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Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are widely-utilized synthetic chemicals commonly found in industrial and consumer products. Previous studies have examined associations between PFASs and renal function, yet the results are mixed. Moreover, evidence on the associations of isomers of PFASs with renal function in population from high polluted areas is scant. To help to address this data gap, we used high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to measure serum isomers of perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), and other PFASs from 1612 adults residing in Shenyang, China, and characterized their associations with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Results showed that after adjusted for multiple confounding factors, most of the higher fluorinated PFASs, except for PFOA and PFDA, were negatively associated with eGFR and positively associated with CKD. Compared with linear PFOS (n-PFOS), branched PFOS isomers (Br-PFOS) were more strongly associated with eGFR (Br-PFOS; β = −1.22, 95%CI: 2.02, −0.42; p = 0.003 vs. n-PFOS; β = −0.16, 95%CI: 0.98, 0.65; p = 0.691) and CKD (Br-PFOS; OR = 1.27; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.58; p = 0.037 vs. n-PFOS; OR = 0.98; 95% CI: 0.80, 1.20; p = 0.834). In conclusion, branched PFOS isomers were negatively associated with renal function whereas their linear counterparts were not. Given widespread exposure to PFASs, potential nephrotoxic effects are of great public health concern, Furthermore, longitudinal research on the potential nephrotoxic effects of PFASs isomers will be necessary to more definitively assess the risk.

Previous investigations on the associations of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) with overweight/obesity are mixed. Moreover, little information has been reported about the association between isomers of PFASs with body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) or overweight. To address this shortcoming in the literature, we conducted a study involving 1612 Chinese adults (1204 men and 408 women), ages 22–96 years old, from Shenyang, China, to analyze serum isomers of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), and other PFASs. Height, weight and WC were measured by a standardized protocol of WHO. Results indicated that increased serum concentrations of all (both branched and linear) isomers of PFASs were associated with a higher prevalence of overweight, and these associations were more pronounced in women. The adjusted odds ratios (ORs) from logistic regression analyses among women were 1.45 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.06, 1.99) for linear PFOS isomers, 1.33 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.77) for branched PFOS isomers, 1.39 (95% CI: 1.06, 1.81) for 3 + 4 + 5m PFOS, 1.54 (95% CI: 1.08, 2.21) for linear PFOA isomers, and 1.62 (95% CI: 1.05, 2.51) for branched PFOA isomers, respectively. Associations with increased WC were yielded a similar pattern. Linear regression models also showed positive associations between PFASs and BMI or WC. In conclusion, this study suggests that PFASs and their isomers are positively associated with overweight or increased WC, and the associations are stronger in women. Furthermore, PFOA and its isomers displayed the most robust obesogenic associations. Keywords: Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), PFASs isomers, Overweight, Anthropometry, Obesity, Isomers of C8 Health Project

No evidence exists concerning the association between blood pressure and ambient particles with aerodynamic diameter

Background and objectives: Little is known about PM1 effects on respiratory health, relative to larger size fractions (PM2.5). To address this literature gap, we assessed associations between PM1 exposure and asthmatic symptoms in Chinese children and adolescents, compared with PM2.5. Methods: A total of 59,754 children, aged 2–17 years, were recruited from 94 kindergartens, elementary and middle schools in the Seven Northeast Cities (SNEC) study, during 2012–2013. We obtained information on asthma and asthma-related symptoms including wheeze, persistent phlegm, and persistent cough using a standardized questionnaire developed by the American Thoracic Society. PM1 and PM2.5 concentrations were estimated using a spatial statistical model matched to the children's geocoded home addresses. To examine the associations, mixed models with school/kindergarten as random intercept were used, controlling for covariates. Results: Odds ratios (ORs) of doctor-diagnosed asthma associated with a 10-μg/m3 increase for PM1 and PM2.5 were 1.56 (95% CI: 1.46–1.66) and 1.50 (1.41–1.59), respectively, and similar pattern were observed for other outcomes. Interaction analyses indicated that boys and the individuals with an allergic predisposition may be vulnerable subgroups. For example, among children with allergic predisposition, the ORs for doctor diagnosed asthma per 10 μg/m3 increase in PM1 was 1.71 (95% CI: 1.60–1.83), which was stronger than in their counterparts (1.46; 1.37–1.56) (p for interaction

