Environmental health perspectives

Exposure to environmental pollutants may contribute to the development of coronary heart disease (CHD). We determined the ZIP codes containing or abutting each of the approximately 900 hazardous waste sites in New York and identified the ma…

We reported recently that several organic contaminants occurred at elevated concentrations in farmed Atlantic salmon compared with concentrations of the same contaminants in wild Pacific salmon [Hites et al. Science 303: 226-229 (2004)]. We…

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorobenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), a halogenated compound that binds the aryl hydrocarbon receptor, is a by-product of numerous industrial processes including waste incineration. Studies in rats and monkeys suggest that TCDD may affe…

Xenoestrogens (XEs) are widespread in our environment and are known to have deleterious effects in animal (and perhaps human) populations. Acting as inappropriate estrogens, XEs are thought to interfere with endogenous estrogens such as est…

In 1976, a chemical plant explosion near Seveso, Italy, resulted in the highest known exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in residential populations. In 1996, we initiated the Seveso Women's Health Study (SWHS), a histori…

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), a widespread environmental contaminant, is associated with delays in pubertal development in animal studies. On 10 July 1976, as a result of a chemical explosion, residents of Seveso, Italy, exper…

Detection, quantification, and prognosis of environmental exposures in humans has been vastly enhanced by the ability of epidemiologists to collect biospecimens for toxicologic or other laboratory evaluation. Ease of collection and level of…

Under the auspices of the Society for Women's Health Research, a thought leaders' roundtable was convened at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in October 2002 to discuss recent advances in environmental health research…

In this article we consider the importance of assessing endocrine disruption in a large new cohort that has been proposed, the National Children's Study (NCS). We briefly review evidence that endocrine disruption is a potentially important …

Azole compounds play a key role as antifungals in agriculture and in human mycoses and as non-steroidal antiestrogens in the treatment of estrogen-responsive breast tumors in postmenopausal women. This broad use of azoles is based on their …

Using data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, we assessed measures of puberty in U.S. girls in relation to blood lead levels to determine whether sexual maturation may be affected by current environmental lead …

Stressors as subtle as night work or shift work can lead to irregular menstrual cycles, and changes in reproductive hormone profiles can adversely affect bone health. This study was conducted to determine if stresses associated with the dis…

Developing organisms have increased susceptibility to cancer if they are exposed to environmental toxicants during rapid growth and differentiation. Human studies have demonstrated clear increases in cancer after prenatal exposure to ionizi…

Uterine leiomyomas, or fibroids, represent a major public health problem. It is believed that these tumors develop in the majority of American women and become symptomatic in one-third of these women. They are the most frequent indication f…

We studied associations between lifestyle/medical factors and lipid-adjusted serum concentrations of seven polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners and five chlorinated pesticides/metabolites among 205 Swedish women (54-75 years old). Serum…