| 1. |
- Derakhshan, Arash, et al.
(författare)
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Reference ranges and determinants of thyroid function during early pregnancy : the SELMA study
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. - : Oxford University Press. - 0021-972X .- 1945-7197. ; 103:9, s. 3548-3556
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context: Establishing reference ranges as well as identifying and quantifying the determinants of thyroid function during pregnancy is important for proper clinical interpretation and optimizing research efforts. However, such data are sparse, specifically for (F)T3 measurements and most studies do not take into account thyroid antibodies or hCG.Objective: To determine reference ranges and to identify/quantify determinants of TSH, FT4, FT3, TT4 and TT3.Design, Setting and Participants: This study included 2,314 participants of the Swedish Environmental Longitudinal, Mother and child, Asthma and allergy study, a population-based prospective pregnancy cohort of mother-child pairs. Reference ranges were calculated by 2.5-97.5th percentiles after excluding TPOAb and/or TgAb positive women.Intervention: None.Main Outcome Measures: TSH, FT4, FT3, TT4 and TT3 in prenatal serum.Results: After exclusion of TPOAb positive women, reference range were: TSH: 0.11-3.48 mU/L, FT4: 11.6-19.4 pmol/L, FT3: 3.72-5.92 pg/mL, TT4: 82.4-166.2 pmol/L and TT3: 1.28-2.92 nmol/L. Additional exclusion of TgAb positive women did not change the reference ranges substantially. Exposure to tobacco smoke, as assessed by questionnaires and serum cotinine, was associated with lower TSH and higher FT3 and TT3. BMI and gestational age were the main determinants of TSH (only for BMI), FT4, FT3, TT4 and TT3.Conclusions: We show that the exclusion of TgAb positive women on top of excluding TPOAb positive women hardly affects clinical reference ranges. We identified various relevant clinical determinants of TSH, FT4, FT3, TT4 and TT3 which could reflect endocrine disrupting effects and/or effects on thyroid hormone transport or deiodination.
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| 2. |
- Levie, Deborah, et al.
(författare)
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The Association of Maternal Iodine Status in Early Pregnancy with Thyroid Function in the Swedish Environmental Longitudinal, Mother and Child, Asthma and Allergy Study
- 2019
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Ingår i: Thyroid. - : Mary Ann Liebert. - 1050-7256 .- 1557-9077. ; 29:11, s. 1660-1668
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Severe maternal iodine deficiency can impact fetal brain development through effects on maternal and/or fetal thyroid hormone availability. The effects of mild-to-moderate iodine deficiency on thyroid function are less clear. The aim was to investigate the association of maternal urinary iodine concentration corrected for creatinine (UI/Creat) with thyroid function and autoantibodies in a mild-to-moderate iodine-deficient pregnant population. Methods: This study was embedded within the Swedish Environmental Longitudinal, Mother and child, Asthma and allergy (SELMA) study. Clinical reference ranges were determined by the 2.5th and 97.5th population-based percentile cutoffs. The associations of UI/Creat with thyrotropin (TSH), free thyroxine (fT4), free triiodothyronine (fT3), total T4 (TT4), and total T3 (TT3) were studied using multivariable linear regression in thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb)-negative women. The association of UI/Creat with TPOAb and thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb) positivity was analyzed using multivariable logistic regression. Results: Urinary iodine and thyroid function were measured at a median (95% range) gestational age of 10 (6-14) weeks in 2009 women. The median (95% range) UI/Creat was 85 mu g/g (36-386) and the UI/Creat was below 150 mu g/g in 80.1% of women. Reference ranges did not differ substantially by UI/Creat. A lower UI/Creat was associated with a lower TSH (p = 0.027), a higher TT4 (p = 0.032), and with a corresponding trend toward slightly higher fT4 (p = 0.081), fT3 (p = 0.079), and TT3 (p = 0.10). UI/Creat was not associated with the fT4/fT3 (p = 0.94) or TT4/TT3 ratios (p = 0.63). Women with a UI/Creat of 150-249 mu g/g had the lowest prevalence of TPOAb positivity (6.1%), while women with a UI/Creat of <150 mu g/g had a higher prevalence (11.0%, odds ratio [OR] confidence interval [95% CI] 1.84 [1.07-3.20], p = 0.029). Women with a UI/Creat >= 500 mu g/g showed the highest prevalence and a higher risk of TPOAb positivity, however, only a small proportion of women had such a UI/Creat (12.5%, OR, [95% CI] 2.36 [0.54-10.43], p = 0.26). Conclusions: We could not identify any meaningful differences in thyroid function reference ranges. Lower iodine availability was associated with a slightly lower TSH and a higher TT4. Women with adequate iodine intake had the lowest risk of TPOAb positivity.
