A study examining increased preterm birth rates in the United States has found “little evidence of a relationship between BPA [bisphenol A] and prematurity.” David Cantonwine, et al., “Urinary Bisphenol A Levels during Pregnancy and Risk of Preterm Birth,” Environmental Health Perspectives, September 2015. After analyzing urinary BPA levels throughout pregnancy in 130 cases of preterm birth (PTB) and 352 randomly assigned controls, researchers with Harvard Medical School and University of Michigan School of Public Health report that, “[i]n adjusted models, urinary BPA averaged across pregnancy was not significantly associated with PTB.” They note, however, that “averaged BPA exposure during pregnancy was associated with significantly increased odds of being delivered preterm among females, but not males.” “Our study had several strengths, including a repeated time point assessment of BPA exposure, ultrasound dating of gestational age, physician-validated clinical outcomes, and a large number of subjects and preterm cases, which allowed for exploring…
Category Archives Scientific/Technical Items
A case-control study has reportedly identified a “significant” association between bovine leukemia virus (BLV) infection and human breast cancer. Gertrude Case Buehring, et al., “Exposure to Bovine Leukemia Virus Is Associated with Breast Cancer: A Case-Control Study,” PLoS One, September 2015. After analyzing breast tissue specimens obtained from 239 donors for the presence of BLV, University of California, Berkeley, researchers apparently detected BLV “in the mammary epithelium of 59% of women diagnosed with breast cancer versus 29% of those with no history of breast cancer.” They further suggest that “as many as 37% of breast cancer cases may be attributable to BLV exposure,” with an odds ratio “comparable to that of commonly cited reproductive, hormone, and lifestyle risk factors for non-hereditary (sporadic) breast cancer.” As explained in a concurrent press release, a 2014 study published in Emerging Infectious Diseases confirmed the presence of BLV in humans, though it is currently…
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published research examining self-reported efforts to reduce sodium intake among U.S. adults in 26 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Jing Fang, et al., “Sodium Intake Among U.S. Adults — 26 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, 2013,” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, July 3, 2015. Based on data from 180,067 participants, the results evidently show that across all locations, “the median prevalence of taking action to reduce sodium intake was 51%,” while “the median prevalence of receiving health professional advice to reduce sodium intake was 22%.” The study authors also report that the Southern U.S. Census Region had the highest proportion of respondents that took action or received a professional recommendation to reduce sodium intake. “The data in this report highlight the opportunity to increase the proportion of health care professionals who advise their patients to reduce sodium…
Tufts University researchers have purportedly implicated sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in 184,000 deaths worldwide each year after estimating the role of SSB consumption in adiposity-related cardiovascular diseases (CVD), cancers and diabetes. Gitanjali Singh, et al., “Estimated Global, Regional, and National Disease Burdens Related to Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption in 2010,” Circulation, July 2015. Relying on data from 611,971 individuals surveyed between 1980 and 2010, “along with data on national availability of sugar in 187 countries and other information,” the study estimates that SSB consumption allegedly contributed to 133,000 deaths from diabetes, 45,000 deaths from CVD, and 6,450 deaths from cancer. It also notes that among the most populous countries, Mexico had the largest absolute and proportional deaths from SSBs, with proportional mortality reaching 30 percent in Mexican adults younger than age 45. “The health impact of sugar-sweetened beverage intake on the young is important because younger adults form a large sector of…
Analyzing data from more than 2,500 participants enrolled in a National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute study, Tufts University researchers have reportedly concluded that “a daily sugar-sweetened beverage [SSB] habit may increase the risk for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).” Jiantao Ma, et al., “Sugar-sweetened beverage, diet soda and fatty liver disease in the Framingham Heart Study cohorts,” Journal of Hepatology, June 2015. The study relied on self-reported dietary questionnaires to assess consumption of SSBs—including soda and other sweetened carbonated beverages, fruit punches, lemonade and non-carbonated fruit drinks—then used computer tomography (CT) scans “to measure the amount of fat in the liver.” Although the study found no association between diet soda intake and NAFLD, it evidently reported “a higher prevalence of NAFLD among people who reported drinking more than one [SSB] per day compared to people who said they drank no [SSBs].” “Our study adds to a growing body of research…
