Objective
The primary objective of this participatory study was to assess the current body burden of mercury among First Nations adults.
Methods
The First Nations Food, Nutrition and Environment ...Study (2008–2018) collected regionally representative data from First Nations adults living on reserves south of the 60
th
parallel. Mercury was analyzed in hair as a preferred biomarker for prolonged exposure. Hair samples, a 5 mm bundle cut from the occipital region, were collected from the participants who gave consent and measured for total mercury concentrations using cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrophotometry.
Results
In total, 3404 First Nations adults living in 92 communities provided hair samples. This represents 52.5% of the respondents to the household surveys. The mean hair mercury concentrations were 0.56 μg/g among all participants and 0.34 μg/g among women of childbearing age (WCBA). There were 64 exceedances of Health Canada’s mercury biomonitoring guidelines (44 WCBA, 8 women aged 51+ years, 3 men aged 19–50 years, and 9 men aged 51+ years).
Conclusion
Current mercury exposure no longer presents a significant clinical health risk in most of the First Nations population south of the 60
th
parallel across Canada. However, mercury exposure continues to be an ongoing environmental public health concern that requires continued monitoring and assessment. Women of childbearing age (19–50 years) and older individuals living in northern ecozones and Quebec have higher mercury exposures, often exceeding Health Canada’s guidelines. Careful risk communication and risk management programs need to focus on northern ecozones and Quebec.
Objectives
The First Nations Food, Nutrition and Environment Study (FNFNES), a community-based participatory research project, measured the levels of metals of health concern and the levels of metals ...that have operational guidance (OG) and aesthetic objectives (AO) in drinking water of First Nations (FN) south of the 60
th
parallel.
Methods
Both stagnant (first draw) and flushed tap water samples were collected from participating households in 91 FN representing 11 ecozones. The concentrations of metals were quantified and compared to Health Canada’s Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality (GCDWQ).
Results
In total, 1516 FN households participated in this study component. Exceedances of the 2019 GCDWQ for the health-based maximum acceptable concentration (MAC) were found for five metals: lead 8.4% of households (first draw), manganese 4.0%, uranium 1.6%, aluminum 1.3%, and copper 0.2% (flushed). Flushing taps resulted in a decrease to 0.7% of households exceeding the lead MAC. Exceedances of the current OG for aluminum were found in 14.2% and the exceedances of the proposed OG were found in 18.1% of households (flushed). Exceedances of the AO (flushed) were as follows: manganese 12.8%, sodium 5.1%, iron 3.5%, and copper 0.4%. Results of the study were compared to provincial surveys where the data were available. Taste and colour were reported to be the main reasons for limiting the use of tap water.
Conclusion
Overall, the quality of drinking water with respect to trace metals of human health concern is satisfactory. However, elevated lead levels were found in some FN communities. Until appropriate action can take place, it was recommended to flush the water before use to reduce the lead levels.
Objective
We previously examined the associations between dietary dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) intake from fish consumption and type 2 diabetes (T2D) ...prevalence in Ontario and Manitoba. This study aims to further explore the relationship in a regionally representative sample of First Nations adults living on-reserve across Canada.
Methods
Dietary, health and lifestyle data collected by the cross-sectional First Nations Food, Nutrition and Environment Study (2008–2018) were analyzed. This participatory study included 6091 First Nations adult participants who answered questions on T2D. The consumption of locally caught fish was estimated with a food frequency questionnaire. A total of 551 samples from 96 fish species were collected and analyzed for the presence of DDE and PCBs. The associations between fish and dietary DDE/PCBs intake with self-reported T2D were investigated using multiple logistic regression models adjusted for confounders.
Results
Dietary exposure to DDE (>2.11 ng/kg/bw) and PCBs (>1.47 ng/kg/bw) vs no exposure was positively associated with T2D with ORs of 2.33 (95% CI: 1.24–4.35) for DDE and 1.43 (95% CI: 1.01–3.59) for PCBs. The associations were stronger among females (DDE OR = 3.11 (1.41–6.88); PCBs OR = 1.76 (1.10–3.65)) and older individuals (DDE OR = 2.64 (1.12–6.20); PCBs OR = 1.44 (1.01–3.91)) as compared with males and younger participants. Also, significant dose-response relationships were found for fish consumption in females only.
Conclusion
This study confirms our previous findings that dietary DDE/PCBs exposure may increase the risk of T2D. The effect of DDE/PCBs from fish consumption is driven by geographical differences in DDE/PCBs concentrations in fish and by the amount of fish consumed, and is more prominent in females than in males.
The author, an Indigenous physician, offers his reflections on the history of scientific research with Indigenous People and its past role in ethical breaches and excesses of colonialism, as a ...backdrop to the relatively recent advances in collaborative, community-based participatory research involving First Nations and Inuit in Canada. The First Nations Food, Nutrition and Environment Study (2008–2018), introduced in this Special Issue, is presented as an example of an
ethical space
that was sustained for a decade to collaboratively develop new knowledge by First Nations and scientists working together, respectfully and inspired by shared interest. A short overview of twelve articles of the Special Issue is provided and characterized as creating a previously inaccessible picture of the modern diets of First Nations, along with the suite of environmental factors that are present in food and water in and around communities. Ultimately, the author hopes that Canadian society can set the table with Indigenous Peoples and respectfully set opinions onto each other and do this over and over again. With Canada already being a multicultural and pluralistic society, adding Indigenous realities into the mix only respects and honours the Indigenous roots of this country.
This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between early life stress (ELS) and metabolic risk in healthy young adults and assess the role of health behaviors.