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| 3. |
- Muncke, Jane, et al.
(författare)
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Impacts of food contact chemicals on human health : a consensus statement
- 2020
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Ingår i: Environmental Health. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1476-069X. ; 19:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Food packaging is of high societal value because it conserves and protects food, makes food transportable and conveys information to consumers. It is also relevant for marketing, which is of economic significance. Other types of food contact articles, such as storage containers, processing equipment and filling lines, are also important for food production and food supply. Food contact articles are made up of one or multiple different food contact materials and consist of food contact chemicals. However, food contact chemicals transfer from all types of food contact materials and articles into food and, consequently, are taken up by humans. Here we highlight topics of concern based on scientific findings showing that food contact materials and articles are a relevant exposure pathway for known hazardous substances as well as for a plethora of toxicologically uncharacterized chemicals, both intentionally and non-intentionally added. We describe areas of certainty, like the fact that chemicals migrate from food contact articles into food, and uncertainty, for example unidentified chemicals migrating into food. Current safety assessment of food contact chemicals is ineffective at protecting human health. In addition, society is striving for waste reduction with a focus on food packaging. As a result, solutions are being developed toward reuse, recycling or alternative (non-plastic) materials. However, the critical aspect of chemical safety is often ignored. Developing solutions for improving the safety of food contact chemicals and for tackling the circular economy must include current scientific knowledge. This cannot be done in isolation but must include all relevant experts and stakeholders. Therefore, we provide an overview of areas of concern and related activities that will improve the safety of food contact articles and support a circular economy. Our aim is to initiate a broader discussion involving scientists with relevant expertise but not currently working on food contact materials, and decision makers and influencers addressing single-use food packaging due to environmental concerns. Ultimately, we aim to support science-based decision making in the interest of improving public health. Notably, reducing exposure to hazardous food contact chemicals contributes to the prevention of associated chronic diseases in the human population.
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| 4. |
- Derakhshan, Arash, et al.
(författare)
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Association of endocrine disrupting chemicals exposure with human chorionic gonadotropin concentrations in pregnancy
- 2023
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Ingår i: Environment International. - : Elsevier. - 0160-4120 .- 1873-6750. ; 178
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is produced by the placenta and plays an essential role in the maintenance of pregnancy. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have the potential to interfere with functions related to the production and secretion of hCG; however associations between exposure to EDCs and hCG concentrations in humans remain to be elucidated. Objectives: To investigate the association of urinary, serum and plasma concentrations of EDCs during pregnancy with serum hCG concentrations. Methods: We utilized data form the Swedish Environmental Longitudinal, Mother and child, Asthma and allergy (SELMA) study. We investigated the association of 26 EDCs measured in early pregnancy urine or blood with serum hCG concentrations using multi-variable adjusted linear regression models per EDC and Weighted Quantile Sum (WQS) regression with repeated holdout validation for the EDCs mixture. Results: In 2,039 included women, higher exposure to bisphenol A was associated with lower hCG (beta [95% CI]: −0.06 [−0.11 to −0.002]) while higher triclosan exposure was associated with a higher hCG (0.02 [0.003 to 0.04]). Higher exposure to several phthalates, including mono-ethyl and mono-butyl phthalates (MEP and MBP) as well as metabolites of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) was associated with a lower hCG (beta [95% CI] for sum of DEHP metabolites: −0.13 [−0.19 to −0.07]). Likewise, higher exposure to several polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was associated with a lower hCG. In the WQS regression, each quartile increase in the EDCs mixture was associated with −0.27 lower hCG (95% CI: −0.34 to −0.19). Discussion: Higher exposure to several EDCs during pregnancy was associated with a lower hCG; and despite the small effect sizes, still indicating that the exposure may negatively affect production or secretion of hCG by the placenta. Our results provide the impetus for future experimental studies to investigate the placenta as a target organ for adverse effects of EDCs.
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| 5. |
- Derakhshan, Arash, et al.
