Talat Islam | University of Southern California (original) (raw)
Papers by Talat Islam
on behalf of all authors, an exclusive licence (or non-exclusive for government employees) on a w... more on behalf of all authors, an exclusive licence (or non-exclusive for government employees) on a worldwide basis to the BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and its Licensees to permit this article to be published in the Thorax editions and any other BMJPGL products to exploit all subsidiary rights, as set out in our license.
![Research paper thumbnail of Airway oxidative stress is a cardinal feature and an important pathway in asthma pathogenesis.[1] Although a growing body of evidence supports a joint role for air pollutants and variants in genes involved in oxidant defenses in asthma pathogenesis,[2]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/89780705/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](Background: Because asthma has been associated with exercise and ozone exposure, an association l... more Background: Because asthma has been associated with exercise and ozone exposure, an association likely mediated by oxidative stress, we hypothesized that GSTP1, GSTM1, exercise and ozone exposure have interrelated effects on asthma pathogenesis. Methods: We examined associations of the well characterized null variant of GSTM1 and four SNPs that characterized common variation in the GSTP1 locus with new-onset asthma in a cohort of 1,610 school children. Children's exercise and ozone-exposure were classified using participation in team sports and community annual average ozone levels, respectively. Results: A two SNP model involving putatively functional variants (rs6591255, rs1695 [Ile105Val]) best captured the association between GSTP1 and asthma. The risk of asthma was lower for those with the Val allele of Ile105Val (HR 0.60, 95% CI 0.4, 0.8) and higher for the variant allele of rs6591255 (HR 1.40, 95%CI 1.1-1.9). Asthma risk increased with level of exercise among ile 105 homo...
Journal of child neurology, Jul 28, 2016
Multiple sclerosis can affect pediatric patients. Our aim was to compare characteristics between ... more Multiple sclerosis can affect pediatric patients. Our aim was to compare characteristics between pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis and adult-onset multiple sclerosis in Hispanic Americans. This was a cross-sectional analysis of 363 Hispanic American multiple scleroses cases; demographic and clinical characteristics were analyzed. A total of 110 Hispanic patients presented with multiple sclerosis before age 18 and 253 as adult multiple sclerosis. The most common presenting symptoms for both was optic neuritis. Polyfocal symptoms, seizures, and cognitive symptoms at presentation were more prevalent in pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (P≤ .001). Transverse myelitis was more frequent in adult-onset multiple sclerosis (P≤ .001). Using multivariable analysis, pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (adjusted odds ratio, 0.3OR 95% confidence interval 0.16-0.71,P= .004) and being US born (adjusted odds ratio, 0.553, 95% confidence interval 0.3-1.03,P= .006) were less likely to have severe amb...
Multiple Sclerosis Journal, 2011
Background: Hispanics living with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the United States are not well defin... more Background: Hispanics living with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the United States are not well defined. Objective: To describe the clinical characteristics of MS among Hispanic Whites (HW) in Southern California with those of non-Hispanic Whites (NHW). Methods: We performed a medical chart review to identify all cases of HW with MS ( n = 125) who were treated at our institution during a 1-year period. We also identified cases of NHW with MS (100 NHW) treated at those clinics. All HW patients were interviewed to ascertain ancestry including detailed migration history. Disease progression was assessed by ambulatory disability and defined as Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score ≥6. Results: Compared with NHW, HW were more likely to have a relapsing–remitting form of MS and a younger age of onset (28.4 ± 0.97 years) with presenting symptoms of optic neuritis and transverse myelitis. However, overall ambulatory disability did not differ between HW and NHW. Migration to the US at ag...
