Explore the vast range of titles available.

Maternal urinary biomarkers are often used to assess fetal exposure to phenols and their precursors. Their effectiveness as a measure of exposure in epidemiological studies depends on their variability during pregnancy and their ability to accurately predict fetal exposure. We assessed the relationship between urinary and amniotic fluid concentrations of nine environmental phenols, and the reproducibility of urinary concentrations, among pregnant women. Seventy-one women referred for amniocentesis were included. Maternal urine was collected at the time of the amniocentesis appointment and on two subsequent occasions. Urine and amniotic fluid were analyzed for 2,4- and 2,5-dichlorophenols, bisphenol A, benzophenone-3, triclosan, and methyl-, ethyl-, propyl-, and butylparabens using online solid phase extraction-high performance liquid chromatography-isotope dilution tandem mass spectrometry. Only benzophenone-3 and propylparaben were detectable in more than half of the amniotic fluid samples; for these phenols, concentrations in amniotic fluid and maternal urine collected on the same day were positively correlated (ρ = 0.53 and 0.32, respectively). Other phenols were detected infrequently in amniotic fluid (e.g., bisphenol A was detected in only two samples). The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) of urinary concentrations in samples from individual women ranged from 0.48 and 0.62 for all phenols except bisphenol A (ICC = 0.11). Amniotic fluid detection frequencies for most phenols were low. The reproducibility of urine measures was poor for bisphenol A, but good for the other phenols. Although a single sample may provide a reasonable estimate of exposure for some phenols, collecting multiple urine samples during pregnancy is an option to reduce exposure measurement error in studies regarding the effects of phenol prenatal exposure on health.

There is growing concern that phthalate exposures may have an impact on child neurodevelopment. Prenatal exposure to phthalates has been linked with externalizing behaviors and executive functioning defects suggestive of an attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) phenotype. We undertook an investigation into whether prenatal exposure to phthalates was associated with clinically confirmed ADHD in a population-based nested case-control study of the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort (MoBa) between the years 2003 and 2008. Phthalate metabolites were measured in maternal urine collected at midpregnancy. Cases of ADHD ( =297) were obtained through linkage between MoBa and the Norwegian National Patient Registry. A random sample of controls ( =553) from the MoBa population was obtained. In multivariable adjusted coexposure models, the sum of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate metabolites (∑DEHP) was associated with a monotonically increasing risk of ADHD. Children of mothers in the highest quintile of ∑DEHP had almost three times the odds of an ADHD diagnosis as those in the lowest [OR=2.99 (95% CI: 1.47, 5.49)]. When ∑DEHP was modeled as a log-linear (natural log) term, for each log-unit increase in exposure, the odds of ADHD increased by 47% [OR=1.47 (95% CI: 1.09, 1.94)]. We detected no significant modification by sex or mediation by prenatal maternal thyroid function or by preterm delivery. In this population-based case-control study of clinical ADHD, maternal urinary concentrations of DEHP were monotonically associated with increased risk of ADHD. Additional research is needed to evaluate potential mechanisms linking phthalates to ADHD. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP2358.

Background: Prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides has been shown to negatively affect child neurobehavioral development. Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) is a key enzyme in the metabolism of organophosphates. Objective: We examined the relationship between biomarkers of organophosphate exposure, PON1, and cognitive development at ages 12 and 24 months and 6—9 years. Methods: The Mount Sinai Children's Environmental Health Study enrolled a multiethnic prenatal population in New York City between 1998 and 2002 (n = 404). Third-trimester maternal urine samples were collected and analyzed for organophosphate metabolites (w = 360). Prenatal maternal blood was analyzed for PONI activity and genotype. Children returned for neurodevelopment assessments ages 12 months (n = 200), 24 months (n = 276), and 6-9 (n = 169) years of age. Results: Prenatal total dialkylphosphate metabolite level was associated with a decrement in mental development at 12 months among blacks and Hispanics. These associations appeared to be enhanced among children of mothers who carried the PON1 Q192R QR/RR genotype. In later childhood, increasing prenatal total dialkyl-and dimethylphosphate metabolites were associated with decrements in perceptual reasoning in the maternal PON1 Q192R QQ genotype, which imparts slow catalytic activity for chlorpyrifos oxon, with a monotonie trend consistent with greater decrements with increasing prenatal exposure. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that prenatal exposure to organophosphates is negatively associated with cognitive development, particularly perceptual reasoning, with evidence of effects beginning at 12 months and continuing through early childhood. PON1 may be an important susceptibility factor for these deleterious effects.