(författare)
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Association of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances with thyroid homeostasis during pregnancy in the SELMA study
- 2022
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Ingår i: Environment International. - : Elsevier. - 0160-4120 .- 1873-6750. ; 167
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ObjectivesTo investigate the association of exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during early pregnancy with markers of the maternal thyroid system.MethodsSerum concentrations of seven PFAS as well as thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free and total thyroxine (FT4 and TT4), free and total triiodothyronine (FT3 and TT3) were measured in pregnant women in early pregnancy in the Swedish Environmental Longitudinal, Mother and child, Asthma and allergy (SELMA) study. Outcomes were concentrations of TSH and thyroid hormones, FT4/FT3 or TT4/TT3 ratios, TSH/FT4 ratio as a marker of the negative feedback loop, TT4/FT4 or TT3/FT3 ratios as markers of the binding of thyroid hormones to binding proteins.ResultsThe study population comprised 2,008 women with median (95% range) gestational age of 10 (6–14) weeks. There was no association between PFAS and TSH. Higher PFNA, PFDA, PFHpA and PFOA levels were associated with a higher FT4 (largest effect estimate for PFDA: β [95% CI]: 0.27 [0.10 to 0.45], P = 0.002). Higher PFUnDA levels, but no other PFAS, were associated with a lower FT3 (β [95% CI]: −0.05 [-0.09 to −0.01], P = 0.005). Higher PFUnDA levels were associated with lower TT4 (β [95% CI]: −1.58 [-3.07 to −0.09]) and there was an inverted U-shaped association of PFOS with TT4 (P = 0.03). Higher PFDA, PFUnDA, PFHpA levels were associated with a lower TT3. Overall, higher PFAS concentrations were associated with a higher FT4/FT3 ratio and a higher TT4/TT3 ratio. There was no association of PFAS with the TSH/FT4 ratio. Higher concentrations of several PFAS were associated with lower TT4/FT4 and TT3/FT3 ratios.ConclusionsThese findings translate results from experimental studies suggesting that exposure to PFAS may interfere with the thyroid system during pregnancy. Further experimental studies should take into account human evidence to better understand the potential underlying mechanisms of thyroid disruption by PFAS exposure.
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| 6. |
- Landrigan, Philip J., et al.
(författare)
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Human Health and Ocean Pollution
- 2020
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Ingår i: Annals of Global Health. - : Ubiquity Press. - 2214-9996. ; 86:1
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Pollution - unwanted waste released to air, water, and land by human activity - is the largest environmental cause of disease in the world today. It is responsible for an estimated nine million premature deaths per year, enormous economic losses, erosion of human capital, and degradation of ecosystems. Ocean pollution is an important, but insufficiently recognized and inadequately controlled component of global pollution. It poses serious threats to human health and well-being. The nature and magnitude of these impacts are only beginning to be understood.Goals: (1) Broadly examine the known and potential impacts of ocean pollution on human health. (2) Inform policy makers, government leaders, international organizations, civil society, and the global public of these threats. (3) Propose priorities for interventions to control and prevent pollution of the seas and safeguard human health.Methods: Topic-focused reviews that examine the effects of ocean pollution on human health, identify gaps in knowledge, project future trends, and offer evidence-based guidance for effective intervention.Environmental Findings: Pollution of the oceans is widespread, worsening, and in most countries poorly controlled. It is a complex mixture of toxic metals, plastics, manufactured chemicals, petroleum, urban and industrial wastes, pesticides, fertilizers, pharmaceutical chemicals, agricultural runoff, and sewage. More than 80% arises from land-based sources. It reaches the oceans through rivers, runoff, atmospheric deposition and direct discharges. It is often heaviest near the coasts and most highly concentrated along the coasts of low- and middle-income countries. Plastic is a rapidly increasing and highly visible component of ocean pollution, and an estimated 10 million metric tons of plastic waste enter the seas each year. Mercury is the metal pollutant of greatest concern in the oceans; it is released from two main sources - coal combustion and small-scale gold mining. Global spread of industrialized agriculture with increasing use of chemical fertilizer leads to extension of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) to previously unaffected regions. Chemical pollutants are ubiquitous and contaminate seas and marine organisms from the high Arctic to the abyssal depths.Ecosystem Findings: Ocean pollution has multiple negative impacts on marine ecosystems, and these impacts are exacerbated by global climate change. Petroleum-based pollutants reduce photosynthesis in marine microorganisms that generate oxygen. Increasing absorption of carbon dioxide into the seas causes ocean acidification, which destroys coral reefs, impairs shellfish development, dissolves calcium-containing microorganisms at the base of the marine food web, and increases the toxicity of some pollutants. Plastic pollution threatens marine mammals, fish, and seabirds and accumulates in large mid-ocean gyres. It breaks down into microplastic and nanoplastic particles containing multiple manufactured chemicals that can enter the tissues of marine organisms, including species consumed by humans. Industrial releases, runoff, and sewage increase frequency and severity of HABs, bacterial pollution, and anti-microbial resistance. Pollution and sea surface warming are triggering poleward migration of