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2011
Rationale: Emerging evidence indicates that psychosocial stress enhances the effect of traffic ex... more Rationale: Emerging evidence indicates that psychosocial stress enhances the effect of traffic exposure on the development of asthma. Objectives: We hypothesized that psychosocial stress would also modify the effect of traffic exposure on lung function deficits. Methods: We studied 1,399 participants in the Southern California Children's Health Study undergoing lung function testing (mean age, 11.2 yr). We used hierarchical mixed models to assess the joint effect of traffic-related air pollution and stress on lung function. Measurements and Main Results: Psychosocial stress in each child's household was assessed based on parental response to the perceived stress scale (range, 0-16) at study entry. Exposures to nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, and total oxides of nitrogen (NO x), surrogates of the traffic-related pollution mixture, were estimated at schools and residences based on a land-use regression model. Among children from high-stress households (parental perceived stress scale .4) deficits in FEV 1 of 4.5 (95% confidence interval, 26.5 to 22.4) and of 2.8% (25.7 to 0.3) were associated with each 21.8 ppb increase in NO x at homes and schools, respectively. These pollutant effects were significantly larger in the high-stress compared with lower-stress households (interaction P value 0.007 and 0.05 for residential and school NOx, respectively). No significant NOx effects were observed in children from low-stress households. A similar pattern of association was observed for FVC. The observed associations for FEV 1 and FVC remained after adjusting for sociodemographic factors and after restricting the analysis to children who do not have asthma. Conclusions: A high-stress home environment is associated with increased susceptibility to lung function effects of air pollution both at home and at school.
Thorax, 2013
Background Previous studies have reported adverse effects of either regional or near-roadway air ... more Background Previous studies have reported adverse effects of either regional or near-roadway air pollution (NRAP) on lung function. However, there has been little study of the joint effects of these exposures. Objectives To assess the joint effects of NRAP and regional pollutants on childhood lung function in the Children's Health Study. Methods Lung function was measured on 1811 children from eight Southern Californian communities. NRAP exposure was assessed based on (1) residential distance to the nearest freeway or major road and (2) estimated near-roadway contributions to residential nitrogen dioxide (NO 2), nitric oxide (NO) and total nitrogen oxides (NO x). Exposure to regional ozone (O 3), NO 2 , particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter <10 mm (PM 10) and 2.5 mm (PM 2.5) was measured continuously at community monitors. Results An increase in near-roadway NO x of 17.9 ppb (2 SD) was associated with deficits of 1.6% in forced vital capacity (FVC) (p=0.005) and 1.1% in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV 1) (p=0.048). Effects were observed in all communities and were similar for NO 2 and NO. Residential proximity to a freeway was associated with a reduction in FVC. Lung function deficits of 2-3% were associated with regional PM 10 and PM 2.5 (FVC and FEV 1) and with O 3 (FEV 1), but not NO 2 across the range of exposure between communities. Associations with regional pollution and NRAP were independent in models adjusted for each. The effects of NRAP were not modified by regional pollutant concentrations. Conclusions The results indicate that NRAP and regional air pollution have independent adverse effects on childhood lung function.
Journal of thoracic disease, 2018
Oxidative stress is involved in thoracic diseases and health responses to air pollution. Malondia... more Oxidative stress is involved in thoracic diseases and health responses to air pollution. Malondialdehyde (MDA) is a well-established marker of oxidative stress, but it may be present in unconjugated and conjugated forms. To our knowledge, no studies have conducted a systemic evaluation of both free MDA (unconjugated MDA) and total MDA (the sum of both unconjugated and conjugated MDA) across various types of human biospecimens. Free MDA and total MDA were simultaneously measured in a range of human biospecimens, including nasal fluid (N=158), saliva (N=158), exhaled breath condensate (N=40), serum (N=232), and urine (N=429). All samples were analyzed using an HPLC-fluorescence method with high sensitivity and specificity. Due to the right skewed distribution of free MDA and total MDA, we performed natural-log transformation before subsequent statistical analyses. The relationship between the natural log of free and total MDA was evaluated by R of simple linear regression. T test was ...