Little evidence exists about the effects of long-term exposure to ambient air pollution on metabolic syndrome (MetS). This study aimed to determine the association between long-term ambient air pollution and MetS in China. A total of 15,477 adults who participated in the 33 Communities Chinese Health Study (33CCHS) in 2009 were evaluated. MetS was defined based on the recommendation by the Joint Interim Societies. Exposure to air pollutants was assessed using data from monitoring stations and a spatial statistical model (including particles with diameters ≤ 1.0 µm (PM1), ≤ 2.5 µm (PM2.5), and ≤ 10 µm (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3)). Two-level logistic regression analyses were utilized to assess the associations between air pollutants and MetS. The prevalence of MetS was 30.37%. The adjusted odds ratio of MetS per 10 µg/m3 increase in PM1, PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, and O3 were 1.12 (95% CI = 1.00–1.24), 1.09 (95% CI = 1.00–1.18), 1.13 (95% CI = 1.08–1.19), 1.10 (95% CI = 1.02–1.18), 1.33 (95% CI = 1.12–1.57), and 1.10 (95% CI = 1.01–1.18), respectively. Stratified analyses indicated that the above associations were stronger in participants with the demographic variables of males

Summary: Background: Health effects of air pollution on diabetes have been scarcely studied in developing countries. We aimed to explore the associations of long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) and gaseous pollutants with diabetes prevalence and glucose-homoeostasis markers in China. Methods: Between April 1 and Dec 31, 2009, we recruited a total of 15 477 participants aged 18–74 years using a random number generator and a four-staged, stratified and cluster sampling strategy from a large cross-sectional study (the 33 Communities Chinese Health Study) from three cities in Liaoning province, northeastern China. Fasting and 2 h insulin and glucose concentrations and the homoeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance index and β-cell function were used as glucose-homoeostasis markers. Diabetes was defined according to the American Diabetes Association's recommendations. We calculated exposure to air pollutants using data from monitoring stations (PM with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 μm or less [PM10], sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone) and a spatial statistical model (PM with an aerodynamic diameter of 1 μm or less [PM1] and 2·5 μm or less [PM2·5]). We used two-level logistic regression and linear regression analyses to assess associations between exposure and outcomes, controlling for confounders. Findings: All the studied pollutants were significantly associated with increased diabetes prevalence (eg, the adjusted odds ratios associated with an increase in IQR for PM1, PM2·5, and PM10 were 1·13, 95% CI 1·04–1·22; 1·14, 1·03–1·25; and 1·20, 1·12–1·28, respectively). These air pollutants were also associated with higher concentrations of fasting glucose (0·04–0·09 mmol/L), 2 h glucose (0·10–0·19 mmol/L), and 2 h insulin (0·70–2·74 μU/L). No association was observed for the remaining biomarkers. Stratified analyses indicated greater effects on the individuals who were younger (

Epidemiological studies have reported inconsistent and inconclusive associations between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and lung function in children from Europe and America, where air pollution levels were typically low. The aim of the present study is to examine the relationship between air pollutants and lung function in children selected from heavily industrialized and polluted cities in northeastern China. During 2012, 6740 boys and girls aged 7–14 years were recruited in 24 districts of seven northeastern cities. Portable electronic spirometers were used to measure lung function. Four-year average concentrations of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤10 μm (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3) were measured at monitoring stations in the 24 districts. Two-staged regression models were used in the data analysis, controlling for covariates. Overall, for all subjects, the increased odds of lung function impairment associated with exposure to air pollutants, ranged from 5% (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.05; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.01, 1.10) for FVC

Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are a group of common chemicals that ubiquitously exist in wildlife and humans. Experimental data suggest that they may alter T-lymphocyte functioning in situ by preferentially enhancing the development of T-helper 2 (TH2)- and inhibiting TH1-lymphocyte development and might increase allergic inflammation, but few human studies have been conducted. To evaluate the association between serum PFAAs concentrations and T-lymphocyte-related immunological markers of asthma in children, and further to assess whether gender modified this association, 231 asthmatic children and 225 non-asthmatic control children from Northern Taiwan were recruited into the Genetic and Biomarker study for Childhood Asthma. Serum concentrations of ten PFAAs and levels of TH1 [interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-2] and TH2 (IL-4 and IL-5) cytokines were measured. The results showed that asthmatics had significantly higher serum PFAAs concentrations compared with the healthy controls. When stratified by gender, a greater number of significant associations between PFAAs and asthma outcomes were found in males than in females. Among males, adjusted odds ratios for asthma among those with the highest versus lowest quartile of PFAAs exposure ranged from 2.59 (95% CI: 1.14, 5.87) for the perfluorobutanesulfonate (PFBS) to 4.38 (95% CI: 2.02, 9.50) for perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS); and serum PFAAs were associated positively with TH2 cytokines and inversely with TH1 cytokines among male asthmatics. Among females, no significant associations between PFAAs and TH2 cytokines could be detected. In conclusion, increased serum PFAAs levels may promote TH cell dysregulation and alter the availability of key TH1 and TH2 cytokines, ultimately contributing to the development of asthma that may differentially impact males to a greater degree than females. These results have potential relevance in asthma prevention.