Young adults aged 18 to 40 years ( N ...= 190) with no medical conditions or medication usage were recruited from the community. Participants with ELS ( N = 113) had a history of childhood maltreatment, and most also experienced parental loss ( n = 88). Controls ( N = 77) had no history of maltreatment or parental loss. Standardized interviews and self-reports assessed demographics, adversity, medical/psychiatric history, and health behaviors. Blood pressure and anthropometrics were measured, and fasting plasma assayed for lipid profiles, glucose, insulin level, and hemoglobin A 1c . We calculated both a clinical cut-point and continuous composite metabolic risk score based on clinical risk factors and the mean of z scores of each measure, respectively.
ELS was significantly associated with increased clinical cut-point ( β = 0.68, 95% confidence interval CI = 0.20-1.17, p = .006) and continuous ( β = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.08-0.038, p = .003) composite metabolic risk scores. On sensitivity analysis, the association of ELS with the continuous composite metabolic risk score was reduced to a trend after adjusting for a range of psychosocial and health predictors ( β = 0.18, 95% CI = 0.00-0.36, p = .053), with both diet and college graduate status significant in the model.
Healthy young adults with a history of ELS have increased metabolic risk scores as compared with controls. This relationship may be partially due to health behaviors and socioeconomic factors. These findings underline that ELS is an early contributor to metabolic risk.
National culture and firm-level tax evasion Bame-Aldred, Charles W.; Cullen, John B.; Martin, Kelly D. ...
Journal of business research,
03/2013, Letnik:
66, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
A significant research stream provides evidence that institutional, demographic, and attitudinal factors influence the likelihood of tax evasion. Assessments of culture's role in tax evasion are far ...more scarce and limited. Absent are investigations of how theoretically derived culture variables predict tax evasion likelihood. Institutional anomie theory (IAT) informs this research gap, suggesting cultural values that likely influence deviant firm behaviors. Accordingly, a cross-cultural perspective examines the influence of important cultural forces (individualism, achievement orientation, assertiveness, humane orientation) on tax evasion, simultaneously controlling for institutional, demographic, and attitudinal factors. Multilevel analysis, with both country- and firm-level data, examines actual reports of firm tax illegal evasion from over 3000 companies in 31 countries using hierarchical generalized linear modeling. After controlling for the above-mentioned factors, a subset of influential cultural values stipulated by IAT surfaces to predict tax evasion. Findings suggest a number of theoretical and practical cross-cultural research implications.
► Cultural values influence the likelihood of illegal tax evasion. ► Institutional anomie theory is used for cultural value selection. ► Increases in human orientation and collectivism reduce tax evasion as hypothesized. ► Higher achievement orientation and assertiveness reduce tax evasion, counter to expectations. ► Differences between achievement and assertive orientations versus ascription orientations.
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have not been studied in relation to incident pregnancy loss in human populations, despite their ubiquitous exposure and purported reproductive toxicity.
To ...investigate the association between preconception serum PBDE concentrations and incident pregnancy loss.
A preconception cohort of 501 couples was followed while trying to become pregnant, and for whom serum concentrations of 10 PBDE congeners were measured using gas chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry. Pregnancy was prospectively identified as a positive home pregnancy test on the day of expected menstruation. Incident pregnancy loss was defined for 344 singleton pregnancies as a conversion to a negative home pregnancy test, menses, or clinical diagnosis depending upon gestational age. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for individual and summed PBDEs and incident pregnancy loss, adjusting for relevant covariates and male partners’ information. In sensitivity analyses, inverse probability weighting was used to account for couples not becoming pregnant and, thereby, not at risk for loss.
The incidence of prospectively observed pregnancy loss was 28%, and the serum concentrations of PBDE congeners in females were consistently associated with a higher hazard of incident pregnancy loss. Specifically, statistically significant hazard ratios (HRs) for incident pregnancy loss were observed for lower brominated PBDE congeners: 17 (HR 1.23; CI: 1.07–1.42), 28 (HR 1.25; CI: 1.03–1.52), 66 (HR 1.23; CI: 1.07–1.42), and homolog triBDE (HR: 1.25; CI: 1.05–1.49). Findings were robust to various model specifications explored in sensitivity analyses.
Maternal preconception serum concentrations of specific PBDE congeners may increase the hazard of incident pregnancy.
•9/10 serum PBDEs were associated with increased hazard of incident pregnancy loss.•Robust associations were observed for lower brominated PBDE congeners (17, 28, 66).•Covariate adjustment for male partners strengthened some but not all associations.
Urban environment contributes significantly to the global carbon cycle with complex governing mechanisms due to the combined biospheric and anthropogenic contributors. In this study, we analyzed the ...patterns of boundary layer CO2 flux and concentration for a residential neighborhood in Phoenix, Arizona by using the eddy covariance technique and a single column atmospheric model. Atmospheric stability, anthropogenic emission, and biogenic effect are found to be key determinants to atmospheric CO2 variability. In a diurnal cycle, two CO2 flux peaks coincide with morning and afternoon peak traffic hours, exemplifying the influence of traffic emissions. In the annual cycle, maximum CO2 concentration is found in winter, mainly due to additional emission from the combustion of natural gas combined with the effect of poor dispersion. On the other hand, the minimum CO2 concentration is found in the spring and is attributable to the strong convective mixing and active vegetation uptake. In addition, prominent hysteresis has been found between the atmospheric CO2 concentration and air temperature with a “plait‐shaped” pattern in the diurnal cycle and an “oval‐shaped” loop for the seasonal variability.
Key Points
We studied the variability of atmospheric CO2 flux and concentration in a semiarid city through both measurement and modeling
We found that the minimum atmospheric CO2 concentration occurs in spring, which is unique for desert climate
We found a prominent hysteresis between atmospheric CO2 concentration and air temperature
PDF
