Early-life residential green spaces and traffic exposure in association with young adult body composition: a longitudinal birth cohort study of twins.

BACKGROUND: Globally, the rapid increase of obesity is reaching alarming proportions. A new approach to reduce obesity and its comorbidities involves tackling the built environment. Environmental influences seem to play an important role, but the environmental influences in early life on adult body composition have not been thoroughly investigated. This study seeks to fill the research gap by examining early-life exposure to residential green spaces and traffic exposure in association with body composition among a population of young adult twins. METHODS: As part of the East Flanders Prospective Twin Survey (EFPTS) cohort, this study included 332 twins. Residential addresses of the mothers at time of birth of the twins were geocoded to determine residential green spaces and traffic exposure. To capture body composition, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), waist circumference, skinfold thickness, leptin levels, and fat percentage were measured at adult age. Linear mixed modelling analyses were conducted to investigate early-life environmental exposures in association with body composition, while accounting for potential confounders. In addition, moderator effects of zygosity/chorionicity, sex and socio-economic status were tested. RESULTS: Each interquartile range (IQR) increase in distance to highway was found associated with an increase of 1.2% in WHR (95%CI 0.2-2.2%). For landcover of green spaces, each IQR increase was associated with 0.8% increase in WHR (95%CI 0.4-1.3%), 1.4% increase in waist circumference (95%CI 0.5-2.2%), and 2.3% increase in body fat (95%CI 0.2-4.4%). Stratified analyses by zygosity/chorionicity type indicated that in monozygotic monochorionic twins, each IQR increase in land cover of green spaces was associated with 1.3% increase in WHR (95%CI 0.5-2.1%). In monozygotic dichorionic twins, each IQR increase in land cover of green spaces was associated with 1.4% increase in waist-circumference (95%CI 0.6-2.2%). CONCLUSIONS: The built environment in which mothers reside during pregnancy might play a role on body composition among young adult twins. Our study revealed that based on zygosity/chorionicity type differential effects of prenatal exposure to green spaces on body composition at adult age might exist.

Association between outdoor air pollution and chronic rhinosinusitis patient reported outcomes.

BACKGROUND: The aetiology of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is multifactorial with a complex interplay between environmental, microbial endogenous and genetic factors. The impact of outdoor air pollution on prevalence or severity of CRS remains largely unknown. METHODS: Real-life geolocation data (2017-2018, Belgium) from 278 CRS patients (2576 health records) using the mySinusitisCoach mobile application were analysed to calculate the patients' individual exposure to outdoor air pollutants (ozone (O3), black carbon (BC), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter with diameter < 2.5 µm (PM2.5)) and to associate these pollutants with the patients' sinus related symptoms measured at multiple occasions by visual analogue scale (VAS). RESULTS: The adjusted seasonal model for the spring-summer (n = 1000 health entries, N = 83 patients) population revealed an increase of 6.07 (p < 0.0001) in overall CRS symptom scoring for an interquartile range (IQR) increase in exposure to O3 (26.9 µg/m3). An increase of 1.69 (p = 0.05) in total CRS symptom scoring was observed for an IQR increase of PM2.5 (7.1 µg/m3) exposure. Sex-stratified analysis in the spring-summer population showed significant interaction between air pollution and sex with male patients having higher total CRS symptom scores for an IQR increase in exposure to PM2.5 (3.52, p = 0.001), and O3 (8.33, p < 0.0001), while no significant association with symptom severity was seen in the female patients. In the analysis stratified by comorbid asthma, CRS patients with comorbid asthma had higher total CRS symptoms for an IQR increase in exposure to PM2.5 (2.58, p = 0.04) and O3 (7.72, p < 0.0001) while the patients without comorbid asthma had no significant symptom increases. CONCLUSION: Exposure to outdoor air pollution is associated with increased symptom severity in CRS patients. The extent to which CRS patients are sensitive to outdoor air pollution exposure varies per season and depends on their sex and comorbid asthma status. mHealth technology has the potential to reveal novel insights on the patients' exposome and disease severity in the real-life situation.