R01ES033705

Circulating levels of persistent organic pollutants and subclinical atherosclerosis progression in postmenopausal women - Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in women in the US and globally. Menopausal transition poses remarkably elevated risk of CVD, making postmenopausal women a population of special attention. There is an increasing concern about the exposure to environmental chemicals, particularly persistent organic pollutants (POPs), that disrupt human endocrine milieu and adversely affect cardiovascular health.

The bioaccumulation of POPs over lifetime induces significant long-term health impact, especially among older population. However, the long-term effect of POPs on subclinical atherosclerosis progression, an early pathological feature of CVD, has not been studied well in postmenopausal women. In addition, the effect of POPs on atherosclerosis progression has not been evaluated in the US population.

To our knowledge, no longitudinal study has been conducted to investigate the effects of POP mixtures and atherosclerosis progression. The only longitudinal study reporting an adverse effect of a specific class of POPs, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), on increased carotid intima-media thickness (IMT, ultrasound) over 10 years was from a Swedish senior cohort.

To fill the gaps in our understanding, we will investigate the long-term associations of plasma POPs concentrations and atherosclerosis progression in postmenopausal women in a unique cohort; Early vs Late Intervention Trial with Estradiol (ELITE) with 5-year longitudinal measurements of subclinical carotid atherosclerosis including gold-standard ultrasound measures (IMT, echogenicity, and stiffness) and frozen plasma samples to analyze absolute concentrations of 60 POPs from four main classes (polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), organochlorinated pesticides (OCPs), and PFASs).

ELITE is a randomized clinical trial including 596 early (<6 years since menopause) and late (=10 years since menopause) postmenopausal women comparing rates of atherosclerosis progression over 5 years between women randomized to hormone therapy (HT) and placebo. Beyond the goal of investigating the effect of POP mixtures on atherosclerosis progression, we will investigate the impact of POP mixtures on risk factors of atherosclerosis including metabolic (lipids, glucose, HbA1c, and insulin resistance) and inflammatory biomarkers.

Important covariates including the design factors (HT and placebo, early and late-postmenopausal groups), obesity, smoking, diet, and physical activity will be adjusted for in the analysis. To assess the generalizability of the adverse effect of POP exposure across various subgroups of postmenopausal women, we will evaluate POPs' associations with atherosclerosis progression in subgroups of women randomized to HT and placebo, as well as early and late postmenopausal groups.

This study will provide important evidence on long-term effect of POP mixtures on atherosclerosis progression and related metabolic and inflammatory pathophysiology among postmenopausal women who are at high risk of CVD. Findings from this study will help identify key individual and subgroups of POPs as targets for regulations, remediations, and CVD prevention.

University Of Southern California

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]

Los Angeles, California 900323600 United States

Single Zip Code

NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (PA-20-185)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 400% from $701,248 to $3,506,220.