High levels of PM2.5 exposure and associated health risks are of great concern in rural China. For this study, we used portable PM2.5 monitors for monitoring concentrations online, recorded personal ...time‐activity patterns, and analyzed the contribution from different microenvironments in rural areas of the Yangtze River Delta, China. The daily exposure levels of rural participants were 66 μg/m3 (SD 40) in winter and 65 μg/m3 (SD 16) in summer. Indoor exposure levels were usually higher than outdoor levels. The exposure levels during cooking in rural kitchens were 140 μg/m3 (SD 116) in winter and 121 μg/m3 (SD 70) in summer, the highest in all microenvironments. Winter and summer values were 252 μg/m3 (SD 103) and 204 μg/m3 (SD 105), respectively, for rural people using biomass for fuel, much higher than those for rural people using LPG and electricity. By combining PM2.5concentrations and time spent in different microenvironments, we found that 92% (winter) and 85% (summer) of personal exposure to PM2.5in rural areas was attributable to indoor microenvironments, of which kitchens accounted for 24% and 27%, respectively. Consequently, more effective policies and measures are needed to replace biomass fuel with LPG or electricity, which would benefit the health of the rural population in China.
Authenticity and traceability of vanilla flavors were investigated using gas chromatography–isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC–IRMS). Vanilla flavors produced by chemical synthesis (n = 2), ...fermentation (n = 1), and extracted from two different species of the vanilla orchid (n = 79) were analyzed. The authenticity of the flavor compound vanillin was evaluated on the basis of measurements of ratios of carbon stable isotopes (δ13C). It was found that results of δ13C for vanillin extracted from Vanilla planifolia and Vanilla tahitensis were significantly different (t test) and that it was possible to differentiate these two groups of natural vanillin from vanillin produced otherwise. Vanilla flavors were also analyzed for ratios of hydrogen stable isotopes (δ2H). A graphic representation of δ13C versus δ2H revealed that vanillin extracted from pods grown in adjacent geographic origins grouped together. Accordingly, values of δ13C and δ2H can be used for studies of authenticity and traceability of vanilla flavors.
Summary
Background
Liver and gastrointestinal diseases are frequent in women with Turner syndrome. However, their association with bleeding disorders, anaemia and the impact of hormone replacement ...therapy is unknown.
Aims
To investigate the risk of liver and gastrointestinal diseases, haemorrhage and anaemia in women with Turner syndrome compared with the female background population, and the long‐term impact of hormone replacement therapy on these conditions.
Methods
One thousand one hundred and fifty‐six women with Turner syndrome diagnosed during 1960‐2014 were identified using the Danish Cytogenetic Central Registry and linked with personal‐level data from the National Patient Registry and the Medication Statistics Registry. Statistics Denmark randomly identified 115 577 age‐matched female controls. Negative binomial regression was used to analyse hospital discharge diagnoses. Medical prescriptions, mortality and the effect of hormone replacement therapy were estimated using stratified Cox regression.
Results
Liver disease increased 13‐fold (IRR 12.9 (95% CI 5.8‐28.8)), due to toxic liver disease (IRR 8.0 (95% CI 1.8‐35.4)), liver insufficiency (IRR 6.7 (95% CI 1.7‐26.9)), fibrosis/cirrhosis (IRR 16.5 (95% CI 2.2‐122.1)) and unspecified liver disease (IRR 10.6 (95% CI 4.4‐25.3)). Furthermore, presence of abnormal liver enzymes increased 12‐fold (IRR 12.4 (95% CI 4.2‐36.6)). The risk of gastrointestinal haemorrhage (IRR 3.4 (95% CI 1.8‐6.2)), anaemia (IRR 3.2 (95% CI 2.0‐5.0)) and coagulation disorders (IRR 2.9 (95% CI 1.1‐7.1)) was increased. However these diagnoses were not associated with inflammatory bowel disease. Gastrointestinal mortality was increased three‐fold (HR 3.1 (95% CI 1.5‐6.2)), partly due to death by liver disease (HR 3.0 (95% CI 1.1‐8.2)), gastrointestinal haemorrhage (HR 29.6 (95% CI 3.1‐285.1)) and capillary malformations (HR 18.6 (95% CI 4.1‐85.0)). There was no effect of hormone replacement therapy on gastrointestinal risk but a trend towards a beneficial impact on liver diseases.
