Chile peppers, native to the Americas, have spread around the world and have been integrated into the diets of many cultures. Much like their heat content, nutritional content can vary dramatically ...between different pepper types. In this study, a diverse set of chile pepper types were examined for nutrient content. Some pepper types were found to have high levels of vitamin A, vitamin C, or folate. Correlations between nutrient content, species, cultivation status, or geographic region were limited. Varietal selection or plant breeding offer tools to augment nutrient content in peppers. Integration of nutrient rich pepper types into diets that already include peppers could help combat nutrient deficiencies by providing a significant portion of recommended daily nutrients.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Despite the importance of understanding the connection between air pollution exposure and diabetes, studies investigating links between air pollution and glucose metabolism in nondiabetic adults are ...limited.
We aimed to estimate the association of medium-term air pollution exposures with blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) among nondiabetics.
This study included observations from nondiabetic participants (n
=7,108) of the population-based Heinz Nixdorf Recall study at baseline (2000–2003) and follow-up examination (2006–2008). Daily fine particulate matter (aerodynamic diameter≤2.5 μm, PM
; aerodynamic diameter≤10 μm, PM
), accumulation mode particle number (PN
), and nitrogen dioxide (NO
) exposures were estimated at participants’ residences using the spatiotemporal European Air Pollution Dispersion (EURAD) chemistry transport model. We evaluated the associations between medium-term air pollution exposures (28- and 91-d means) and glucose metabolism measures using mixed linear regression and adjusting for season, meteorology, and personal characteristics. A range of other exposure windows (1-, 2-, 3-, 7-, 14-, 45-, 60-, 75-, 105-, 120-, and 182-d means) were also evaluated to identify potentially relevant biological windows.
We observed positive associations between PM
and PN
exposures and blood glucose levels e.g., 28-d PM
: 0.91 mg/dL (95% CI: 0.38, 1.44) per 5.7 μg/m
. PM
, PM
, and PN
exposures were positively associated with HbA1c e.g., 91-d PM
: 0.07 p.p. (95% CI: 0.04, 0.10) per 4.0 μg/m
. Mean exposures during longer exposure windows (75- to 105-d) were most strongly associated with HbA1c, whereas 7- to 45-d exposures were most strongly associated with blood glucose. NO
exposure was not associated with blood glucose or with HbA1c.
Medium-term PM and PN
exposures were positively associated with glucose measures in nondiabetic adults. These findings indicate that reducing ambient air pollution levels may decrease the risk of diabetes. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP2561.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
CEKLJ, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
Purpose
Epidemiologic evidence supports an association between high mammographic density and increased breast cancer risk yet etiologic mechanisms remain largely unknown. Mixed evidence exists as to ...whether circulating lipid levels influence mammographic density and breast cancer risk. Therefore, we examined these associations in the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and Nurses’ Health Study II (NHSII), two large prospective cohorts with information on PMD and circulating lipid measures, long follow-up, and breast cancer risk factor and outcome data.
Methods
We conducted a nested case–control study among women in the NHS and NHSII. Percent mammographic density (PMD) was measured using Cumulus software, a computer-assisted method, on digitized film mammograms. Cross-sectional associations between circulating lipids total cholesterol (
n
= 1,502), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C;
n
= 579), and triglycerides (
n
= 655) and PMD were evaluated among controls. All analyses were stratified by menopausal status at time of mammogram. Relative risks for breast cancer by lipid and PMD measures were estimated among postmenopausal women in the full nested case–control study (cases/controls for cholesterol, HDL-C, and triglycerides were 937/975, 416/449, and 506/537, respectively).
Results
There were no significant associations between circulating lipid levels and PMD among healthy women, irrespective of menopausal status. The association between PMD and breast cancer risk among postmenopausal women was not modified by circulating lipid levels (
p
interaction = 0.83, 0.80, and 0.34 for total cholesterol, HDL-C, and triglycerides, respectively).
Conclusion
Overall, no association was observed between lipid levels and PMD, and there was no evidence that lipid levels modified the association between PMD and breast cancer risk.