Experimental animal studies and limited epidemiologic evidence suggest that prenatal exposure to phthalates may be obesogenic, with potential sex-specific effects of phthalates having anti-androgenic activity. We aimed to assess associations between prenatal phthalate exposures and childhood fat mass in a prospective cohort study. We measured phthalate metabolite concentrations in third-trimester maternal urine in a cohort of women enrolled in New York City between 1998 and 2002 (n = 404). Among 180 children (82 girls and 98 boys), we evaluated body composition using a Tanita scale at multiple follow-up visits between ages 4 and 9 years (363 total visits). We estimated associations of standard deviation differences or tertiles of natural log phthalate metabolite concentrations with percent fat mass using linear mixed-effects regression models with random intercepts for repeated outcome measurements. We assessed associations in multiple metabolite models and adjusted for covariates including prepregnancy body mass index, gestational weight gain, maternal smoking during pregnancy, and breastfeeding. We did not observe associations between maternal urinary phthalate concentrations and percent body fat in models examining continuous exposures. Fat mass was 3.06% (95% CI: -5.99, -0.09%) lower among children in the highest tertile of maternal urinary concentrations of summed di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (ΣDEHP) metabolites than in children in the lowest tertile. Though estimates were imprecise, there was little evidence that associations between maternal urinary phthalate concentrations and percent fat mass were modified by child's sex. Prenatal phthalate exposures were not associated with increased body fat among children 4-9 years of age, though high prenatal DEHP exposure may be associated with lower fat mass in childhood. Buckley JP, Engel SM, Mendez MA, Richardson DB, Daniels JL, Calafat AM, Wolff MS, Herring AH. 2016. Prenatal phthalate exposures and childhood fat mass in a New York City cohort. Environ Health Perspect 124:507-513; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1509788.

Background: Many phthalates and phenols are hormonally active and are suspected to alter the course of development. Objective: We investigated prenatal exposures to phthalate and phenol metabolites and their associations with body size measures of the infants at birth. Methods: We measured 5 phenol and 10 phthalate urinary metabolites in a multiethnic cohort of 404 women in New York City during their third trimester of pregnancy and recorded size of infants at birth. Results: Median urinary concentrations were > 10 μg/L for 2 of 5 phenols and 6 of 10 phthalate monoester metabolites. Concentrations of low-molecular-weight phthalate monoesters (low-MWP) were approximately 5-fold greater than those of high-molecular-weight metabolites. Low-MWP metabolites had a positive association with gestational age [0.97 day gestational age per ln-biomarker; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.07-1.9 days, multivariate adjusted] and with head circumference. Higher prenatal exposures to 2,5-dichlorophenol (2,5-DCP) predicted lower birth weight in boys (-210 g average birth weight difference between the third tertile and first tertile of 2,5-DCP; 95% CI, 71-348 g). Higher maternal benzophenone-3 (BP3) concentrations were associated with a similar decrease in birth weight among girls but with greater birth weight in boys. Conclusions: We observed a range of phthalate and phenol exposures during pregnancy in our population, but few were associated with birth size. The association of 2,5-DCP and BP3 with reduced or increased birth weight could be important in very early or small-size births. In addition, positive associations of urinary metabolites with some outcomes may be attributable partly to unresolved confounding with maternal anthropometric factors.

Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic cancer in the US. Endometrial cancer survivors may experience changes in microbiome due to cancer treatment and other factors. The human microbiome plays a crucial role in maintaining the proper functioning of the body. A more diverse microbiome often indicates a healthier gut environment, while lower vaginal microbiome diversity, specifically a Lactobacillus-dominant vagitype, is associated with more favorable health outcomes. The objectives of this pilot study were to evaluate potential variation in stool and vaginal microbiome communities and to assess the feasibility and acceptability of self-sampling among endometrial cancer survivors. Endometrial cancer survivors (N = 50) enrolled in the Carolina Endometrial Cancer Study, a cohort of women diagnosed with endometrial cancer, were mailed Genotek vaginal swab and stool self-collection kits. Self-reported questionnaires assessed information on survivors' demographics, sexual and bowel function, and perspectives on the self-sampling processes. Tumor characteristics and cancer treatment information were assessed from medical records. Microbiota profiles were characterized by bacteria 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Overall, 48 vaginal swabs and 47 stool samples were obtained. Alpha (Shannon p = 0.04) and beta (Bray-Curtis p = 0.004) diversity of vaginal microbiome samples varied by cancer treatment, with higher microbial diversity after chemotherapy or radiation compared to surgery alone. In the surgery only group, 63% of samples were Lactobacillus-dominant compared to 17% among the chemotherapy or radiation group. Stool microbiome diversity did not vary by cancer treatment status. No statistically significant differences in alpha or beta diversity were observed in either vaginal or stool microbiome communities across racial subgroups or by sexual or bowel function. Self-collection of stool and vaginal microbiome samples is feasible and acceptable in cancer survivors. Our results suggest that radiation and chemotherapy for endometrial cancer may decrease the abundance of beneficial Lactobacillus and increase less favorable vaginal microbial diversity among endometrial cancer survivors.

Exposure to certain phenols is ubiquitous because of their use in many consumer and personal care products. However, predictors of exposure have not been well characterized in most populations. We sought to identify predictors of exposure and to assess the reproducibility of phenol concentrations across serial spot urine samples among Chinese adults. We measured 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2,5-dichlorophenol, butyl paraben, methyl paraben, propyl paraben, benzophenone-3, bisphenol A, and triclosan in urine collected during 1997-2006 from 50 participants of the Shanghai Women's Health Study cohort and during 2002-2006 from 50 participants of the Shanghai Men's Health Study cohort. We investigated predictors of concentrations using the Satterthwaite t-test, and assessed reproducibility among serial samples using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and Spearman correlation coefficients (SCCs). Creatinine-corrected phenol concentrations were generally higher among women than men. Participants who had taken medicine within the previous 24 hr had higher concentrations of propyl paraben. Cigarette smoking was associated with lower concentrations of propyl and methyl parabens among men. Bottled water consumption was associated with higher bisphenol A, 2,4-dichlorophenol, and 2,5-dichlorophenol concentrations among women. Among men, reproducibility across serial samples was moderate for 2,4-dichlorophenol and 2,5-dichlorophenol (ICC = 0.54-0.60, SCC = 0.43-0.56), but lower for other analytes (ICC = 0.20-0.29). Reproducibility among women was low (ICC = 0.13-0.39), but increased when restricted to morning-only urine samples. Among these 100 Shanghai residents, urinary phenol concentrations varied by sex, smoking, and consumption of bottled water. Our results suggest that a single urine sample may be adequate for ranking exposure to the precursors of 2,4-dichlorophenol and 2,5-dichlorophenol among men and, under certain circumstances, among women.

Purpose The increased risk of morbidity and mortality from certain microbial infections and the demonstrated improvements in the clinical course of some autoimmune diseases support the existence of pregnancy-related alterations in immune status. Elucidating the changes in innate and adaptive immunity during gestation may improve pregnancy outcomes and facilitate the development of targeted therapies for autoimmune diseases. Method The Viral Immunity and Pregnancy (VIP) study evaluated over 50 subjects longitudinally at three time points during pregnancy and at two time points post-delivery. Leukocyte enumeration was performed; functional responses of NK cells and CD4 T cells were analyzed, and soluble factors such as cytokines, defensins, and steroid hormones were measured in maternal blood. Results In comparison to the post-partum period, the latter part of pregnancy was characterized by significant increases in blood phagocytes and pDCs and decreases in the number and activity of NK and T cells. Alterations were found in antimicrobial proteins and serum cytokines. Conclusions These data show that pregnancy is not a period of immunosuppression but an alteration in immune priorities characterized by a strengthening of innate immune barriers and a concomitant reduction in adaptive/inflammatory immunity in the later stages of pregnancy.

