Exposure to airborne polychlorinated biphenyls and type 2 diabetes in a Danish cohort

Maternal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls in indoor air and asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic eczema, and respiratory tract infections in childhood

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are industrial chemicals commonly found in food and building materials. PCBs are immunotoxic and may disturb the fetal programming of the immune and respiratory systems. We evaluated the association between maternal PCB exposure in indoor air and asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic eczema, and respiratory infections in the offspring in the Health Effects of PCBs in Indoor Air (HESPAIR) cohort. This register-based study examined 7982 children born to mothers residing in two partially PCB contaminated residential areas in Greater Copenhagen before and/or during pregnancy. Children were included if their mothers at any point had lived in a contaminated or uncontaminated apartment in the period from 3.6 years prior to conception until the date of birth. PCB exposure was defined as mothers' number of years in an apartment prior to birth of the child multiplied with the PCB concentration in indoor air based on air measurements. Information on the outcomes was retrieved from the Danish health registers from 1977 to 2018. We estimated adjusted hazard ratios using Cox regression. Our main analyses revealed no association between maternal exposure to PCBs in indoor air and any of the studied allergic and respiratory outcomes. Findings of sensitivity analyses were consistent with main analyses. While these findings may appear reassuring for the considerable number of people living or working in PCB contaminated indoor environments, they should be interpreted with caution due to the indirect measure of exposure, incomplete registration of diagnoses, and lack of supporting evidence from comparable studies.

A review of recent advances in metal-organic frameworks materials for zero-energy passive adsorption of chemical pollutants in indoor environments

Approximately 75-90 % of a person's lifetime is spent inside increasingly airtight buildings, where indoor pollutant levels typically exceed those outdoors. Poor indoor air quality can lead to allergies, respiratory diseases, and even cancer, and can also reduce the longevity of buildings. Passive adsorption materials play a crucial role in reducing indoor pollutants. This review highlights the latest advances in using Metal-organic Frameworks (MOFs) as passive adsorption materials for indoor pollutant capture and outlines the principles for developing high-performance adsorbents. It provides a comparative analysis of the development and performance of MOFs and composite adsorbent materials, highlighting their respective advantages and limitations in indoor pollutant adsorption technology. The article proposes strategies to address these challenges and offers a comprehensive review of current practical adsorption devices. Finally, aiming to advance commercialization of MOFs, the anticipated development of indoor pollutant adsorption technology is discussed in this paper.

The association between blue light exposure and incidence of type 2 diabetes: A prospective study of UK biobank

BACKGROUND

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is the most common type of diabetes. However, research on the relationship between blue light exposure and diabetes development is limited.

OBJECTIVE

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between blue light exposure and T2D incidence and whether it is affected by sleep duration, physical activity, outdoor activity time, and genetic susceptibility.

METHODS

A total of 471,686 participants without diabetes were recruited from the UK Biobank cohort. T2D incidence was assessed using hospital inpatient records. Blue light exposure was calculated based on the time spent watching TV, using a computer, and playing computer games, which was determined using an online questionnaire. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to assess the survival relationship between blue light exposure and T2D, as well as the potential modification effects.

RESULT

A total of 18,738 cases of T2D were documented during the median follow-up of 13.04 years. After adjusting for potential confounders, the participants with heavy blue light exposure had a greater risk of T2D compared to those with mild blue light exposure (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.17, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.12-1.23). A significant association between blue light exposure and T2D risk was observed among the participants with heavy physical activity (HR = 1.39, 95%CI: 1.25-1.55), healthy sleep habits (HR = 1.23, 95%CI: 1.10-1.36), higher outdoor activity time (HR = 1.14, 95%CI: 1.07-1.22), or high genetic susceptibility (HR = 1.24, 95%CI: 1.14-1.35). However, this association became non-significant among the participants with low genetic susceptibility (HR = 1.05, 95%CI: 0.97-1.15).

CONCLUSION

The present study showed that blue light exposure is associated with a greater risk of T2D independent of classical T2D risk factors.