This planetary boundaries framework update finds that six of the nine boundaries are transgressed, suggesting that Earth is now well outside of the safe operating space for humanity. Ocean ...acidification is close to being breached, while aerosol loading regionally exceeds the boundary. Stratospheric ozone levels have slightly recovered. The transgression level has increased for all boundaries earlier identified as overstepped. As primary production drives Earth system biosphere functions, human appropriation of net primary production is proposed as a control variable for functional biosphere integrity. This boundary is also transgressed. Earth system modeling of different levels of the transgression of the climate and land system change boundaries illustrates that these anthropogenic impacts on Earth system must be considered in a systemic context.
Transgression of planetary boundaries by human activities have now brought humanity well beyond a “safe operating space.”
•All-source AP exposure associated with DM incidence.•Traffic-specific AP exposure shows strongest association with DM.•Possible mediation through decreased adiponectin levels.
An increasing number ...of studies have been published recently on the association between ambient air pollution (AP) and incident diabetes mellitus (DM), but studies investigating source-specific AP toxicity and potential mediating pathways are rare. We investigated the associations of all-source, traffic-specific, and industry-specific outdoor AP exposure with 10-year incidence of DM and potential mediation via inflammation-associated biomarkers.
Data from participants of the prospective Heinz Nixdorf Recall cohort study who attended the baseline (t0; 2000–2003), 5-year follow-up (t1; 2006–2008), and 10-year follow-up (t2; 2011–2015) examinations was used. For participants without DM at baseline (determined using information on physician diagnosis and glucose-lowering medication), residential long-term exposure (total, traffic-specific, and industry-specific) to particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and accumulation mode particle number concentration (PNAM) were estimated using a chemistry transport model. Covariate-adjusted modified Poisson regression models with robust standard errors were applied to estimate relative risks (RR) for the associations between baseline AP and incident DM at t2. Mediation analyses for adiponectin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA) were conducted to estimate natural direct and indirect effects.
Of the 4,814 participants at t0, 2,451 participants (mean baseline age: 58.2 years) were included in the main analysis. Interquartile range (IQR) increases in total PM10 and PNAM were associated with increased risk of DM (e.g., RR: 1.25 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.02, 1.53 per 3.8 µg/m3 PM10). Whereas traffic-specific exposures were associated with DM risk for all air pollutants (e.g., RR: 1.24 95% CI: 1.06, 1.46 per 0.3 µg/m3 PM10), significant associations for industry exposures were limited to NO2 and PNAM (e.g., RR: 1.24 95% CI: 1.03, 1.49 per 230 particles/mL PNAM). Potential mediation of the association between AP and DM was observed for adiponectin but not for hsCRP and IL-1RA.
Our study shows that long-term exposure to total and source-specific ambient AP may increase DM risk, with consistent results observed across traffic-specific exposures. Decreases in adiponectin may play a potential role along the causal pathway.
•Air pollution from traffic poses higher risk of stroke than from industrial sources.•No association found between exposure to air pollution and risk of CHD.•Among PM components NH4 and SO4 have ...higher effect on cardiovascular health.
Few studies have examined the risk of long-term exposure to source-specific airborne pollutants on incidence of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular events.
We aimed to estimate the effect of long-term exposure to source-specific air pollution and particulate matter (PM) components on incidence of stroke, coronary heart disease (CHD), and total cardiovascular events (CVE) in the population-based Heinz Nixdorf Recall study (HNR).
We used baseline (2000–2003) and 14-year follow-up data of the HNR Study, an ongoing population-based prospective cohort study in Western Germany. Participants’ residential mean exposures to NO2 and total and source-specific PM10, PM2.5, accumulation mode particle number concentration (PNAM), and PM components were modelled using a dispersion and chemical transport model. We used Cox regression to evaluate the effect of pollutants (per 1 μg/m3 increase and per interquartile range – IQR) on risk of stroke and CHD, adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle risk factors and nighttime traffic noise exposure.
