Women exposed to air pollution from freeways and congested roads are much more likely to give birth to premature babies and suffer from preeclampsia (pregnancy-induced hypertension), according to a University of California study led by UC Irvine public health assistant professor Jun Wu. The findings, based on pregnant women in the Long Beach/Orange County region, add to the growing evidence that car and truck exhaust can jeopardize the health of babies while they are in the womb. Reviewing the birth records of more than 81,000 infants, researchers found that the risk of having a baby born before 30 weeks of gestation increased 128 percent for women who live near the worst traffic-generated air pollution. The study appears online in Environmental Health Perspectives.   More »

Epidemiologist Dr. Ralph Delfino and his UC Irvine colleagues provide some of the first evidence that air-pollution particles, especially unregulated ultrafine particles, may be involved in deactivating antioxidant enzymes in red blood cells. The associated oxidative stress, they say, can trigger inflammation in arteries and veins and can activate platelets that cause blood clots in people with a history of coronary heart disease, thus elevating heart attack and stroke risk. The study, which currently appears in the online version of Environmental Health Perspectives, followed 60 elderly persons with coronary artery disease living in Southern California retirement communities.   More »

The world’s largest long-term study of people with a genetic blood disorder has found that men with a specific pair of genes are 30 times more likely than women to develop complications, including major organ damage to the liver and heart, as a result of blood iron overload, or haemochromatosis. Christine McLaren, professor of epidemiology at UC Irvine and study investigator, said her work is the first to quantify how many people carrying the most common genes for haemochromatosis will develop disease. While a common concern for women is having too little iron, this study clearly demonstrates that far more men need to be concerned about absorbing too much iron than previously thought. Results appear in the Jan. 17 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.   More »

A UC Irvine researcher who oversees one of the nation’s largest cancer genetics studies has been named founding chair of the new Department of Epidemiology. Hoda Anton-Culver, epidemiology professor and Genetic Epidemiology Research Institute director, will lead the 26th and newest department in the School of Medicine. Previously, epidemiology was a division in the Department of Medicine. Its designation to departmental status allows for continued growth in its four research areas – genetic epidemiology, clinical epidemiology, environmental epidemiology and biostatistics – and the development of a Ph.D. program for epidemiology in the School of Medicine. Currently, there are 19 faculty members affiliated with the department.   More »