Associations between neonicotinoids and liver function measures in US adults: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2015-2016.

Background: Toxicological studies indicate that neonicotinoids may be associated with disruptions in liver function due to an increase in oxidative stress. There are scant epidemiological studies investigating the chronic hepatotoxic effects of neonicotinoids. Objective: To examine the association between detectable concentrations of parent neonicotinoids and neonicotinoid metabolites with liver function markers among US adults, and whether sex modifies this association. Methods: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2015-2016 data were used to estimate associations between detectable neonicotinoids and serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transaminase (GGT), albumin, total bilirubin, total protein, and Hepatic Steatosis Index (HSI) using multiple linear regression. Results: Detectable levels of N-desmethyl-acetamiprid were associated with a decrease in GGT (ß = -3.54 unit/l; 95% confidence interval [CI] = -6.48, -0.61) and detectable levels of 5-hydroxy-imidacloprid were associated with a decrease in HSI (ß = -1.11; 95% CI = -2.14, -0.07). Sex modified the association between any parent neonicotinoid and ALP (Pint = 0.064) and the association between clothianidin and ALP (Pint = 0.019), with a pattern of positive associations in males and inverse associations in females, though stratified associations did not reach statistical significance. Sex also modified the association between 5-hydroxy-imidacloprid and total protein (Pint = 0.062), with a significant positive association in females (ß = 0.14 g/dl; 95% CI = 0.03, 0.25) and a null association in males. Conclusion: Detectable concentrations of neonicotinoid metabolites were inversely associated with GGT and HSI in US adults. Evidence suggests neonicotinoids may influence liver function differently depending on sex. Future research is recommended to replicate the findings as the study was limited in its cross-sectional nature and inability to examine continuous neonicotinoid concentrations with liver function.

Meta-analysis of primary care delivered buprenorphine treatment retention outcomes.

Background: Currently, the capacity to provide buprenorphine treatment (BT) is not sufficient to treat the growing number of people in the United States with opioid use disorder (OUD). We sought to examine participant retention in care rates of primary care delivered BT programs and to describe factors associated with retention/attrition for participants receiving BT in this setting.Objectives: A PRISMA-guided search of various databases was performed to identify the articles focusing on efficacy of BT treatment and OUD.Method: A systematic literature search identified 15 studies examining retention in care in the primary care setting between 2002 and 2020. Random effects meta-regression were used to identify retention rates across studies.Results: Retention rates decreased across time with a mean 0.52 rate at one year. Several factors were found to be related to retention, including: race, use of other drugs, receipt of counseling, and previous treatment with buprenorphine.Conclusions: While we only investigate BT through primary care, our findings indicate retention rates are equivalent to the rates reported in the specialty care literature. More work is needed to examine factors that may impact primary care delivered BT specifically and differentiate participants that may benefit from care delivered in specialty over primary care as well as the converse.

Senior food insecurity in the USA: a systematic literature review.

OBJECTIVE: Understanding the factors associated with senior food insecurity is key to understanding senior-specific needs to develop targeted interventions and ultimately lower the prevalence and the incidence of food insecurity. We aimed to systematically review published literature and summarise the associated factors of food insecurity in older adults in the USA. DESIGN: We searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of science, EconLit and JSTOR databases for peer-reviewed articles published in English between January 2005 and September 2019 that assessed food security or its associated factors for US adults aged 60 years and older. After a two-step screening process, twenty articles were retained and included in the review. SETTING: NA. PARTICIPANTS: NA. RESULTS: The majority of studies were cross-sectional (70 %), consisted of data from one state (60 %), and had large sample sizes. Food-insecure individuals were more likely to be younger, less educated, Black or African American, female, a current smoker, low income, and self-report fair/poor health, have chronic conditions, and utilise government assistance programmes. Food insecurity was associated with medication non-adherence, poor mental health outcomes and limitations in physical functioning. Results were mixed for overweight/obesity status. There was no discernable pattern related to the consistency of findings by the assessed quality of the included studies. CONCLUSIONS: Food insecurity is a prevalent and pervasive issue for older adults. The numerous correlates identified suggest that interventions aimed at enhancing food and nutrition safety net and medication assistance programmes are warranted, and upstream, systemic-level interventions may be best suited to deal with the correlates of food insecurity.

