Traditional and Emerging Pollutants: Human Exposure Profiles and Health Effects

A special issue of Toxics (ISSN 2305-6304). This special issue belongs to the section "Human Toxicology and Epidemiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 27 December 2024 | Viewed by 5266

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China
Interests: environmental exposure and fetal development; environmental exposure and reproductive health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Studies have shown that the number of high-volume toxic and hazardous chemicals, which are persistent, bioaccumulative, carcinogenic, mutagenic, and have reproductive toxicity, has now reached more than 600. These chemicals can enter the environment at all stages of production, processing, use, and consumption, posing potential environmental and health risks.

Toxic and hazardous chemicals are the main sources of emerging contaminants (ECs), and there are currently four main categories of ECs that we are concerned about: persistent organic pollutants (POPs), endocrine disruptors, antibiotics, and microplastics. They are considered to be hot research topics in the future. Humans can be exposed to them either due to their occupations or through dietary and environmental exposure (water, soil, and air), and it is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid exposure to traditional and emerging pollutants. However, the paucity of studies on ECs and the inconsistency of their findings remain controversial. The aim of this Special Issue is to identify reliable evidence showing the effects of compound exposure to traditional and emerging pollutants on the health of adult male and female, as well as on fetus growth and development.

Therefore, in this Special Issue, “Traditional and Emerging Pollutants: Human Exposure Profiles and Health Effects”, we accept excellent research that addresses one or more of the following topics, among others:

  • Emerging pollutants;
  • Human exposure profiles;
  • Mixed exposure;
  • Health damage.

Prof. Dr. Pan Yang
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • exposure assessment
  • emerging pollutants
  • mixed exposure
  • health effect and damage
  • epigenomics

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 1829 KiB  
Article
Leukocyte Telomere Length Mediates the Associations between Blood Lead and Cadmium with Hypertension among Adults in the United States: A Cross-Sectional Study
by Changping Ouyang, Yinan Yang, Jinhua Pan, Heming Liu, Xuemei Wang, Shengze Zhou, Xiaoru Shi, Yanxia Zhang, Dan Wang and Xiaobin Hu
Toxics 2024, 12(6), 409; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics12060409 - 3 Jun 2024
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Abstract
There is evidence to support the links between lead and cadmium exposure with hypertension and also with leukocyte telomere length (LTL). The objective of this study is to investigate the role that LTL may play in the relationship between lead and cadmium exposure [...] Read more.
There is evidence to support the links between lead and cadmium exposure with hypertension and also with leukocyte telomere length (LTL). The objective of this study is to investigate the role that LTL may play in the relationship between lead and cadmium exposure and hypertension. This study consisted of 3718 participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999–2002. Logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between blood metals with hypertension, and the mediating model was used to evaluate the mediating effect of LTL. In the fully adjusted model, both blood lead and cadmium ln-transformed concentrations were significantly positively associated with hypertension risk, as were all quartiles of blood lead. Additionally, we observed positive linear dose–response relationships with hypertension by restricted cubic spline analysis (both p overall < 0.001, p non-linear = 0.3008 for lead and p non-linear = 0.7611 for cadmium). The ln-transformed blood lead and cadmium concentrations were associated with shorter LTL. LTL was inversely related to hypertension and the OR was 0.65 (95% CI: 0.47 to 0.89). Furthermore, LTL had mediating effects on the associations of blood lead and cadmium with hypertension risk, and the mediation proportions were 2.25% and 4.20%, respectively. Our findings suggested that exposure to lead and cadmium raised the risk of hypertension, while LTL played as a mediating factor. Full article
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13 pages, 851 KiB  
Article
Temporal Trend of Serum Perfluorooctanoic Acid and Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid among U.S. Adults with or without Comorbidities in NHANES 1999–2018
by Jinhua Pan, Changping Ouyang, Shengze Zhou, Xuemei Wang, Heming Liu, Jia Zhang, Xiao Wang, Xiaoru Shi, Aimin Yang and Xiaobin Hu
Toxics 2024, 12(5), 314; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics12050314 - 26 Apr 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1770
Abstract
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are associated with adverse health effects. This study examined the trend of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) levels in individuals with and without pre-existing comorbidities. We analyzed the characteristics of 13,887 participants across nine U.S. [...] Read more.
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are associated with adverse health effects. This study examined the trend of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) levels in individuals with and without pre-existing comorbidities. We analyzed the characteristics of 13,887 participants across nine U.S. NHANES cycles (1999–2000 to 2017–2018) and calculated the geometric mean (GM) of PFOA and PFOS levels, standardized by sex and age. A joinpoint regression model was used to analyze the temporal trends of serum PFOA and PFOS levels. We observed declining PFOA and PFOS serum levels among adults in NHANES from 1999–2000 to 2017–2018. Serum PFOA and PFOS concentrations were higher in men, smokers, and individuals with pre-existing CKD, hyperlipidemia, CVD, and cancer. We observed faster decline rates in PFOA levels among individuals with diabetes and CKD and faster decline rates in PFOS levels among individuals with diabetes and those without CKD. This study provided evidence of varying levels and changing trends of PFOA and PFOS between groups with and without established chronic disease, highlighting the role of environmental chemicals in the onset and development of chronic diseases. Full article
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Review

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29 pages, 1448 KiB  
Review
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Affect Female Reproductive Health: Epidemiological Evidence and Underlying Mechanisms
by Rui Qu, Jingxuan Wang, Xiaojie Li, Yan Zhang, Tailang Yin and Pan Yang
Toxics 2024, 12(9), 678; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics12090678 - 18 Sep 2024
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Abstract
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) have been extensively used across numerous industries and consumer goods. Due to their high persistence and mobility, they are ubiquitous in the environment. Exposure to PFAS occurs in people via multiple pathways such as dermal contact, water supply, [...] Read more.
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) have been extensively used across numerous industries and consumer goods. Due to their high persistence and mobility, they are ubiquitous in the environment. Exposure to PFAS occurs in people via multiple pathways such as dermal contact, water supply, air inhalation, and dietary intake. Even if some PFAS are being phased out because of their persistent presence in the environment and harmful impacts on human health, mixes of replacement and legacy PFAS will continue to pollute the ecosystem. Numerous toxicological investigations have revealed harmful effects of PFAS exposure on female reproductive health, e.g., polycystic ovaries syndrome, premature ovarian failure, endometriosis, reproductive system tumors, pregnancy complications, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Despite extensive epidemiological studies on the reproductive toxicity of PFAS, research findings remain inconsistent, and the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. In this review, we give an in-depth description of the sources and pathways of PFAS, and then review the reproductive toxicity of PFAS and its possible mechanisms. Full article
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