Judy Akkina

Age at natural menopause and exposure to organochlorine pesticides in Hispanic women.

A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between exposure to selected organochlorine pesticides (OCP) (p,p′-DDT, p′,p′-DDE, dieldrin, hexachlorobenzene, beta-hexachlorocyclohexane [beta-HCH], oxychlordane, trans′ nonachlor) and age at natural menopause in a sample of 219 menopausal women participating in the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 1982–1984. Information on age at menopause, reproductive history, demographic variables, and potential confounding variables was collected via interview. Analysis of variance was employed to compare adjusted mean age at natural menopause among women by category of serum OCP level. Serum levels of p,p′-DDT, p,p′-DDE, beta-HCH, and trans-nonachlor were associated with a younger age at menopause. In particular, women with exposure levels in the highest exposure categories (serum p,p′-DDT ≥6ppb, beta-HCH≥4ppb, or trans-nonachlor≥2ppb) had an adjusted mean age at menopause on average 5.7, 3.4, and 5.2 yr earlier, respectively, than women with serum levels of these pesticides below the detection limit. Women with serum p,p′-DDE levels greater than 23.6 ppb (highest quintile) had an adjusted mean age at menopause 1.7 yr earlier than women with serump,p′-DDE levels less than 5.5 ppb (lowest quintile). However, no consistent dose-response effect was apparent across low, medium, and high exposure categories. Interactions were detected for p,p′-DDT in combination with beta-HCH, trans-nonachlor, or oxychlordane, as well as beta-HCH in combination with oxychlordane.

A Practitioner-Driven Research Agenda for Syndromic Surveillance:

Syndromic surveillance has expanded since 2001 in both scope and geographic reach and has benefited from research studies adapted from numerous disciplines. The practice of syndromic surveillance continues to evolve rapidly. The International Society for Disease Surveillance solicited input from its global surveillance network on key research questions, with the goal of improving syndromic surveillance practice. A workgroup of syndromic surveillance subject matter experts was convened from February to June 2016 to review and categorize the proposed topics. The workgroup identified 12 topic areas in 4 syndromic surveillance categories: informatics, analytics, systems research, and communications. This article details the context of each topic and its implications for public health. This research agenda can help catalyze the research that public health practitioners identified as most important.

Where do you Find Interesting Biosurveillance Publications

Since 2012, the ISDS Research Committee (RC) has been using an updated literature search process to identify literature related to disease surveillance. These articles are primarily in the medical literature, but one-third are published in other disciplines. ISDS members may not have access to those articles published outside the health sciences, making the ISDS article repository a valuable resource for those conducting work in surveillance.