Exploratory analysis of the associations between neonicotinoids and measures of adiposity among US adults: NHANES 2015-2016.

BACKGROUND: Toxicology studies suggest that neonicotinoids may be associated with adiposity development via thyroid hormone disruption and increased oxidative stress. Prior epidemiological studies report mixed results for the association between neonicotinoids and adiposity measures. OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between detectable concentrations of parent neonicotinoids (imidacloprid, acetamiprid, clothianidin) and neonicotinoid metabolites (5-hydroxy-imidacloprid, N-desmethyl-acetamiprid) with adiposity measures among US adults, and whether sex modifies the associations for neonicotinoid metabolites with adiposity. METHODS: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2015-2016 data was utilized to estimate covariate-adjusted associations between detectable neonicotinoids and fat mass index (FMI), lean mass index (LMI), waist circumference, body fat percentage, and body mass index (BMI) using multiple linear regression. We estimated incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for overweight or obese status with detectable neonicotinoid concentrations using Poisson's modified regression. Sampling strategies were accounted for in the regression models. RESULTS: Detectable levels of acetamiprid were associated with a decrease in FMI (ß = -3.17 kg/m2, 95% CI [-4.79, -1.54]), LMI (ß = -3.17 kg/m2, 95% CI [-5.17, -1.17]), body fat percentage (ß = -4.41, 95% CI [-8.20, -0.62]), waist circumference (ß = -9.80 cm, 95% CI [-19.08, -0.51]), and BMI (ß = -3.88kg/m2, 95% CI [-7.25, -0.51]) among adults. In contrast, detectable levels of 5-hydroxy-imidacloprid were associated with greater rates of being overweight/obese (IRR = 1.11, 95% CI [1.04, 1.18)) and increased LMI (ß = 0.67 kg/m2, 95% CI [0.04, 1.29]). Sex modified the association between N-desmethyl-acetamiprid and LMI (pint = 0.075) with a positive association among males (ß = 1.14 kg/m2, 95% CI [0.38, 1.90]), and an insignificant inverse association in females. Sex also modified the association for N-desmethyl-acetamiprid with FMI (pint = 0.095) and body fat percentage (pint = 0.072), with suggestive evidence showing positive associations for males and inverse associations for females. CONCLUSION: Detectable concentrations of acetamiprid were inversely associated with adiposity, while there were mixed findings for 5-hydroxy-imidacloprid. Findings suggest sex differences, though results are not clear with regard to the directionality of the association by sex.

Chemical characterization of aromas in beer and their effect on consumers liking.

Identification of volatiles in beer is important for consumers acceptability. In this study, triplicates of 24 beers from three types of fermentation (top/bottom/spontaneous) were analyzed using Gas Chromatograph with Mass-Selective Detector (GC-MSD) employing solid-phase microextraction (SPME). Principal components analysis was conducted for each type of fermentation. Multiple regression analysis, and an artificial neutral network model (ANN) were developed with the peak-areas of 10 volatiles to evaluate/predict aroma, flavor and overall liking. There were no hops-derived volatiles in bottom-fermentation beers, but they were present in top and spontaneous. Top and spontaneous had more volatiles than bottom-fermentation. 4-Ethyguaiacol and trans-ß-ionone were positive towards aroma, flavor and overall liking. Styrene had a negative effect on aroma, flavor and overall liking. An ANN model with high accuracy (R = 0.98) was obtained to predict aroma, flavor and overall liking. The use of SPME-GC-MSD is an effective method to detect volatiles in beers that contribute to acceptability.