps to push towards a more comprehensive characterisation of the internal chemical exposome. We also discuss other challenges including the need for harmonisation and the difficulty inherent in assessing the dynamic nature of the internal chemical exposome, as well as the need for establishing a strong international collaboration, high level networking, and sustainable research infrastructure. A great amount of research, technological development and innovative bio-informatics tools are still needed to profile and characterise the "invisible" (not profiled), "hidden" (not detected) and "dark" (not annotated) components of the internal chemical exposome and concerted efforts across numerous research fields are paramount.
- MeSH
- biologické markery MeSH
- expozom * MeSH
- hmotnostní spektrometrie MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- vystavení vlivu životního prostředí analýza MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
BACKGROUND AND AIM: Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) constitute a major public health concern because they can induce a large spectrum of adverse effects by interfering with the hormonal system. Rapid identification of potential EDCs using in vitro screenings is therefore critical, particularly for chemicals of emerging concerns such as replacement flame retardants (FRs). The review aimed at identifying (1) data gaps and research needs regarding endocrine disrupting (ED) properties of replacement FRs and (2) potential EDCs among these emerging chemicals. METHODS: A systematic search was performed from open literature and ToxCast/Tox21 programs, and results from in vitro tests on the activities of 52 replacement FRs towards five hormone nuclear receptors (NRs) associated with reproductive outcomes (estrogen, androgen, glucocorticoid, progesterone, and aryl hydrocarbon receptors) were compiled and organized into tables. Findings were complemented with information from structure-based in silico model predictions and in vivo information when relevant. RESULTS: For the majority of the 52 replacement FRs, experimental in vitro data on activities towards these five NRs were either incomplete (15 FRs) or not found (24 FRs). Within the replacement FRs for which effect data were found, some appeared as candidate EDCs, such as triphenyl phosphate (TPhP) and tris(1,3-dichloropropyl)phosphate (TDCIPP). The search also revealed shared ED profiles. For example, anti-androgenic activity was reported for 19 FRs and predicted for another 21 FRs. DISCUSSION: This comprehensive review points to critical gaps in knowledge on ED potential for many replacement FRs, including chemicals to which the general population is likely exposed. Although this review does not cover all possible characteristics of ED, it allowed the identification of potential EDCs associated with reproductive outcomes, calling for deeper evaluation and possibly future regulation of these chemicals. By identifying shared ED profiles, this work also raises concerns for mixture effects since the population is co-exposed to several FRs and other chemicals.
BACKGROUND: Air pollution, which represents a major environmental risk to human health, comprises a complex mixture of compounds where only little is known about its specific toxicities. OBJECTIVES: This study examined the specific toxicities associated with ambient air pollutant mixtures with respect to gas/particle partitioning, particulate matter (PM) size, pollutant polarity and bioaccessibility from PM, and evaluated the contribution of PAHs and their oxygenated and nitrated derivatives (OPAHs, NPAHs). METHODS: Air samples (gas phase, PM10 and size-segregated PM), were collected at urban (in winter and summer) and background (winter) sites in the Czech Republic. The total and bioaccessible concentrations were addressed using organic solvent extraction and simulated lung fluid extraction, respectively. Organic extracts were also further fractionated according to polarity. Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)-mediated activity, anti-/estrogenicity, anti-/androgenicity, thyroid receptor (TR)-mediated activity and cytotoxicity for bronchial cells were determined by human cell-based in vitro bioassays. The contribution of studied compounds to observed effects was assessed by both modelling and reconstructing the mixtures. RESULTS: Significant effects were detected in the sub-micrometre size fraction of PM (estrogenicity, androgenicity, TR- and AhR-mediated activities) and in the gas phase (TR-mediated activity, antiandrogenicity). Compounds interacting with TR showed high bioaccessibility to simulated lung fluid. Relatively lower bioaccessibility was observed for estrogenicity and AhR-mediated activity. However, the toxicity testing of reconstructed mixtures revealed that the targeted pollutants are not the main contributors, except for urban PM air pollution in winter, where they accounted for 5-88% of several effects detected in the original complex environmental samples. DISCUSSION: Studied toxicities were mostly driven by polar compounds largely attributed to the easily inhalable PM1, which is of high relevance for human health risk assessment. Except of parent PAHs in some cases, the targeted compounds contributed to the detected effects mostly to a relatively low extent implying huge data gaps in terms of endocrine disruptive potencies of targeted substances and the significance of other polar compounds present in ambient air.
- MeSH
- látky znečišťující vzduch * analýza toxicita MeSH
- látky znečišťující životní prostředí * MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- monitorování životního prostředí MeSH
- pevné částice analýza toxicita MeSH
- polycyklické aromatické uhlovodíky * analýza toxicita MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Česká republika MeSH
Large-scale suspect and non-targeted screening approaches based on high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) are today available for chemical profiling and holistic characterisation of biological samples. These advanced techniques allow the simultaneous detection of a large number of chemical features, including markers of human chemical exposure. Such markers are of interest for biomonitoring, environmental health studies and support to risk assessment. Furthermore, these screening approaches have the promising capability to detect chemicals of emerging concern (CECs), document the extent of human chemical exposure, generate new research hypotheses and provide early warning support to policy. Whilst of growing importance in the environment and food safety areas, respectively, CECs remain poorly addressed in the field of human biomonitoring. This shortfall is due to several scientific and methodological reasons, including a global lack of harmonisation. In this context, the main aim of this paper is to present an overview of the basic principles, promises and challenges of suspect and non-targeted screening approaches applied to human samples as this specific field introduce major specificities compared to other fields. Focused on liquid chromatography coupled to HRMS-based data acquisition methods, this overview addresses all steps of these new analytical workflows. Beyond this general picture, the main activities carried out on this topic within the particular framework of the European Human Biomonitoring initiative (project HBM4EU, 2017-2021) are described, with an emphasis on harmonisation measures.
- MeSH
- biologický monitoring * MeSH
- chromatografie kapalinová MeSH
- environmentální zdraví MeSH
- látky znečišťující životní prostředí * analýza toxicita MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- monitorování životního prostředí MeSH
- vystavení vlivu životního prostředí analýza MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