A study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Healthy Eating Research Program claims that a decrease in TV food advertisements directed to children is “likely related to a shift in marketing tactics” as advertisers “migrate to new media such as Internet-based advergames and social media.” Dale Kunkel, et al., “Evaluating Industry Self-Regulation of Food Marketing to Children,” American Journal of Preventative Medicine, May 2015. After conducting a “systemic content analysis of food advertisements appearing in children’s TV programs on the most popular cable and broadcast channels,” the researchers report a decline of 25 percent in the rate at which food ads appeared during children’s programming. They also note a decrease in the use of licensed characters among signatories of the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative. The study opines, however, that the foods and beverages advertised to children still fail to meet stringent nutritional standards. “The lack of significant improvement in…
More than 200 scientists have signed a statement published in Environmental Health Perspectives that calls for limits on the use of certain water- and grease-resistant chemicals in industrial and consumer products. Describing these chemicals as “very persistent” once released into the environment, The Madrid Statement on Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) claims that animal studies have apparently linked long-chain PFASs to “liver toxicity, disruption of lipid metabolism and the immune and endocrine systems, adverse neurobehavioral effects, neonatal toxicity and death, and tumors in multiple organ systems.” In addition, the signatories point to a dearth of public information on shortchain alternatives or the current levels of PFASs in the environment. Citing these concerns, The Madrid Statement urges governments to restrict the use of PFASs, enforce labeling provisions and require industry to (i) “conduct more extensive toxicological testing,” (ii) “make chemical structures public,” (iii) “provide validated analytical methods for detection of PFASs,” and…
A study involving 2,874 pregnant women enrolled in the Odense Child Cohort has noted “significant associations” between serum concentrations of perfluorinated alkylated substances (PFASs) and miscarriage. Tina Kold Jensen, et al., “Association between Perfluorinated Compound Exposure and Miscarriage in Danish Pregnant Women,” PLOS One, April 2015. According to the study, two types of PFASs—perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanoic sulfate (PFOS)—widely used in consumer products and food packaging for their stain-, grease- and water resistance properties are now being replaced with newer PFASs such as perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), which have shorter elimination half lives in humans. In particular, researchers report that women in the highest tertile for PFNA and PFDA exposure in pregnancy “had odds ratios of 16.5 percent ... and 3.71 percent, respectively, as compared to the lowest tertile.” Though these associations still require confirmation, the study authors warn that their findings “are of potential public…
University of Cambridge researchers report that replacing one soft drink per day with water or unsweetened coffee/tea reduced the incidence of diabetes by 14 to 25 percent in a prospective cohort of 25,639 adults enrolled in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Laura O’Connor, et al., “Prospective associations and population impact of sweet beverage intake and type 2 diabetes, and effects of substitutions with alternative beverages,” Diabetologia, May 2015. Funded by Medical Research Council and Cancer Research UK, the study relied on food diaries completed over 11 years of follow-up, during which time 874 participants developed type 2 diabetes. The findings evidently show a 22-percent increase in diabetes risk per additional daily serving of soft drink, sweetened milk beverage or artificially sweetened beverage (ASB)—although the association with ASB consumption disappeared when researchers accounted for body mass index and waist girth as markers of obesity. As the authors observed in a May…
After examining the sodium content of packaged food products sold throughout the United States in 2009, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers have reported that “fewer than half of selected food products met Food and Drug Administration [FDA] sodium-per-serving conditions for labeling as ‘healthy.’” Alexandra Lee, et al., “Sodium Content in Packaged Foods by Census Division in the United States, 2009,” Preventing Chronic Disease: Public Health Research, Practice and Policy, April 2015. Using the 2009 Nielsen ScanTrak data to identify all branded products sold in grocery stores with annual sales of $2 million or more, the study focused on products sold in three U.S. Census divisions—South Atlantic, East North Central and Pacific—representing approximately 50 percent of the U.S. population. These three regions also “reflect places with high (South Atlantic), medium (East North Central) and low (Pacific) prevalence of hypertension.” The authors then identified “products in the 10 food categories that…