Conclusions
The risk of being diagnosed with liver disease was higher than previously reported. The occurrence of gastrointestinal haemorrhage and anaemia was increased in Turner syndrome. There was no effect of hormone replacement therapy on gastrointestinal risk but a trend towards a beneficial impact on liver diseases was detected.
Turner syndrome women have a substantial risk of being admitted with gastrointestinal disorders. In particular inflammatory bowel disease, liver disease, coeliac disease, gastrointestinal hemorrhage and anemia. Furthermore, their risk of dying from gastrointestinal disease is three‐fold increased.
Objective
To investigate the metabolic, cardiovascular, and neuropsychological phenotype, quality of life (QoL), and hormonal regulation in individuals with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), a ...group of autosomal recessive disorders characterized by impaired synthesis of cortisol in the adrenal cortex and, if untreated compensatory hyperandrogenism. CAH is associated with an increased cardiovascular and metabolic morbidity, possibly due to overtreatment with glucocorticoids, leading to weight gain, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome.
Design, Participants, Measurements
Thirty‐seven individuals with CAH and 33 age‐ and sex‐matched controls were evaluated at a single centre at Aarhus University Hospital with echocardiography, electrocardiogram, 24‐h blood pressure, biochemistry, anthropometrics, and autism spectrum, anxiety, depression, personality, cognitive failures, and QoL were assessed using questionnaires.
Results
CAH individuals had lower height than controls (170.5 vs. 182.9 cm in males and 160.2 vs. 170.1 cm in females, p < 0.01). Compared with female controls, females with CAH had higher haemoglobin (8.8 vs. 8.2 mmol/L, p = 0.003) and BMI (29.7 vs. 25.5 kg/m2, p = 0.006), reduced insulin sensitivity (HOMA‐IR): 2.7 vs. 1.9, p = 0.018), prolonged E‐wave deceleration time (193 vs. 174 cm, p = 0.015), and E/é ratios (5.4 vs. 4.5, p = 0.017), and lower self‐reported QoL. Males with CAH had more cognitive complaints (p = 0.034) and higher autistic scores (19.9 vs. 14.9; p = 0.068) compared with male controls. More individuals with CAH than controls reported writing problems.
Conclusion
A sex‐specific comorbidity profile is evident in CAH, with females presenting with decreased metabolic and overall self‐reported health, whereas males with CAH presented with increased cognitive complaints and autistic traits.
Objective: This study aimed to investigate associations between work postures, lifting at work, shift work, work hours, and job strain and the risk of sick leave during pregnancy from 10-29 completed ...pregnancy weeks in a large cohort of Danish pregnant women. Methods: Data from 51 874 pregnancies in the Danish National Birth Cohort collected between 1996-2002 were linked to the Danish Register for Evaluation of Marginalization. Exposure information was based on telephone interviews. Hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated by Cox regression analysis, using time of first episode of sick leave as the primary outcome. Results: We found statistically significant associations between all the predictors and risk of sick leave; for non-sitting work postures (HR_(range) 1.55-2.79), cumulative lifting HR_(trend) 1.29, 95% CI 1.26-1.31, shift work (HR_(evening) 1.90, 95% CI 1.73-2.09, HR_(night) 1.52, 95% CI 1.15-2.01), monthly night shifts HR_(trend) 1.12, 95% CI 1.11-1.14, increasing weekly work hours HR_(trend) 0.93, 95% CI 0.91-0.95 and high job strain HR 1.52, 95% CI 1.42-1.63. Some exposures influenced HR in either a positive or negative time-dependent way. Conclusion: Our results support previous findings and suggest that initiatives to prevent sick leave during pregnancy could be based on work conditions. Preventive measures may have important implications for pregnant women and workplaces.
A high body mass index (BMI) has been associated with reduced semen quality and male subfecundity, but no studies following obese men losing weight have yet been published. We examined semen quality ...and reproductive hormones among morbidly obese men and studied if weight loss improved the reproductive indicators.
