R01ES033413

Extreme Weather, Air Pollution, and Stroke Among an Aging Female Population - Abstract

This application is in response to the PAR-19-250: "Environmental Influences on Aging: Effects of Extreme Weather and Disaster Events on Aging Populations." Air pollutants are especially detrimental for aging populations; exposure to air pollution as measured by ambient particulate matter (e.g., PM2.5) has been linked to diseases that increase with age, including cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and stroke.

Older women (who outnumber men 3:2) are particularly susceptible to CVD endpoints and to stroke risk in particular; stroke risk in women doubles immediately following menopause. Extreme weather events such as wildfires and prolonged drought in the last decade alone have adversely affected air pollution exposure in states such as California. A number of metropolitan counties in the state have particulate pollution levels above federal and state ambient standards, and during extreme weather events, these levels rival that of the worst cities in the world.

Our overall study objective is to evaluate the intersection of extreme weather events and air pollution in an aging female population who are at increased risk for CVDs, and in particular, at peak susceptibility for stroke.

In Aim 1, we will evaluate the acute effects from wildfire events by ascertaining stroke events within geographically affected areas based on satellite imagery. Elevated PM2.5 exposure estimates resulting from a wildfire event in the affected areas will be associated with hospitalizations (including emergency room visits) from stroke and CVD.

In Aim 2, we will determine the role of specific PM2.5 components in stroke risk and mortality. Employing complementary satellite- and source-based approaches, we will identify key sources of PM2.5 and its chemical constituents that are attributable to stroke. Leveraging 25 years of follow-up from the study population, this aim will permit us to delineate components of air pollution from drought and wildfire events versus other (e.g., transportation, industrial) exposures. For both aims, select CVD endpoints (e.g., myocardial infarction) will also be explored.

In Aim 3, we will evaluate the association between PM2.5 exposure with serum immune markers among 2000 participants whose exposures reflect a cross-section of exposure during the 2015 drought and wildfire season. This aim will inform the purported biologic underpinning for stroke and CVD risk, by key PM2.5 sources and constituents.

To successfully accomplish these aims, we will leverage longitudinal data from the California Teachers Study, a geographically-defined population-based cohort study of 133,479 women whose 25-year follow-up spans: (a) key periods of stroke and CVD susceptibility in women, and (b) elevated levels of air pollution exposure in California where there have been prolonged periods of drought and numerous wildfires.