In 4,105 included participants (aged 45–76 at baseline, 52.5% women), we observed 118 cases of first stroke and 373 cases of first CHD during 46,748 person-years under risk. The median survival time within the cohort was 13.3 years. No effect of exposure to ambient air pollution on risk of CHD was observed, but distinct effects were observed for stroke. Ambient traffic-specific PM showed a stronger effect on stroke than industry-specific PM: hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) for total, traffic-specific, and industry-specific PM2.5 were 1.16 (1.02–1.34), 2.53 (1.07–5.97), and 1.27 (1.03–1.56) per 1 μg/m3 increase, respectively. PM components showed no substantially different effects from those of total PM per IQR, but higher associations were observed for NH4 and SO4 per 1 μg/m3. However, the exposure contrast of ammonium and sulfate components was very low.
Traffic-specific PM exhibited stronger effects than total and industry-specific PM on risk of stroke. Among components, NH4 and SO4 showed higher effects. No effect was observed for PM and CHD.
While prior studies have linked air pollution (AP) to diabetes prevalence and incidence, few have investigated whether AP exposure is also associated with alterations in diabetes-related biomarkers ...in metabolically healthy adults.
To evaluate the associations between short-, medium-, and long-term AP and diabetes-related biomarkers (adiponectin, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist IL-1RA, high sensitivity C-reactive protein hsCRP, fibrinogen) in persons without diabetes.
Adiponectin, IL-1RA, hsCRP, and fibrinogen were measured in blood samples collected at the baseline (t0; 2000–2003) and first follow-up (t1; 2006–2008) examinations of the prospective Heinz Nixdorf Recall (HNR) cohort study in Germany. Participants' residential mean exposures to PM10, PM2.5, NO2, and accumulation mode particle number concentration (PNAM) were estimated for several time windows (1- to 365-day) prior to examination using a dispersion and chemistry transport model. We fitted covariate-adjusted linear mixed effects models using a random participant intercept and investigated effect modification by obesity status.
We analyzed 6727 observations (nt0 = 3626, nt1 = 3101) from 4052 participants of the HNR study (52% women; ages 45–76 years at t0). For all air pollutants, medium-term exposures (60- to 120-day) were negatively associated with adiponectin (e.g., 91-day PNAM: −2.51% change −3.40%, −1.53% per interquartile IQR increase). Several short-, medium-, and long-term AP exposures were positively associated with IL-1RA (e.g., 365-day PM10: 2.64% change 1.25%, 4.22% per IQR increase). Long-term exposures were positively associated with hsCRP level while no consistent patterns were observed for fibrinogen. Stronger associations for adiponectin were observed among non-obese participants.
In persons without diabetes, we observed differing patterns of association between AP and diabetes-related biomarkers across a range of exposure windows, supporting the hypothesis that AP may play a role in the development of diabetes.
•Air pollution associated with diabetes-related biomarkers in non-diabetic adults•Differing temporal patterns of association for each biomarker•Negative association with adiponectin seen primarily in lean individuals
•Long-term air pollution (PM10) exposure was associated with higher fat mass index and lower lean mass index in children and adolescents.•Estimates from longitudinal analyses investigating ...associations between environmental exposures and changes in body composition over an average of 4 years, were positive for PM10 for certain conditions but not for other exposures.•Railway and road-traffic noise exposures were not associated with body composition, both in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses.
While long-term air pollution and noise exposure has been linked to increasing cardiometabolic disease risk, potential effects on body composition remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the associations of long-term air pollution, noise and body composition.
We used repeated data from the LEAD (Lung, hEart, sociAl, boDy) study conducted in Vienna, Austria. Body mass index (BMI; kg/m2), fat mass index (FMI; z-score), and lean mass index (LMI; z-score) were measured using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry at the first (t0; 2011-ongoing) and second (t1; 2017-ongoing) examinations. Annual particulate matter (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations were estimated with the GRAMM/GRAL model (2015–2021). Day-evening-night (Lden) and night-time (Lnight) noise levels from transportation were modeled for 2017 following the European Union Directive 2002/49/EC. Exposures were assigned to residential addresses. We performed analyses separately in children/adolescents and adults, using linear mixed-effects models with random participant intercepts and linear regression models for cross-sectional and longitudinal associations, respectively. Models were adjusted for co-exposure, lifestyle and sociodemographics.