Pediatrics, 2008
Objective-Associations between single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the β2-adrenergic receptor gene... more Objective-Associations between single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the β2-adrenergic receptor gene and asthma and wheeze have been inconsistent. Recent studies indicated that tobacco smoke affects β2-adrenergic receptor gene expression and associations of β2-adrenergic receptor gene variants with asthma in adults. We aimed to investigate the joint effects of in utero and childhood secondhand tobacco smoke exposure and 2 well-characterized functional single-nucleotide polymorphisms (Arg16Gly and Glu27Gln) of β2-adrenergic receptor gene on asthma and wheezing in 3128 non-Hispanic and Hispanic white children of the Children's Health Study. Methods-We fitted logistic regression models to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the independent and joint effects of these single-nucleotide polymorphisms and in utero and secondhand tobacco smoke exposure on asthma and wheeze outcomes. Results-Exposures to in utero maternal smoking and secondhand tobacco smoke were associated with wheezing. Children who were homozygous for the Arg16 allele and were exposed to maternal smoking in utero were at a threefold increased risk for lifetime wheeze compared with children who were unexposed and had at least 1 Gly16 allele. We found similar joint effects of secondhand tobacco smoke and Arg16Gly with wheezing. The risk for lifetime, current, and nocturnal wheeze increased with the number of smokers at home among Arg16 homozygous children. The results were consistent in 2 cohorts of children recruited in 1993 and 1996. Diplotype-based analyses were consistent with the single-nucleotide polymorphism-specific results. No associations were found for Glu27Gln. Conclusions-Both in utero and childhood exposure to tobacco smoke were associated with an increased risk for wheeze in children, and the risks were greater for children with the Arg16Arg genotype or 2 copies of the Arg16-Gln27 diplotype. Exposures to smoking need to be taken into account when evaluating the effects of β2-adrenergic receptor gene variants on respiratory health outcomes.
J Allerg Clin Immunol, 2000
B94. GENE ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION INVOLVING OXIDATIVE STRESS AND INFLAMMATORY PATHWAYS IN ASTHMA AND COPD, 2009
B47. ASTHMA EPIDEMIOLOGY: CLINICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS OF ASTHMA OUTCOMES, 2010
B94. CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY AND PHENOTYPE, 2010
B56. MEASURING LUNG FUNCTION AND INFLAMMATION IN CHILDREN, 2010
C104. AIR POLLUTION EPIDEMIOLOGY, 2011
A45. GENETIC BASIS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND OCCUPATIONAL RESPIRATORY DISEASES, 2009
Preventive Medicine, 2003
Although active smoking acutely increases arterial stiffness, the association between arterial st... more Although active smoking acutely increases arterial stiffness, the association between arterial stiffness and chronic exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) has not been evaluated. We used baseline data from the Vitamin E Atherosclerosis Prevention Study to evaluate the association between ETS exposure and arterial stiffness among 227 healthy adult nonsmokers. B-mode ultrasonograms of the common carotid artery were used to compute the carotid arterial wall stiffness index beta. Beta was compared by the number of sources and daily hours of ETS exposure. The carotid stiffness index beta was positively associated with age, body mass index (BMI), fasting glucose, and common carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT). In the total sample, beta was not related to the number of ETS exposure sources. The carotid stiffness index beta increased with number of sources and daily hours of ETS in subjects with BMI &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; or =27.1 kg/m2 and IMT &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; or =0.707 mm. The association was not apparent in subjects with lower BMI or IMT (for number of ETS sources, interaction P values=0.006 and 0.01, respectively). For number of ETS sources, but not hours of exposure, positive associations were apparent among females (but not males) and among subjects &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; or =55 years old (but not younger subjects). These data indicate that arterial stiffness is adversely associated with ETS in a dose-dependent manner among individuals with higher BMI and greater carotid artery IMT.