Beckman Research Institute Of The City Of Hope

TO FOSTER UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN HEALTH EFFECTS OF EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL AGENTS IN THE HOPE THAT THESE STUDIES WILL LEAD TO: THE IDENTIFICATION OF AGENTS THAT POSE A HAZARD AND THREAT OF DISEASE, DISORDERS AND DEFECTS IN HUMANS, THE DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE PUBLIC HEALTH OR DISEASE PREVENTION STRATEGIES, THE OVERALL IMPROVEMENT OF HUMAN HEALTH EFFECTS DUE TO ENVIRONMENTAL AGENTS, THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRODUCTS AND TECHNOLOGIES DESIGNED TO BETTER STUDY OR AMELIORATE THE EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL AGENTS, AND THE SUCCESSFUL TRAINING OF RESEARCH SCIENTISTS IN ALL AREAS OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH. SUPPORTED GRANT PROGRAMS FOCUS ON THE FOLLOWING AREAS: (1) UNDERSTANDING BIOLOGICAL RESPONSES TO ENVIRONMENTAL AGENTS BY DETERMINING HOW CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL AGENTS CAUSE PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN MOLECULES, CELLS, TISSUES, AND ORGANS, AND BECOME MANIFESTED AS RESPIRATORY DISEASE, NEUROLOGICAL, BEHAVIORAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL ABNORMALITIES, CANCER, AND OTHER DISORDERS, (2) DETERMINING THE MECHANISMS OF TOXICITY OF UBIQUITOUS AGENTS LIKE METALS, NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC CHEMICALS, PESTICIDES, AND MATERIALS SUCH AS NANOPARTICLES, AND NATURAL TOXIC SUBSTANCES, AND THEIR EFFECTS OF ON VARIOUS HUMAN ORGAN SYSTEMS, ON METABOLISM, ON THE ENDOCRINE AND IMMUNE SYSTEMS, AND ON OTHER BIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS, (3) DEVELOPING AND INTEGRATING SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE ABOUT POTENTIALLY TOXIC AND HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS BY CONCENTRATING ON TOXICOLOGICAL RESEARCH, TESTING, TEST DEVELOPMENT, VALIDATION AND RISK ESTIMATION, (4) IDENTIFYING INTERACTIONS BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS AND GENETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY AND UNDERSTANDING BIOLOGIC MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THESE INTERACTIONS, INCLUDING THE STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON EPIGENOMICS AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION, (5) CONDUCTING ENVIRONMENTAL PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH, INCLUDING IN AREAS OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND HEALTH DISPARITIES, THAT REQUIRES COMMUNITIES AS ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS IN ALL STAGES OF RESEARCH, DISSEMINATION, AND EVALUATION TO ADVANCE BOTH THE SCIENCE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRACTICAL MATERIALS FOR USE IN COMMUNITIES, WITH A FOCUS ON TRANSLATING RESEARCH FINDINGS INTO TOOLS, MATERIALS, AND RESOURCES THAT CAN BE USED TO PREVENT, REDUCE, OR ELIMINATE ADVERSE HEALTH OUTCOMES CAUSED BY ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES, (6) EXPANDING AND IMPROVING THE SBIR PROGRAM, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TO INCREASE SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, (7) EXPANDING AND IMPROVING THE STTR PROGRAM TO STIMULATE AND FOSTER SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, (8) PROVIDING SUPPORT FOR BROADLY BASED MULTI-DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND TRAINING PROGRAMS IN ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH .THESE PROGRAMS INCLUDE THE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES CORE CENTERS , WHICH SERVE AS NATIONAL FOCAL POINTS AND RESOURCES FOR RESEARCH AND MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT. THROUGH THESE PROGRAMS, NIEHS EXPECTS TO ACHIEVE THE LONG-RANGE GOAL OF DEVELOPING NEW CLINICAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH APPLICATIONS TO IMPROVE DISEASE PREVENTION, DIAGNOSIS, AND THERAPY. ADDITIONAL CENTERS PROGRAMS DEVELOPED IN RECENT YEARS, INCLUDE THE CENTERS FOR OCEANS AND HUMAN HEALTH (CO-FUNDED WITH NSF), CHILDREN'S ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CENTERS (CO-FUNDED WITH US EPA) AND THE AUTISM CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE (CO-FUNDED WITH OTHER NIH INSTITUTES), AND THE HUMAN HEALTH EXPOSURE ANALYSIS RESOURCE (HHEAR) PROGRAM, (9) SUPPORTING RESEARCH TRAINING PROGRAMS WHICH SERVE TO INCREASE THE POOL OF TRAINED RESEARCH MANPOWER WITH NEEDED EXPERTISE IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES THROUGH SUPPORT OF INDIVIDUAL AND INSTITUTIONAL NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARDS (NRSAS), (10) THE OUTSTANDING NEW ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST PROGRAM WHICH PROVIDES FIRST TIME RESEARCH GRANT FUNDING TO OUTSTANDING JUNIOR SCIENTISTS IN THE FORMATIVE STAGES OF THEIR CAREER WHO ARE PROPOSING TO MAKE A LONG TERM COMMITMENT TO ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES RESEARCH AND TO ADDRESS THE ADVERSE EFFECTS ON ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES ON HUMAN BIOLOGY, HUMAN PATHOPHYSIOLOGY AND HUMAN DISEASE.

93.113 - Environmental Health

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) [HHS - NIH]

Duarte, California 910103012 United States

Single Zip Code

Environmental Influences on Aging: Effects of Extreme Weather and Disaster Events on Aging Populations (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) (PAR-19-250)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 324% from $752,072 to $3,191,631.