Exposure to chemicals may affect liver enzyme to increase the risk of liver diseases. Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are one kind of persistent organic pollutants with hepatotoxic effect in organism. However, data is scarce to characterize the hepatotoxic effects of specific structural PFAA isomers in general population. To address this data gap, we evaluated the association between serum PFAAs concentration and liver function biomarkers in the Isomers of C8 Health Project in China. High performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) was used to measure 18 serum PFAAs, except for linear and branched isomers of PFOA/PFOS, nine perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs) and two perfluorinated sulfonic acids (PFSAs) were also included, in 1605 adult residents of Shenyang, China. Values for nine serum liver function biomarkers were determined by full-automatic blood biochemical analyzer. Linear regression was used to evaluate associations between PFAAs and continuous liver function biomarkers and logistic regression to assess markers dichotomized per clinical reference intervals. Results indicated that serum PFAAs concentrations were associated with liver biomarker levels suggestive of hepatotoxicity, especially for liver cell injury. For example, a 1 ln-unit increase in total- perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) exposure was associated with a 7.4% [95% confidence interval (CI): 3.9%, 11.0%] higher alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level in serum. Interestingly, we observed association between branched PFAA isomers and liver biomarkers. For example, one ln-unit increase in branched perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) isomers exposure was associated with a 4.3% increase in ALT level (95% CI: 1.2%, 7.4%) and a 33.0% increased odds of having abnormal ALT (95% CI: 5.0%, 67.0%). Also, we found that PFNA had positive association with ALT [(6.2%, 95% CI: 3.1%, 9.4%) and AST levels (2.5%, 95% CI: 0.5%, 4.5%)]. Logistic regression results showed that PFPeA, PFHxA, PFNA, PFDoDA, PFTrDA and PFTeDA had statistically association with abnormal prealbumin. Conclusively, our results support previous studies showing association between PFAAs exposure and liver function biomarkers. We found new evidence that branched PFAAs isomer exposure is associated with the risk of clinically relevant hepatocellular dysfunction.

Study objectives There is limited knowledge regarding the effects of air pollution on sleep disorders, particularly in children. The aim of this study is to investigate this association in Chinese children. Methods During 2012-2013, 59754 children aged 2-17 years were randomly selected from 27 districts in seven northeastern Chinese cities. All participants' sleep was evaluated with the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children. Four year average concentrations of pollutants were calculated for particles with an aerodynamic diameter of ≤1 µm (PM1), ≤2.5 µm (PM2.5) from a spatial statistical model, and ≤10 µm (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), and carbon monoxide (CO) from monitoring stations. To examine the effects, two-level regression analysis was used, controlling for covariates. Results We observed that sleep disorder was generally associated with all air pollutants, with the highest odds among PM1 exposure for male (odds ratio [OR] 1.55; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.36-1.76) and female (OR 1.50; 95% CI 1.30-1.72) children. The overall strongest association with sleep disorder symptom was exposure to PM1 and Disorders of Excessive Somnolence (OR 1.43; 95% CI 1.30-1.58). PM1 and PM2.5 were strongly associated with all sleep disorder symptoms in females (ORs ranged for PM1 from 1.19 to 1.49; and PM2.5 1.18 to 1.44). The association between air pollutants and total sleep score was generally greater in female than in male children. Conclusions Our findings suggest that exposure to air pollutants increases the odds of sleep disorder in children and point to the need to make reducing exposure to air pollutants a public health priority.

Little is known about PMA total of 59,754 children, aged 2-17 years, were recruited from 94 kindergartens, elementary and middle schools in the Seven Northeast Cities (SNEC) study, during 2012-2013. We obtained information on asthma and asthma-related symptoms including wheeze, persistent phlegm, and persistent cough using a standardized questionnaire developed by the American Thoracic Society. PMOdds ratios (ORs) of doctor-diagnosed asthma associated with a 10-μg/mThis study indicated that long-term exposure to PM

Little evidence exists about the effects of long-term exposure to ambient air pollution on metabolic syndrome (MetS). This study aimed to determine the association between long-term ambient air pollution and MetS in China. A total of 15,477 adults who participated in the 33 Communities Chinese Health Study (33CCHS) in 2009 were evaluated. MetS was defined based on the recommendation by the Joint Interim Societies. Exposure to air pollutants was assessed using data from monitoring stations and a spatial statistical model (including particles with diameters ≤ 1.0 µm (PM