A51. GENETIC STUDIES OF LUNG DISEASE, 2011
Environmental Health, 2014
Background: Biologically plausible mechanisms link traffic-related air pollution to metabolic dis... more Background: Biologically plausible mechanisms link traffic-related air pollution to metabolic disorders and potentially to obesity. Here we sought to determine whether traffic density and traffic-related air pollution were positively associated with growth in body mass index (BMI = kg/m 2) in children aged 5-11 years. Methods: Participants were drawn from a prospective cohort of children who lived in 13 communities across Southern California (N = 4550). Children were enrolled while attending kindergarten and first grade and followed for 4 years, with height and weight measured annually. Dispersion models were used to estimate exposure to traffic-related air pollution. Multilevel models were used to estimate and test traffic density and traffic pollution related to BMI growth. Data were collected between 2002-2010 and analyzed in 2011-12. Results: Traffic pollution was positively associated with growth in BMI and was robust to adjustment for many confounders. The effect size in the adjusted model indicated about a 13.6% increase in annual BMI growth when comparing the lowest to the highest tenth percentile of air pollution exposure, which resulted in an increase of nearly 0.4 BMI units on attained BMI at age 10. Traffic density also had a positive association with BMI growth, but this effect was less robust in multivariate models. Conclusions: Traffic pollution was positively associated with growth in BMI in children aged 5-11 years. Traffic pollution may be controlled via emission restrictions; changes in land use that promote jobs-housing balance and use of public transit and hence reduce vehicle miles traveled; promotion of zero emissions vehicles; transit and car-sharing programs; or by limiting high pollution traffic, such as diesel trucks, from residential areas or places where children play outdoors, such as schools and parks. These measures may have beneficial effects in terms of reduced obesity formation in children.
B65. EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF LUNG CELL FUNCTION, 2012
Thorax, 2007
The interrelationships between air pollution, lung function and the incidence of childhood asthma... more The interrelationships between air pollution, lung function and the incidence of childhood asthma have yet to be established. A study was undertaken to determine whether lung function is associated with new onset asthma and whether this relationship varies by exposure to ambient air pollutants. A cohort of children aged 9-10 years without asthma or wheeze at study entry were identified from the Children's Health Study and followed for 8 years. The participants resided in 12 communities with a wide range of ambient air pollutants that were measured continuously. Spirometric testing was performed and a medical diagnosis of asthma was ascertained annually. Proportional hazard regression models were fitted to investigate the relationship between lung function at study entry and the subsequent development of asthma and to determine whether air pollutants modify these associations. The level of airway flow was associated with new onset asthma. Over the 10th-90th percentile range of fo...
on behalf of all authors, an exclusive licence (or non-exclusive for government employees) on a w... more on behalf of all authors, an exclusive licence (or non-exclusive for government employees) on a worldwide basis to the BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and its Licensees to permit this article to be published in the Thorax editions and any other BMJPGL products to exploit all subsidiary rights, as set out in our license.
Background: Because asthma has been associated with exercise and ozone exposure, an association l... more Background: Because asthma has been associated with exercise and ozone exposure, an association likely mediated by oxidative stress, we hypothesized that GSTP1, GSTM1, exercise and ozone exposure have interrelated effects on asthma pathogenesis. Methods: We examined associations of the well characterized null variant of GSTM1 and four SNPs that characterized common variation in the GSTP1 locus with new-onset asthma in a cohort of 1,610 school children. Children's exercise and ozone-exposure were classified using participation in team sports and community annual average ozone levels, respectively. Results: A two SNP model involving putatively functional variants (rs6591255, rs1695 [Ile105Val]) best captured the association between GSTP1 and asthma. The risk of asthma was lower for those with the Val allele of Ile105Val (HR 0.60, 95% CI 0.4, 0.8) and higher for the variant allele of rs6591255 (HR 1.40, 95%CI 1.1-1.9). Asthma risk increased with level of exercise among ile 105 homo...
