Living in areas with high volumes of motorized traffic has been associated with respiratory symptoms and deceased lung function in children. Based on both these epidemiological findings and supporting experimental data, exposure to diesel-related air pollution has potential for health concerns that include asthma and allergy. However, despite substantial gains in our recognition of likely diesel-induced asthmatic or allergic symptoms, direct associations between exposure to diesel-related air pollution and the onset of atopy and asthma in young children have not yet been demonstrated. The interaction of diesel exposure with other urban exposures on respiratory health also is not clear. We hypothesize that exposure to diesel emissions in Northern Manhattan and the South Bronx is associated with allergen-specific sensitization, decreased lung function, and the onset of asthma in children at age 5 through 6 years. Our strategy is to take advantage of an established inner city birth cohort in which multiple environmental exposures and health outcomes already are being measured to evaluate whether exposure to diesel-related air pollution independently, or jointly with other prevalent urban environmental exposures (allergens, environmental tobacco smoke [ETS]), increase the risk for the onset of atopy or asthma. Specifically, we propose to use our established cohort to:
Aim 1. Determine whether exposure to diesel-related air pollution is associated with the onset of allergen-specific sensitization, decreased lung function and/or asthma at age 5 through 6 years, and Aim 2. Determine whether exposure to diesel-related air pollution interacts with a) allergen, and/or b) ETS exposure, on the onset of allergen-specific sensitization, decreased lung function and/or asthma at age 5-6 years. 300 Dominican and African American children residing in Northern Manhattan that are being followed prospectively since birth as part of Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health will be recruited at age 5 through 6 years. Two-week air monitoring at home for PAHs, black carbon, mass, and trace metals will be performed. Repeat measures of PM25 and carbon will be repeated 6 months later. Outcomes include sera IgE, antigen-specific T cell proliferation, allergy skin tests, lung function, and asthma diagnosis. The primary goals are to determine whether diesel-related exposure can induce the development of allergy and/or asthma, and to identify its contribution relative to other urban exposures.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01ES013163-04
Application #
7472464
Study Section
Epidemiology of Clinical Disorders and Aging Study Section (ECDA)
Program Officer
Gray, Kimberly A
Project Start
2005-07-16
Project End
2010-06-30
Budget Start
2008-07-01
Budget End
2009-06-30
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2008
Total Cost
$620,985
Indirect Cost
Name
Columbia University (N.Y.)
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
621889815
City
New York
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10032
Miller, Rachel L; Lawrence, Jennifer (2018) Understanding Root Causes of Asthma. Perinatal Environmental Exposures and Epigenetic Regulation. Ann Am Thorac Soc 15:S103-S108
Lovinsky-Desir, Stephanie; Lawrence, Jennifer; Jung, Kyung Hwa et al. (2018) Assessment of exposure to air pollution in children: Determining whether wearing a personal monitor affects physical activity. Environ Res 166:340-343
Jung, Kyung Hwa; Lovinsky-Desir, Stephanie; Yan, Beizhan et al. (2017) Effect of personal exposure to black carbon on changes in allergic asthma gene methylation measured 5 days later in urban children: importance of allergic sensitization. Clin Epigenetics 9:61
Lovinsky-Desir, Stephanie; Jung, Kyung Hwa; Jezioro, Jacqueline R et al. (2017) Physical activity, black carbon exposure, and DNA methylation in the FOXP3 promoter. Clin Epigenetics 9:65
Jung, Kyung Hwa; Torrone, David; Lovinsky-Desir, Stephanie et al. (2017) Short-term exposure to PM2.5 and vanadium and changes in asthma gene DNA methylation and lung function decrements among urban children. Respir Res 18:63
Breton, Carrie V; Marsit, Carmen J; Faustman, Elaine et al. (2017) Small-Magnitude Effect Sizes in Epigenetic End Points are Important in Children's Environmental Health Studies: The Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Center's Epigenetics Working Group. Environ Health Perspect 125:511-526
Lovinsky-Desir, Stephanie; Jung, Kyung Hwa; Rundle, Andrew G et al. (2016) Physical activity, black carbon exposure and airway inflammation in an urban adolescent cohort. Environ Res 151:756-762
Lovinsky-Desir, Stephanie; Miller, Rachel L; Bautista, Joshua et al. (2016) Differences in Ambient Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Concentrations between Streets and Alleys in New York City: Open Space vs. Semi-Closed Space. Int J Environ Res Public Health 13:
Yu, Joyce E; Miller, Rachel L (2016) Got milk? Understanding the farm milk effect in allergy and asthma prevention. J Allergy Clin Immunol 137:1707-1708
Jung, Kyung Hwa; Lovinsky-Desir, Stephanie; Perzanowski, Matthew et al. (2015) Repeatedly high polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure and cockroach sensitization among inner-city children. Environ Res 140:649-56

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