Approximately 10% of all pregnancies in the United States end in preterm birth, and over 14% of pregnancies end in preterm birth among Black women. Knowledge on the associations between vaginal microbiome and preterm birth is important for understanding the potential cause and assessing risk of preterm birth. Previous studies have investigated the associations between the vaginal microbiome and preterm birth, with the aim of determining whether differences in community patterns meaningfully alter risk and could therefore be the target of intervention. We report on vaginal microbial analysis of a nested case-control subset of the Pregnancy, Infection, and Nutrition (PIN) Study, including 464 White women (375 term birth and 89 spontaneous preterm birth, sPTB) and 360 Black women (276 term birth and 84 sPTB). We found that the microbiome of Black women has higher alpha-diversity, higher abundance of Lactobacillus iners , and lower abundance of Lactobacillus crispatus . However, among women who douche, there were no significant differences in microbiome by race. The sPTB-associated microbiome exhibited a lower abundance of L. crispatus , while alpha diversity and L. iners were not significantly associated with sPTB. For each order of magnitude increase in the normalized relative abundance of L. crispatus , multivariable adjusted odds of sPTB decreased by approximately 20% (odds ratio, 0.81; 95% confidence interval, 0.70, 0.94). When we considered the impact of douching, associations between the microbiome and sPTB were limited to women who do not douche. We also observed strong intercorrelations between a range of maternal factors, including poverty, education, marital status, age, douching, and race, with microbiome effect sizes in the range of 1.8 to 5.2% in univariate models. Therefore, race may simply be a proxy for other socially driven factors that differentiate microbiome community structures. Future work will continue to refine reliable microbial biomarkers for preterm birth across diverse cohorts. IMPORTANCE Approximately 10% of all pregnancies in the United States end in preterm birth, and over 14% of pregnancies end in preterm birth among Black women. Knowledge on the associations between vaginal microbiome and preterm birth is important for understanding the potential cause and assessing risk of preterm birth. Our study is one of the largest studies performed to date to investigate the associations between vaginal microbiome and spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB), with stratified design for Black and White women. We found that the vaginal microbiome was different between Black and White women. The vaginal microbiome was associated with sPTB, and a lower abundance of L. crispatus increased the risk of sPTB independent of racial differences in microbial community structures. Furthermore, we also found that vaginal douching obscured the associations between vaginal microbiome, race, and preterm birth, suggesting that vaginal douching is an important factor to consider in future studies.

Background: Environmental chemicals are hypothesized to contribute to the development of neurodevelopmental disorders; however, only a fraction of the thousands of chemicals in common commercial use have validated assays. We recently developed the Environmental NeuRoactIve Chemicals (ENRICH) list of 250 chemicals prioritized for further testing due to their high likelihood of neuroactivity and human exposure, as derived through analysis across eight neuroactivity, exposure, and detection databases. Measuring some of these compounds in human biological media remains challenging due to the lack of information regarding their metabolites and detection frequencies. Methods: We created an LC-MS/MS database based on the targets in the ENRICH list using S9 human liver fractions to metabolize compounds individually and in groups into newly and previously discovered phase I metabolites. Results: The final database consisted of 274 compounds with 94 parent compounds and 182 metabolites being featured. A total of 55 novel metabolites were discovered. The confidence of the compounds, which were annotated correctly within the database, was high, increasing the odds of positive identifications within future exposomic work. The confidence of the annotations fell between the levels 1–3, with levels one and two consisting of 87% of the database. Conclusions: The creation of this database creates the opportunity for future biological studies centered around the impact these compounds and their metabolites have on the brain and for a better understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders and their origins.