Journal of child neurology, Jul 28, 2016
Multiple sclerosis can affect pediatric patients. Our aim was to compare characteristics between ... more Multiple sclerosis can affect pediatric patients. Our aim was to compare characteristics between pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis and adult-onset multiple sclerosis in Hispanic Americans. This was a cross-sectional analysis of 363 Hispanic American multiple scleroses cases; demographic and clinical characteristics were analyzed. A total of 110 Hispanic patients presented with multiple sclerosis before age 18 and 253 as adult multiple sclerosis. The most common presenting symptoms for both was optic neuritis. Polyfocal symptoms, seizures, and cognitive symptoms at presentation were more prevalent in pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (P≤ .001). Transverse myelitis was more frequent in adult-onset multiple sclerosis (P≤ .001). Using multivariable analysis, pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (adjusted odds ratio, 0.3OR 95% confidence interval 0.16-0.71,P= .004) and being US born (adjusted odds ratio, 0.553, 95% confidence interval 0.3-1.03,P= .006) were less likely to have severe amb...
Multiple Sclerosis Journal, 2011
Background: Hispanics living with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the United States are not well defin... more Background: Hispanics living with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the United States are not well defined. Objective: To describe the clinical characteristics of MS among Hispanic Whites (HW) in Southern California with those of non-Hispanic Whites (NHW). Methods: We performed a medical chart review to identify all cases of HW with MS ( n = 125) who were treated at our institution during a 1-year period. We also identified cases of NHW with MS (100 NHW) treated at those clinics. All HW patients were interviewed to ascertain ancestry including detailed migration history. Disease progression was assessed by ambulatory disability and defined as Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score ≥6. Results: Compared with NHW, HW were more likely to have a relapsing–remitting form of MS and a younger age of onset (28.4 ± 0.97 years) with presenting symptoms of optic neuritis and transverse myelitis. However, overall ambulatory disability did not differ between HW and NHW. Migration to the US at ag...
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2011
Rationale: Emerging evidence indicates that psychosocial stress enhances the effect of traffic ex... more Rationale: Emerging evidence indicates that psychosocial stress enhances the effect of traffic exposure on the development of asthma. Objectives: We hypothesized that psychosocial stress would also modify the effect of traffic exposure on lung function deficits. Methods: We studied 1,399 participants in the Southern California Children's Health Study undergoing lung function testing (mean age, 11.2 yr). We used hierarchical mixed models to assess the joint effect of traffic-related air pollution and stress on lung function. Measurements and Main Results: Psychosocial stress in each child's household was assessed based on parental response to the perceived stress scale (range, 0-16) at study entry. Exposures to nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, and total oxides of nitrogen (NO x), surrogates of the traffic-related pollution mixture, were estimated at schools and residences based on a land-use regression model. Among children from high-stress households (parental perceived stress scale .4) deficits in FEV 1 of 4.5 (95% confidence interval, 26.5 to 22.4) and of 2.8% (25.7 to 0.3) were associated with each 21.8 ppb increase in NO x at homes and schools, respectively. These pollutant effects were significantly larger in the high-stress compared with lower-stress households (interaction P value 0.007 and 0.05 for residential and school NOx, respectively). No significant NOx effects were observed in children from low-stress households. A similar pattern of association was observed for FVC. The observed associations for FEV 1 and FVC remained after adjusting for sociodemographic factors and after restricting the analysis to children who do not have asthma. Conclusions: A high-stress home environment is associated with increased susceptibility to lung function effects of air pollution both at home and at school.
Thorax, 2013
Background Previous studies have reported adverse effects of either regional or near-roadway air ... more Background Previous studies have reported adverse effects of either regional or near-roadway air pollution (NRAP) on lung function. However, there has been little study of the joint effects of these exposures. Objectives To assess the joint effects of NRAP and regional pollutants on childhood lung function in the Children's Health Study. Methods Lung function was measured on 1811 children from eight Southern Californian communities. NRAP exposure was assessed based on (1) residential distance to the nearest freeway or major road and (2) estimated near-roadway contributions to residential nitrogen dioxide (NO 2), nitric oxide (NO) and total nitrogen oxides (NO x). Exposure to regional ozone (O 3), NO 2 , particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter <10 mm (PM 10) and 2.5 mm (PM 2.5) was measured continuously at community monitors. Results An increase in near-roadway NO x of 17.9 ppb (2 SD) was associated with deficits of 1.6% in forced vital capacity (FVC) (p=0.005) and 1.1% in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV 1) (p=0.048). Effects were observed in all communities and were similar for NO 2 and NO. Residential proximity to a freeway was associated with a reduction in FVC. Lung function deficits of 2-3% were associated with regional PM 10 and PM 2.5 (FVC and FEV 1) and with O 3 (FEV 1), but not NO 2 across the range of exposure between communities. Associations with regional pollution and NRAP were independent in models adjusted for each. The effects of NRAP were not modified by regional pollutant concentrations. Conclusions The results indicate that NRAP and regional air pollution have independent adverse effects on childhood lung function.
