Air pollution and public health

Research has demonstrated that exposure to particulate matter air pollution is associated with morbidity and mortality.  In this line of work, I have explored mechanisms by which this may occur by looking at various biological markers, including genetic and epigenetic marks, and their relationship to particulate matter exposure and cardiovascular disease.

I am increasingly interested in how particulate matter air pollution may contribute to metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity, either directly, by acting as an environmental obesogen, or indirectly by interacting with other characteristics of the built environment that inhibit physical activity.  I am currently developing two studies to investigate these questions.

Select publications:

  • Madrigano, J., Baccarelli, A., Wright, R. O., Suh, H., Sparrow, D., Vokonas, P. S., & Schwartz, J. (2010). Air pollution, obesity, genes and cellular adhesion molecules. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 67(5), 312–317. http://doi.org/10.1136/oem.2009.046193
  • Madrigano, J., Baccarelli, A., Mittleman, M. A., Wright, R. O., Sparrow, D., Vokonas, P. S., et al. (2011). Prolonged exposure to particulate pollution, genes associated with glutathione pathways, and DNA methylation in a cohort of older men. Environmental Health Perspectives, 119(7), 977–982. http://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1002773
  • Madrigano, J., Baccarelli, A., Mittleman, M. A., Sparrow, D., Spiro, A., Vokonas, P. S., et al. (2012). Air pollution and DNA methylation: interaction by psychological factors in the VA Normative Aging Study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 176(3), 224–232. http://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwr523
  • Madrigano, J., Kloog, I., Goldberg, R., Coull, B. A., Mittleman, M. A., & Schwartz, J. (2013). Long-term exposure to PM2.5 and incidence of acute myocardial infarction. Environmental Health Perspectives, 121(2), 192–196. http://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1205284
  • Kelly, M. S., Wirth, K. E., Madrigano, J., Feemster, K. A., Cunningham, C. K., Arscott-Mills, T., et al. (2015). The effect of exposure to wood smoke on outcomes of childhood pneumonia in Botswana. The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease : the Official Journal of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, 19(3), 349–355. http://doi.org/10.5588/ijtld.14.0557
Advertisement