Background

Increasingly, marginalized communities are disproportionately facing the worsening effects of environmental hazards, including air pollution, water pollution, and climate change. Language isolation and accessibility has been understudied as a determinant of health. Spanish, despite being the second-most common language in the United States with some 41.8 million speakers, has been neglected among environmental health scientists. Building capacity in high-quality Spanish-language science communication, both for scientific and nonscientific audiences, can yield improvements in health disparities research, public health literacy, international collaborations, and diversity and inclusion efforts.

Objectives

In this article, we discuss the context of language diversity in environmental health sciences and offer recommendations for improving science communication in Spanish.

Discussion

English is currently the predominant language for scientific discourse, but Spanish and other non-English languages are routinely used by many environmental health science students and professionals, as well as much of the public. To more effectively conduct and communicate environmental health work in Spanish, we suggest that researchers and scientific institutions a) foster structural changes, b) train emerging scholars and support established researchers, c) tap into community ways of knowing, and d) leverage emerging technologies. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP12306.

BACKGROUND: A growing literature suggests associations between occupational pesticide exposure and respiratory health. In this study, we aimed to examine the association of exposure to insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides, individually and as a mixture, with respiratory health outcomes and rhinitis in avocado farmworkers from Michoacán, Mexico. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 105 avocado farmworkers between May and August 2021. We quantified 12 insecticide, fungicide, and herbicide metabolites in urine samples collected during two study visits (8-10 weeks apart). We collected survey data on self-reported pesticide use during the 12 months prior to the baseline survey and estimated annual exposure-intensity scores (EIS) using a semi-quantitative exposure algorithm. We also assessed respiratory symptoms, including wheezing, chest tightness, wheezing after exercise, and night cough. We used generalized linear regression models to examine associations of individual urinary metabolite concentrations and annual EIS with respiratory health outcomes and rhinitis. Mixture effects were assessed using Bayesian Weighted Quantile Sum (BWQS) regression. RESULTS: After adjusting for multiple comparisons, we observed mostly null associations of individual pesticide metabolite concentrations and annual EIS with the outcomes of interest. However, in BWQS analyses, we found evidence of a mixture association of urinary pesticide metabolites with increased odds of night cough (OR: 5.34, 95 % CrI: 1.67, 20.62). Pyrethroid metabolites 3-phenoxybenzoic acid and cis- and trans-3-(2,2-dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylic acid were the main contributors to this association (43 %). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that exposure to a mixture of pesticides, particularly pyrethroid insecticides, may be associated with night cough in avocado farmworkers.

BACKGROUND: Childhood wheeze, asthma, and allergic rhinitis are common and likely have prenatal origins. Oxidative stress is associated with respiratory disease, but the association of oxidative stress during the prenatal period with development of respiratory and atopic disease in childhood, particularly beyond the infancy period, is unknown. This study aims to investigate associations between prenatal oxidative stress, measured by maternal urinary F2-isoprostanes, and child respiratory outcomes, including effect modification by maternal race. METHODS: We prospectively studied Black (n = 717) and White (n = 363) mother-child dyads. We measured F2-isoprostanes in 2nd-trimester urine (ng/mg-creatinine). At approximately age 4, we obtained parent report of provider-diagnosed asthma (ever), current wheeze, current asthma (diagnosis, symptoms and/or medication), and current allergic rhinitis (current defined as previous 12 months). We used multivariable logistic regression to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) per interquartile range (IQR) increase in F2-isoprostane concentration, controlling for confounders. We examined modification by maternal race using interaction terms. RESULTS: The prevalence of provider-diagnosed asthma and current wheeze, asthma and allergic rhinitis was 14%, 19%, 15%, and 24%, respectively. Median (IQR) F2-isoprostane levels were 2.1 (1.6, 2.9) ng/mg-creatinine. Associations between prenatal F2-isoprostanes and provider-diagnosed asthma, current wheeze, and current asthma were modified by maternal race. Results were strongest for current wheeze (aOR [95%CI]: 1.55 [1.16, 2.06] for White; 0.98 [0.78, 1.22] for Black; p-interaction = 0.01). We observed no association between F2-isoprostanes and allergic rhinitis. CONCLUSION: Prenatal urinary F2-isoprostanes may be a marker associated with childhood wheeze/asthma in certain populations. Research is needed to understand underlying mechanisms and racial differences.

A growing body of literature suggests that developmental exposure to individual or mixtures of environmental chemicals (ECs) is associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, investigating the effect of interactions among these ECs can be challenging. We introduced a combination of the classical exposure-mixture Weighted Quantile Sum (WQS) regression and a machine-learning method termed Signed iterative Random Forest (SiRF) to discover synergistic interactions between ECs that are (1) associated with higher odds of ASD diagnosis, (2) mimic toxicological interactions, and (3) are present only in a subset of the sample whose chemical concentrations are higher than certain thresholds. In a case-control Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and Environment (CHARGE) study, we evaluated multiordered synergistic interactions among 62 ECs measured in the urine samples of 479 children in association with increased odds for ASD diagnosis (yes vs no). WQS-SiRF identified two synergistic two-ordered interactions between (1) trace-element cadmium (Cd) and the organophosphate pesticide metabolite diethyl-phosphate (DEP); and (2) 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP-246) and DEP. Both interactions were suggestively associated with increased odds of ASD diagnosis in the subset of children with urinary concentrations of Cd, DEP, and TCP-246 above the 75th percentile. This study demonstrates a novel method that combines the inferential power of WQS and the predictive accuracy of machine-learning algorithms to discover potentially biologically relevant chemical-chemical interactions associated with ASD.

On the 30th anniversary of the Principles of Environmental Justice established at the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in 1991 (Principles of Environmental Justice), we continue to call for these principles to be more widely adopted. We propose an environmental justice framework for exposure science to be implemented by all researchers. This framework should be the standard and not an afterthought or trend dismissed by those who believe that science should not be politicized. Most notably, this framework should be centered on the community it seeks to serve. Researchers should meet with community members and stakeholders to learn more about the community, involve them in the research process, collectively determine the environmental exposure issues of highest concern for the community, and develop sustainable interventions and implementation strategies to address them. Incorporating community "funds of knowledge" will also inform the study design by incorporating the knowledge about the issue that community members have based on their lived experiences. Institutional and funding agency funds should also be directed to supporting community needs both during the "active" research phase and at the conclusion of the research, such as mechanisms for dissemination, capacity building, and engagement with policymakers. This multidirectional framework for exposure science will increase the sustainability of the research and its impact for long-term success.