Journal of thoracic disease, 2018
Oxidative stress is involved in thoracic diseases and health responses to air pollution. Malondia... more Oxidative stress is involved in thoracic diseases and health responses to air pollution. Malondialdehyde (MDA) is a well-established marker of oxidative stress, but it may be present in unconjugated and conjugated forms. To our knowledge, no studies have conducted a systemic evaluation of both free MDA (unconjugated MDA) and total MDA (the sum of both unconjugated and conjugated MDA) across various types of human biospecimens. Free MDA and total MDA were simultaneously measured in a range of human biospecimens, including nasal fluid (N=158), saliva (N=158), exhaled breath condensate (N=40), serum (N=232), and urine (N=429). All samples were analyzed using an HPLC-fluorescence method with high sensitivity and specificity. Due to the right skewed distribution of free MDA and total MDA, we performed natural-log transformation before subsequent statistical analyses. The relationship between the natural log of free and total MDA was evaluated by R of simple linear regression. T test was ...
Pediatrics, 2008
Objective-Associations between single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the β2-adrenergic receptor gene... more Objective-Associations between single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the β2-adrenergic receptor gene and asthma and wheeze have been inconsistent. Recent studies indicated that tobacco smoke affects β2-adrenergic receptor gene expression and associations of β2-adrenergic receptor gene variants with asthma in adults. We aimed to investigate the joint effects of in utero and childhood secondhand tobacco smoke exposure and 2 well-characterized functional single-nucleotide polymorphisms (Arg16Gly and Glu27Gln) of β2-adrenergic receptor gene on asthma and wheezing in 3128 non-Hispanic and Hispanic white children of the Children's Health Study. Methods-We fitted logistic regression models to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the independent and joint effects of these single-nucleotide polymorphisms and in utero and secondhand tobacco smoke exposure on asthma and wheeze outcomes. Results-Exposures to in utero maternal smoking and secondhand tobacco smoke were associated with wheezing. Children who were homozygous for the Arg16 allele and were exposed to maternal smoking in utero were at a threefold increased risk for lifetime wheeze compared with children who were unexposed and had at least 1 Gly16 allele. We found similar joint effects of secondhand tobacco smoke and Arg16Gly with wheezing. The risk for lifetime, current, and nocturnal wheeze increased with the number of smokers at home among Arg16 homozygous children. The results were consistent in 2 cohorts of children recruited in 1993 and 1996. Diplotype-based analyses were consistent with the single-nucleotide polymorphism-specific results. No associations were found for Glu27Gln. Conclusions-Both in utero and childhood exposure to tobacco smoke were associated with an increased risk for wheeze in children, and the risks were greater for children with the Arg16Arg genotype or 2 copies of the Arg16-Gln27 diplotype. Exposures to smoking need to be taken into account when evaluating the effects of β2-adrenergic receptor gene variants on respiratory health outcomes.