dangerous pathogens such as the Vibrio species. Industrial discharges, pharmaceutical wastes, pesticides, and sewage contribute to global declines in fish stocks.Human Health Findings: Methylmercury and PCBs are the ocean pollutants whose human health effects are best understood. Exposures of infants in utero to these pollutants through maternal consumption of contaminated seafood can damage developing brains, reduce IQ and increase children's risks for autism, ADHD and learning disorders. Adult exposures to methylmercury increase risks for cardiovascular disease and dementia. Manufactured chemicals - phthalates, bisphenol A, flame retardants, and perfluorinated chemicals, many of them released into the seas from plastic waste - can disrupt endocrine signaling, reduce male fertility, damage the nervous system, and increase risk of cancer. HABs produce potent toxins that accumulate in fish and shellfish. When ingested, these toxins can cause severe neurological impairment and rapid death. HAB toxins can also become airborne and cause respiratory disease. Pathogenic marine bacteria cause gastrointestinal diseases and deep wound infections. With climate change and increasing pollution, risk is high that Vibrio infections, including cholera, will increase in frequency and extend to new areas. All of the health impacts of ocean pollution fall disproportionately on vulnerable populations in the Global South - environmental injustice on a planetary scale.Conclusions: Ocean pollution is a global problem. It arises from multiple sources and crosses national boundaries. It is the consequence of reckless, shortsighted, and unsustainable exploitation of the earth's resources. It endangers marine ecosystems. It impedes the production of atmospheric oxygen. Its threats to human health are great and growing, but still incompletely understood. Its economic costs are only beginning to be counted. Ocean pollution can be prevented. Like all forms of pollution, ocean pollution can be controlled by deploying data-driven strategies based on law, policy, technology, and enforcement that target priority pollution sources. Many countries have used these tools to control air and water pollution and are now applying them to ocean pollution. Successes achieved to date demonstrate that broader control is feasible. Heavily polluted harbors have been cleaned, estuaries rejuvenated, and coral reefs restored. Prevention of ocean pollution creates many benefits. It boosts economies, increases tourism, helps restore fisheries, and improves human health and well-being. It advances the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). These benefits will last for centuries.Recommendations: World leaders who recognize the gravity of ocean pollution, acknowledge its growing dangers, engage civil society and the global public, and take bold, evidence-based action to stop pollution at source will be critical to preventing ocean pollution and safeguarding human health. Prevention of pollution from land-based sources is key. Eliminating coal combustion and banning all uses of mercury will reduce mercury pollution. Bans on single-use plastic and better management of plastic waste reduce plastic pollution. Bans on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have reduced pollution by PCBs and DDT. Control of industrial discharges, treatment of sewage, and reduced applications of fertilizers have mitigated coastal pollution and are reducing frequency of HABs. National, regional and international marine pollution control programs that are adequately funded and backed by strong enforcement have been shown to be effective. Robust monitoring is essential to track progress. Further interventions that hold great promise include wide-scale transition to renewable fuels; transition to a circular economy that creates little waste and focuses on equity rather than on endless growth; embracing the principles of green chemistry; and building scientific capacity in all countries. Designation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) will safeguard critical ecosystems, protect vulnerable fish stocks, and enhance human health and well-being. Creation of MPAs is an important manifestation of national and international commitment to protecting the health of the seas.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Lupu, Diana, et al.
(författare)
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The ENDpoiNTs Project : Novel Testing Strategies for Endocrine Disruptors Linked to Developmental Neurotoxicity
- 2020
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Ingår i: International Journal of Molecular Sciences. - : MDPI. - 1661-6596 .- 1422-0067. ; 21:11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ubiquitous exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) has caused serious concerns about the ability of these chemicals to affect neurodevelopment, among others. Since endocrine disruption (ED)-induced developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) is hardly covered by the chemical testing tools that are currently in regulatory use, the Horizon 2020 research and innovation action ENDpoiNTs has been launched to fill the scientific and methodological gaps related to the assessment of this type of chemical toxicity. The ENDpoiNTs project will generate new knowledge about ED-induced DNT and aims to develop and improve in vitro, in vivo, and in silico models pertaining to ED-linked DNT outcomes for chemical testing. This will be achieved by establishing correlative and causal links between known and novel neurodevelopmental endpoints and endocrine pathways through integration of molecular, cellular, and organismal data from in vitro and in vivo models. Based on this knowledge, the project aims to provide adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) for ED-induced DNT and to develop and integrate new testing tools with high relevance for human health into European and international regulatory frameworks.
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