Shi Qiu

Objectives: To investigate the association between exposure to specific endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), air pollutants and the risk of localised prostate cancer (PCa) and to evaluate the combined effect of mixed EDC exposures. Design: A case–control study. Setting: Secondary care; a single tertiary hospital in Western China. Participants: A total of 580 patients with histologically confirmed localised PCa who underwent radical prostatectomy between May 2021 and June 2023 were included as cases. They were matched 1:2 with 1160 cancer-free controls from the same cohort on age (±5 years) and date of biological sample collection. Key exclusion criteria were a history of other malignancies, androgen deprivation therapy prior to surgery or acute urinary infection. Primary and secondary outcome measures: The primary outcome was the odds of PCa associated with individual and mixed exposures. Primary exposures were urinary concentrations of nine bisphenols (BPs) and nine phthalate metabolites (quantified via high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry) and estimated ambient air pollution exposure (sulphur dioxide (SO ₂ ) and PM _₂.₅ ) based on geocoded residential addresses. Results: A total of 580 cases and 1160 controls were included in the final analysis. Exposure to the highest quartile of sulphur dioxide (SO ₂ ) over 5 years (9.37–28.79 µg/m ³ ) was significantly associated with PCa, yielding an OR of 1.65 (95% CI 1.08 to 2.72; p3 ). Urinary concentrations of multiple phthalate metabolites (MECPP, MEHHP and MEHP) and BPs (bisphenol A (BPA) and BPZ) were significantly higher in cases (all p2 and specific EDCs (both individually and as a mixture) is significantly associated with localised PCa. Trial registration number: ChiCTR1900024623.

Background: Cognitive frailty, encompassing cognitive decline and physical frailty, is an increasing concern in aging populations. Air pollution is associated to several health outcomes. Methods: Data of 62 098 participants from UK Biobank cohort and 3321 participants from West China Health and Aging Trend (WCHAT) cohort were subjected to cross-sectional analyses to evaluate the association between the investigating parameters, and prospective analyses were performed in the UK Biobank. Results: Exposure to ambient air pollution was significantly associated with increased risk of cognitive frailty in middle-aged and older adults. In the UK Biobank prospective analysis, exposures to NOx (hazard ratio [HR] 1.11, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.23; p = .0357), nitrogen dioxide (HR 1.14, 95% CI, 1.00-1.30; p = .0428), and PM2.5 (HR 1.18, 95% CI, 1.04-1.34; p = .0091) were consistently associated with cognitive frailty. Cross-sectional analyses in the UK Biobank supported these findings, with additional positive associations observed for PM10 (odds ratio [OR] 1.02, 95% CI, 1.00-1.05; p = .0374). In WCHAT cohort, ozone exposure showed the most consistent associations across exposure windows and models (3-year: OR 1.29, 95% CI, 1.14-1.45; p < .0001; 5-year: OR 1.34, 95% CI, 1.20-1.50; p < .0001). Additionally, PM2.5 exposure within the 1-year exposure window also demonstrated a statistically significant association (Q3: OR 1.53, 95% CI, 1.04-2.25; p = .0327). Stratified analyses suggested stronger associations among adults ≥60 years, females, and overweight individuals. Conclusions: Higher air pollution levels were significantly associated with increased cognitive frailty risk, emphasizing on developing public health interventions to reduce air pollution exposure, especially among vulnerable populations.

The oxidative balance score (OBS) was developed to reflect the overall exposure of the body to antioxidants and pro-oxidants in the individual's lifestyle and diet. The research aims to explore the relationship between OBS and sex hormones, including total testosterone (TT) and estradiol (E2), as well as indices including sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), testosterone deficiency (TD), free testosterone, and the ratio of TT to E2. A total of 2464 male participants were enrolled in the study during the period 2013 to 2016. Multivariable regression analyses were performed to investigate the association between OBS and sex hormones. Stratified analysis was conducted in participants of different age, body mass index (BMI), poverty income ratio, smoking status, alcohol consumption, and diabetes mellitus (DM). We found that OBS (β = 2.13, 95% CI: 0.17 ~ 4.09, P = 0.030) and lifestyle OBS (β = 21.09, 95% CI: 9.27 ~ 32.90, P = 0.004) were significantly correlated with TT with full adjustment. We also found noteworthy relationships between lifestyle OBS and SHBG (β = 2.55, 95% CI: 0.77 ~ 4.33, P = 0.010), TD (OR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.58 ~ 1.00, P = 0.045), and ratio of TT to E2 (β = 1.10, 95% CI: 0.71 ~ 1.50, P < 0.001). Stratified analyses by many covariates revealed that the results were basically stable across populations. The results showed that males who lead an antioxidant-rich lifestyle had increased serum TT levels and were less likely to develop TD. This suggests that antioxidant-rich lifestyle choices may additionally help to prevent disorders related to sex hormone imbalance.

Importance: Exposure to high altitudes elicits multiple adaptive mechanisms that intricately impact the entire body, causing deleterious health outcomes. However, high-altitude exposure effects on accelerated aging and aging-related changes remain uncertain.Objective: To comprehensively assess the associations of high-altitude exposure with overall aging and related changes and to provide insights into the treatment and prevention of aging-associated deficits in populations living in high-altitude areas.Design, Setting, and Participants: This population-based cross-sectional study used data from 2 prospective studies in Western China: West China Natural Population Cohort (WCNPCS) and West China Health and Aging Trend (WCHAT). The WCNPCS cohort was constructed from May 2019 to June 2021. Data were collected from participants aged 18 years and older in 4 populous regions (Mianzhu, Longquan, Pidu, and Ganzi) in Sichuan Province. The WCHAT was initiated in 2018 and recruited participants aged 50 years and older from various regions (Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Xinjiang). Participants were selected via sequential cluster sampling from the permanent residents of the participating community. Data for the present study were analyzed between March and October 2024.Exposure: The participants’ altitudes were determined using the global Shuttle Radar Topography Mission 4 data based on residential addresses. High-altitude areas refer to regions with altitudes of greater than or equal to 1500 m (4921 feet) above the mean sea level.Main Outcomes and Measures: Biological aging (BA) and aging acceleration (AA) were measured through the Klemera–Doubal Biological Age (KDM-BA) and PhenoAge methods. Multidimensional aging-related metrics were based on questionnaire, measurement, and self-report.Results: A total of 9846 participants from the WCNPCS cohort (mean [SD] age, 55.73 [11.06] years; 6730 women [68.35%]) and 3593 participants from the WCHAT cohort (mean [SD] age, 62.27 [8.40] years; 2253 women [62.71%]) were included. The participants living at high altitudes presented increased KDM-BA acceleration by 0.85 years for the WCNPCS cohort and 0.71 years for the WCHAT cohort. The PhenoAge results were similar, with even larger effect sizes (WCNPCS, β, 2.08 years; 95% CI, 1.77-2.39 years; WCHAT, β, 2.23 years; 95% CI, 1.91-2.54 years). The association between high-altitude exposure and biologically accelerated aging was particularly pronounced among smokers. Associations between high-altitude exposure and various multidimensional aging-related metrics were also observed.Conclusions and Relevance: These findings suggest that extended periods at high altitudes may hasten BA and contribute to the onset of aging-related illnesses. Implementing public health interventions for individuals residing in high-altitude regions may aid in alleviating the disease burden within these communities.