Previous studies have demonstrated associations of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), a group of highly persistent chemicals ubiquitous in wildlife and humans, with hypertension, but the relationships are mixed. Furthermore, academic literature on the relationship between isomers of PFASs and blood pressure (BP) and hypertension in populations from a higher pollution area is scant. We studied 1612 Chinese adults, ages 22-96years old, from Shenyang, China, utilizing high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to analyze isomers of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), and other PFASs in blood serum. We used a mercury sphygmomanometer to measure BP. Hypertension was defined as a mean systolic BP (SBP) of at least 140mmHg, and/or diastolic BP (DBP) of at least 90mmHg, and/or use of antihypertensive medications. The results showed that increased serum concentrations of all (both branched and linear) isomers of PFASs were associated with higher prevalence of hypertension. Adjusted odds ratios for hypertension per ln-unit (ng/mL) increase in PFASs ranged from 1.10 (95%CI: 1.04, 1.17) for perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) to 1.26 (95%CI: 1.12, 1.42) for 3+4+5m PFOS, and the estimated increases in mean SBP and DBP ranged from 0.80mmHg (95%CI: 0.25, 1.34) for PFBA to 4.51mmHg (95%CI: 3.52, 5.51) for 3+4+5m PFOS, and from 0.51mmHg (95%CI: 0.01, 1.01) for perfluorodecanesulfonate (PFDS) to 2.48 (1.80, 3.16) for perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), respectively. Compared with linear PFASs isomers, we identified more and stronger associations among branched PFASs isomers and blood pressure. Furthermore, females exhibited consistently stronger effects than males. In conclusion, this study is the first of its kind to show that not only PFASs positively associated with elevated blood pressure, but also that branched PFAS isomers are more frequently associated with blood pressure than linear PFAS isomers.

Journal is deposited in PubMed Central for public release after 2017-10-15 STUDY OBJECTIVES Existing studies on sleep quality and associated obesity are inconsistent, and few studies have prospectively evaluated the association between sleep quality and abdominal obesity among Chinese individuals. To fill this void, the current study aimed to assess the association between sleep quality and abdominal obesity in a rural Chinese population. METHODS A representative sample of 9,404 adults aged 20-93 years in northeastern China was selected between 2012 and 2013 by a multistage cluster and random sampling method. Sleep quality was evaluated by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), where a score of 6 or higher indicated sleep disorder. Abdominal obesity was measured by waist circumference (WC), with abdominal obesity defined as WC > 90 cm for men and WC > 80 cm for women. RESULTS Male participants with abdominal obesity had higher global PSQI scores in addition to higher subscores in almost all of the elements compared to normal values. The odds ratios of abdominal obesity among participants with sleep disorders were 1.64 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.39-1.95) and 1.14 (95% CI: 0.98-1.32) for males and females compared to the reference group. The risk in all sleep elements was significantly increased, with odds ratios ranging from 1.28 (95% CI: 1.08-1.51) to 5.81 (95% CI: 3.54-9.53) for males. The risk only in four elements was significantly increased, from 1.28 (95% CI: 1.12-1.47) to 2.27 (95% CI: 1.36-3.80) for females. CONCLUSIONS Poor sleep quality was associated with abdominal obesity in Chinese. Furthermore, effects in males were larger than those in females.

A cross-sectional study was initiated to clarify whether the current level of exposure to carbon disulphide (CS2) is low enough to prevent occurrence of subclinical health impairments. This paper describes the effects of exposure to CS2 on male sexual function and semen quality in a baseline observation. The effects of CS2 on male sexual function were evaluated, including number of sexual encounters and length of sexual encounters related to solvents in 80 male workers exposed to CS2 and 49 reference workers from the filature and cotton pulp departments of a fabric factory in China. And the semen samples were obtained from 43 of the exposed and 35 of the control. Adjustment was made for potential confounding factors such as age or alcohol drinking. Exposure to CS2 was dichotomized by job type. The rate of sexual dysfunction was higher, number of sexual encounters was lower, and length of sexual encounters was shorter compared with the control (p < 0.001). It was indicated that exposed workers had fewer semen quantity, longer liquefaction time, lower acrosomal membrane integrity rate, vitality and density, and more deformity of semen than the control (p < 0.01). The age and type of work played the most important roles in sexual dysfunction by the multinomial logistic regression analysis (p < 0.01).The duration of exposure had the effect on sexual function and semen quality but no statistical significance (p > 0.05). Clinical effects on the male sexual function and semen quality were found in the workers exposed to CS2.

The authors regret the misspelling of co-author ‘Kahee A. Mohammed’. The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.