In this pilot cohort study, 43 men with BMI > 33 kg/m² were followed through a 14 week residential weight loss program. The participants provided semen samples and had blood samples drawn, filled in questionnaires, and had clinical examinations before and after the intervention. Conventional semen characteristics as well as sperm DNA integrity, analysed by the sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) were obtained. Serum levels of testosterone, estradiol, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) and inhibin B (Inh-B) were measured.
Participants were from 20 to 59 years of age (median = 32) with BMI ranging from 33 to 61 kg/m². At baseline, after adjustment for potential confounders, BMI was inversely associated with sperm concentration (p = 0.02), total sperm count (p = 0.02), sperm morphology (p = 0.04), and motile sperm (p = 0.005) as well as testosterone (p = 0.04) and Inh-B (p = 0.04) and positively associated to estradiol (p < 0.005). The median (range) percentage weight loss after the intervention was 15% (3.5-25.4). Weight loss was associated with an increase in total sperm count (p = 0.02), semen volume (p = 0.04), testosterone (p = 0.02), SHBG (p = 0.03) and AMH (p = 0.02). The group with the largest weight loss had a statistically significant increase in total sperm count 193 millions (95% CI: 45; 341) and normal sperm morphology 4% (95% CI: 1; 7).
This study found obesity to be associated with poor semen quality and altered reproductive hormonal profile. Weight loss may potentially lead to improvement in semen quality. Whether the improvement is a result of the reduction in body weight per se or improved lifestyles remains unknown.
This study investigates the potential health risk from urban gardening. The concentrations of the trace elements arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), and ...zinc (Zn) in five common garden crops from three garden sites in Copenhagen were measured. Concentrations (mg/kg dw) of As were 0.002–0.21, Cd 0.03–0.25, Cr < 0.09–0.38, Cu 1.8–8.7, Ni < 0.23–0.62, Pb 0.05–1.56, and Zn 10–86. Generally, elemental concentrations in the crops do not reflect soil concentrations, nor exceed legal standards for Cd and Pb in food. Hazard quotients (HQs) were calculated from soil ingestion, vegetable consumption, measured trace element concentrations and tolerable intake levels. The HQs for As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn do not indicate a health risk through urban gardening in Copenhagen. Exposure to Pb contaminated sites may lead to unacceptable risk not caused by vegetable consumption but by unintentional soil ingestion.
•We measured trace metal concentrations in urban soil and vegetables.•We calculated hazard quotients (HQs) to determine the human health risk.•Consumption of urban vegetables does not result in HQs exceeding unity.•Unintentional ingestion of contaminated soil causes a risk to the human health.
Consumption of vegetables grown in Copenhagen does not pose a risk to the human health, while unintentional ingestion of contaminated soil remains a risk factor with respect to lead.
Agricultural soils are a major source of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) to the atmosphere. Increasing frequency and severity of flooding as predicted for large intensively cropped areas may ...promote temporary denitrification and N2O production but the effect of flooding events on N2O emissions is poorly studied for agricultural systems. The overall N2O dynamics during flooding of an agricultural soil and the effect of pH and NO3− concentration has been investigated based on a combination of the use of microsensors, stable isotope techniques, KCl extractions and modelling. This study shows that non-steady state peak N2O emission events during flooding might potentially be at least in the order of reported annual mean N2O emissions, which typically do not include flood induced N2O emissions, and that more than one-third of the produced N2O in the soil is not emitted but consumed within the soil. The magnitude of the emissions are, not surprisingly, positively correlated with the soil NO3− concentration but also negatively correlated with liming (neutral pH). The redox potential of the soil is found to influence N2O accumulation as the production and consumption of N2O occurs in narrow redox windows where the redox range levels are negatively correlated with the pH. This study highlights the potential importance of N2O bursts associated with flooding and infers that annual N2O emission estimates for tilled agricultural soils that are temporarily flooded will be underestimated. Furthermore, this study shows that subsurface N2O reduction is a key process limiting N2O emission and that a reduction in N2O emissions is achievable if highly fertilized N-rich soils are limed.
•Flooding induced pulse of N2O emission in the range of annual emission measurements.•Following flooding, a burst in N2O conc. and emissions lasting only days are seen.•N2O emissions are positively correlated with NO3− content.•Liming highly fertilized fields may reduce N2O emissions.
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