J Allerg Clin Immunol, 2000
B94. GENE ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION INVOLVING OXIDATIVE STRESS AND INFLAMMATORY PATHWAYS IN ASTHMA AND COPD, 2009
B47. ASTHMA EPIDEMIOLOGY: CLINICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS OF ASTHMA OUTCOMES, 2010
B94. CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY AND PHENOTYPE, 2010
B56. MEASURING LUNG FUNCTION AND INFLAMMATION IN CHILDREN, 2010
C104. AIR POLLUTION EPIDEMIOLOGY, 2011
A45. GENETIC BASIS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND OCCUPATIONAL RESPIRATORY DISEASES, 2009
Preventive Medicine, 2003
Although active smoking acutely increases arterial stiffness, the association between arterial st... more Although active smoking acutely increases arterial stiffness, the association between arterial stiffness and chronic exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) has not been evaluated. We used baseline data from the Vitamin E Atherosclerosis Prevention Study to evaluate the association between ETS exposure and arterial stiffness among 227 healthy adult nonsmokers. B-mode ultrasonograms of the common carotid artery were used to compute the carotid arterial wall stiffness index beta. Beta was compared by the number of sources and daily hours of ETS exposure. The carotid stiffness index beta was positively associated with age, body mass index (BMI), fasting glucose, and common carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT). In the total sample, beta was not related to the number of ETS exposure sources. The carotid stiffness index beta increased with number of sources and daily hours of ETS in subjects with BMI &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; or =27.1 kg/m2 and IMT &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; or =0.707 mm. The association was not apparent in subjects with lower BMI or IMT (for number of ETS sources, interaction P values=0.006 and 0.01, respectively). For number of ETS sources, but not hours of exposure, positive associations were apparent among females (but not males) and among subjects &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; or =55 years old (but not younger subjects). These data indicate that arterial stiffness is adversely associated with ETS in a dose-dependent manner among individuals with higher BMI and greater carotid artery IMT.
A51. GENETIC STUDIES OF LUNG DISEASE, 2011
Environmental Health, 2014
Background: Biologically plausible mechanisms link traffic-related air pollution to metabolic dis... more Background: Biologically plausible mechanisms link traffic-related air pollution to metabolic disorders and potentially to obesity. Here we sought to determine whether traffic density and traffic-related air pollution were positively associated with growth in body mass index (BMI = kg/m 2) in children aged 5-11 years. Methods: Participants were drawn from a prospective cohort of children who lived in 13 communities across Southern California (N = 4550). Children were enrolled while attending kindergarten and first grade and followed for 4 years, with height and weight measured annually. Dispersion models were used to estimate exposure to traffic-related air pollution. Multilevel models were used to estimate and test traffic density and traffic pollution related to BMI growth. Data were collected between 2002-2010 and analyzed in 2011-12. Results: Traffic pollution was positively associated with growth in BMI and was robust to adjustment for many confounders. The effect size in the adjusted model indicated about a 13.6% increase in annual BMI growth when comparing the lowest to the highest tenth percentile of air pollution exposure, which resulted in an increase of nearly 0.4 BMI units on attained BMI at age 10. Traffic density also had a positive association with BMI growth, but this effect was less robust in multivariate models. Conclusions: Traffic pollution was positively associated with growth in BMI in children aged 5-11 years. Traffic pollution may be controlled via emission restrictions; changes in land use that promote jobs-housing balance and use of public transit and hence reduce vehicle miles traveled; promotion of zero emissions vehicles; transit and car-sharing programs; or by limiting high pollution traffic, such as diesel trucks, from residential areas or places where children play outdoors, such as schools and parks. These measures may have beneficial effects in terms of reduced obesity formation in children.
B65. EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF LUNG CELL FUNCTION, 2012
Thorax, 2007
The interrelationships between air pollution, lung function and the incidence of childhood asthma... more The interrelationships between air pollution, lung function and the incidence of childhood asthma have yet to be established. A study was undertaken to determine whether lung function is associated with new onset asthma and whether this relationship varies by exposure to ambient air pollutants. A cohort of children aged 9-10 years without asthma or wheeze at study entry were identified from the Children's Health Study and followed for 8 years. The participants resided in 12 communities with a wide range of ambient air pollutants that were measured continuously. Spirometric testing was performed and a medical diagnosis of asthma was ascertained annually. Proportional hazard regression models were fitted to investigate the relationship between lung function at study entry and the subsequent development of asthma and to determine whether air pollutants modify these associations. The level of airway flow was associated with new onset asthma. Over the 10th-90th percentile range of fo...