A total of 19,202 observations (nt0 = 12,717, nt1 = 6,485) from participants aged 6–86 years (mean age at t0 = 41.0 years; 52.9 % female; mean PM10 = 21 µg/m3; mean follow-up time = 4.1 years) were analyzed. Among children and adolescents (age ≤ 18 years at first visit), higher PM10exposure was cross-sectionally associated with higher FMI z-scores (0.09 95 % Confidence Interval (CI): 0.03, 0.16) and lower LMI z-scores (−0.05 95 % CI: −0.10, −0.002) per 1.8 µg/m3. Adults showed similar trends in cross-sectional associations as children, though not reaching statistical significance. We observed no associations for noise exposures. Longitudinal analyses on body composition changes over time yielded positive associations for PM10, but not for other exposures.
Air pollution exposure, mainly PM10, was cross-sectionally and longitudinally associated with body composition in children/adolescents and adults. Railway/road-traffic noise exposures showed no associations in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses.
BACKGROUNDOlder adults show a high variability in cognitive performance that cannot be explained by aging alone. Although research has linked air pollution and noise to cognitive impairment and ...structural brain alterations, the potential impact of air pollution and noise on functional brain organization is unknown. OBJECTIVEThis study examined the associations between long-term air pollution and traffic noise with measures of functional brain organization in older adults. We hypothesize that exposures to high air pollution and noise levels are associated with age-like changes in functional brain organization, shown by less segregated brain networks. METHODSData from 574 participants (44.1% female, 56-85 years of age) in the German 1000BRAINS study (2011-2015) were analyzed. Exposure to particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5, and PM2.5 absorbance), accumulation mode particle number (PNAM), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) was estimated applying land-use regression and chemistry transport models. Noise exposures were assessed as weighted 24-h (Lden) and nighttime (Lnight) means. Functional brain organization of seven established brain networks (visual, sensorimotor, dorsal and ventral attention, limbic, frontoparietal and default network) was assessed using resting-state functional brain imaging data. To assess functional brain organization, we determined the degree of segregation between networks by comparing the strength of functional connections within and between networks. We estimated associations between air pollution and noise exposure with network segregation, applying multiple linear regression models adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic status, and lifestyle variables. RESULTSOverall, small associations of high exposures with lesser segregated networks were visible. For the sensorimotor networks, we observed small associations between high air pollution and noise and lower network segregation, which had a similar effect size as a 1-y increase in age e.g., in sensorimotor network, -0.006 (95% CI: -0.021, 0.009) per 0.3 ×10-5/m increase in PM2.5 absorbance and -0.004 (95% CI: -0.006, -0.002) per 1-y age increase. CONCLUSIONHigh exposure to air pollution and noise was associated with less segregated functional brain networks. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP9737.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
CEKLJ, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
Due to inconsistent epidemiological evidence on health effects of air pollution on progression of atherosclerosis, we investigated several air pollutants and their effects on progression of ...atherosclerosis, using carotid intima media thickness (cIMT), coronary calcification (CAC), and thoracic aortic calcification (TAC).
We used baseline (2000-2003) and 5-y follow-up (2006-2008) data from the German Heinz Nixdorf Recall cohort study, including 4,814 middle-aged adults. Residence-based long-term air pollution exposure, including particulate matter (PM) with aerodynamic diameter
(
), (
), and nitrogen dioxide (
) was assessed using chemistry transport and land use regression (LUR) models. cIMT was quantified as side-specific median IMT assessed from standardized ultrasound images. CAC and TAC were quantified by computed tomography using the Agatston score. Development (yes/no) and progression of atherosclerosis (change in cIMT and annual growth rate for CAC/TAC) were analyzed with logistic and linear regression models, adjusting for age, sex, lifestyle variables, socioeconomic status, and traffic noise.
While no clear associations were observed in the full study sample (mean age 59.1 (
) y; 53% female), most air pollutants were marginally associated with progression of atherosclerosis in participants with no or low baseline atherosclerotic burden. Most consistently for CAC, e.g., a
higher exposure to
(LUR) yielded an estimated odds ratio of 1.19 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03, 1.39 for progression of CAC and an increased annual growth rate of 2% (95% CI: 1%, 4%).
Our study suggests that development and progression of subclinical atherosclerosis is associated with long-term air pollution in middle-aged participants with no or minor atherosclerotic burden at baseline, while overall no consistent associations are observed. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP7077.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
CEKLJ, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
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