NHANES survey

Fig. 14.1 95th percentile of urine concentrations (pg/g creatinine corrected) for the US population aged 20-59 years, three NHANES surveys. Shaded blocks show 4-nitrophenol (methyl parathion) unshaded blocks show 3,5,6-tnchloro. v-pyndinol... 

Knowledge of the levels of chemicals in the body can be used to track the effectiveness of efforts to reduce human exposure to certain chemicals. It may be of use in the conduct of health studies and risk assessments. The NHANES survey and similar efforts around the world will, in the next several years, greatly increase our understanding of chemical exposure. 

The two most recent NHANES surveys showed that for women of childbearing age and pregnant women, the median UI excretion levels were adequate (127 and I4lpg/1, respectively, in 1988-1994 132 and 173 pg/1, respectively, in 2001-2002) (Table 115.3) (Caldwell et al., 2005). Thyroid hormone, requiring adequate iodine intake, is critical for neural development in utero and in early life. Although cretinism due to iodine deficiency is not a problem in the United States, subtle developmental delays could result from mild maternal iodine deficiency. 

There is some limited evidence that antimony can affect glycolysis pathways. In vitro studies have demonstrated antimony s ability to inhibit the enzyme phospho-fructokinase, an enzyme that affects erythrocyte glycolysis (Poon and Chu 2000). Previous in vivo studies by the same research group had observed increased levels of antimony in the erythrocytes of rats treated with potassium antimony tartrate for 90 days in drinking water compared to untreated controls (Poon et al. 1998). In humans, there are no published studies available that have examined incidence of Type II diabetes and urinary levels of antimony in NHANES survey participants. 

NHANES National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey... 

As part of the Third National Health and Nutrition Evaluation Survey (NHANES 111), the Environmental Health Laboratory Sciences Division of the National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control, will be analyzing human blood samples for trichloroethylene and other volatile organic compounds. These data will give an indication of the frequency of occurrence and background levels of these compounds in the general population. 

PATTERSON B H, BLOCK G, ROSENBERGER w F, PEE D and kahlell(1990) Fruit and vegetables in the American diet data from the NHANES 11 survey . Am J Public Health, 80, 1443-9. 

The prevalence of overweight and obesity continues to increase, keeping this disease a major public health concern. Results from the most recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) reflect an increased combined prevalence for overweight and obesity among adults... 

Cardiovascular Effects. There is currently considerable scientific debate as to whether there is a causal relationship between lead exposure and hypertension. Another area of controversy is whether African Americans are more susceptible to the cardiovascular effects of lead than are whites or Hispanics. The evidence from both occupational studies and large-scale general population studies (i.e., National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey [NHANES II], British Regional Heart Study [BRHS]) is not sufficient to conclude that such a causal relationship exists between PbB levels and increases in blood pressure. The database on lead-induced effects on cardiovascular function in humans will be discussed by presenting a summary of several representative occupational studies followed by a discussion of the findings from the large-scale general population studies. 

Two large-scale general population studies, the BHRS (Pocock et al. 1984, 1985, 1988) and NHANES II (Coate and Fowles 1989 Gartside 1988 Harlan 1988 Harlan et al. 1985 Landis and Flegal 1988 Pirkle et al. 1985 Schwartz 1988), examined the relationship between PbB levels and blood pressure in men. Relationships between PbB levels and hypertension were evaluated in a clinical survey of 7,735 men, aged 40-49 years, from 24 British towns in the BHRS (Pocock et al. 1984, 1985, 1988). A small but... 

Blood lead levels measured as a part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) revealed that between 1976 and 1991, the mean PbB levels of the U.S. population aged from 1 to 74 years dropped 78%, from 12.8 to 2.8 pg/dL. The prevalence of PbB levels 10 pg/dL also decreased sharply from 77.8% to 4.3%. The major cause of the observed decline in PbB levels is most likely... 

Brody DJ, Pirkle JL, Kramer RA, et al. 1994. Blood lead levels in the US population. Phase 1 of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III, 1988 to 1991). J Am Med Assoc 272 277-283. 

Schwartz J. 1988. The relationship between blood lead and blood pressure in the NHANES II survey. Environ Health Perspect 78 15-22. 

A report entitled Chemical Trespass was issued in May 2004 by the Pesticide Action Network (Schafer et al., 2006). It contained detailed analysis of 2000/01 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) OP urinary metabolite data and used published methods to estimate exposure levels to parent compounds from creatinine corrected urinary metabolite levels. They focused on chlorpyrifos and its metabolite 3,4,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCP), and found that chlorpyrifos exposures for children ages 6-11 and 12-19 exceeded EPA s chronic population-adjusted dose (cPAD) by surprisingly wide margins. Geometric mean TCP levels were 3 to 4.6 times higher than the EPA-estimated safe dose, as shown in Fig. 14.2. The more heavily exposed children received daily doses more than ten times the safe level. 

The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III, 1988-94) Reference Manuals and Reports, October 1996. 

Hollowell, J.G. et al., Serum TSH, T(4), and thyroid antibodies in the United States population (1988 to 1994) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., 87, 489, 2002. 

Mirex residues in human blood serum were measured as part of the Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES II), conducted between 1976 and 1980. Of the 4,038 samples analyzed, mirex concentrations ranged from not detectable to detected but below quantifiable levels (10 pig/L [ppb] (Stehr-Green 1989). 

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