Evaluation of the Toxicity of Bisphenol A in Reproduction and Its Effect on Fertility and Embryonic Development in the Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical substance commonly used in the manufacture of plastic products. Its inhalation or ingestion from particles in suspension, water, and/or polluted foods can trigger toxic effects related to endocrine disruption, resulting in hormonal, reproduction, and immunological alterations in humans and animals. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is an ideal experimental model frequently used in toxicity studies. In order to assess the toxic effects of BPA on reproduction and embryonic development in one generation after parental exposure to it, a total of 80 zebrafish, males and females, divided into four groups in duplicate (n = 20) were exposed to BPA concentrations of 500, 50, and 5 µg L−1, along with a control group. The fish were kept in reproduction aquariums for 21 days. The embryos obtained in the crosses were incubated in a BPA-free medium and observed for signs of embryotoxicity. A histopathological study (under optical and electron microscopes) was performed of adult fish gonads. The embryos of reproducers exposed to BPA were those most frequently presenting signs of embryotoxicity, such as mortality and cardiac and musculoskeletal malformations. In the histopathological studies of adult individuals, alterations were found in ovocyte maturation and in spermatazoid formation in the groups exposed to the chemical. Those alterations were directly related to BPA action, affecting fertility in both sexes, as well as the viability of their offspring, proportionally to the BPA levels to which they were exposed, so that our results provide more information by associating toxic effects on the offspring and on the next generation.

Intergenerational Impact of Violence Exposure: Emotional-Behavioural and School Difficulties in Children Aged 5–17

Background and Objectives: The intergenerational impacts of parental exposure to violence during childhood and adulthood have largely been investigated separately. This limits our understanding of how cumulative violence exposure over a lifespan elevates the risk of subsequent generation's maladjustment. To address this, we examined if parental exposure to violence during childhood and during adulthood was associated with increased emotional-behavioural and school difficulties among the children of these parents. Further, we examined if parental exposure to cumulative violence increased the odds of their children experiencing difficulties.Participants and Setting: 705 participants (354 mothers and 351 fathers) from the 2019 New Zealand Family Violence Survey, a population-based study conducted in New Zealand between March 2017 and March 2019.Methods: Multivariable logistic regressions were conducted to ascertain the impact of parental exposure to violence on children's outcomes after adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics. The impact of parental cumulative violence exposure on children's outcomes was also explored.Results: Findings indicated that children of parents who had histories of exposure to violence during childhood were at increased risk for experiencing emotional-behavioural or school difficulties. However, where parents reported a history of childhood abuse but not adult experience of violence, their children had similar odds of experiencing difficulties as the children of parents who had not been exposed to any violence in their lifetime. Children of parents who had been exposed to violence only during adulthood were at higher risk of experiencing emotional-behavioural difficulties compared with children of parents with no violence exposure. Children of parents with histories of exposure to violence during both childhood and adulthood had the highest prevalence of experiencing emotional/behavioural and school difficulties.Conclusion: These findings highlight the intergenerational impacts of violence exposure and the complex intersections between parents' and children's life experiences. Our findings suggest the need for violence prevention initiatives to foster the development of safe, stable and nurturing relationships and to expand services for parents already exposed to violence to build resilience and to break the inter-generational cycle of disadvantage.

Determinants of Measles Vaccine Hesitancy among Sudanese Parents in Khartoum State, Sudan: A Cross-Sectional Study

Determinants of vaccine hesitancy are not yet well understood. This study aims to assess measles vaccine hesitancy and characterize its determinants among Sudanese parents in Omdurman in Khartoum State. A community-based cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted in Khartoum State in February 2019. The Parent Attitudes about Childhood Vaccination (PACV) was used to measure measles vaccine hesitancy. Questions about the sociodemographic characteristics of the family, the perception of the parents about the measles vaccine, and the parental exposure to information were asked. Proportions of vaccine hesitancy and coefficients of linear regression were computed. Five hundred parents were recruited for the study. We found that a significant proportion of participants (about 1 in 5 parents) had hesitations regarding the measles vaccine. Significant predictors of measles vaccine hesitancy were parental exposure to anti-vaccination information or materials (β = −0.478, p-value < 0.001), the parents’ perception of the effectiveness of measles vaccines (β = 0.093, p-value = 0.020), the age of the mother (β = 0.112, p-value = 0.017), the birth rank of the child (β = −0.116, p-value = 0.015), and the total number of the children in the family (β = 0.098, p-value = 0.013). Vaccination access issues were the common justification for parental vaccination hesitancy. Our findings indicate that investment in vaccine communication as well as addressing access issues might be an effective intervention for improving measles vaccine acceptance and, ultimately, measles vaccine coverage.

Famine and Trajectories of Body Mass Index, Waist Circumference, and Blood Pressure in Two Generations: Results From the CHNS From 1993–2015

Early-life exposures play key roles in the development of metabolic diseases. Whether such effects exist beyond one generation remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the transgenerational association of early-life exposure to the Chinese famine of 1959 to 1962 with the trajectories of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and blood pressure (BP) in 2 consecutive generations. We included 21 106 F1 observations born between 1954 and 1967 (median age: 45 years) and 1926 F2 observations (median age: 23 years) from the longitudinal household-based China Health and Nutrition Survey from 1993 to 2015. Trajectories of BMI, WC, systolic BP, and diastolic BP were fitted and compared between groups using linear mixed effect models. Early-life exposure to famine was associated with increased BMI, WC, and BP in 2 consecutive generations with sex and age disparities. In F1, famine was associated with increased BMI, WC, systolic BP, and diastolic BP, especially in men or those aged older than 50 years ( P ranged from <0.001 to 0.02). In F2 men but not women, the parental exposure to famine was associated with 0.59 kg/m 2 ([95% CI, 0.10–1.08], P =0.02) increase in BMI. In F2 aged ≥25 years but not those younger ones, the parental exposure to famine was associated with increased BMI (0.83 kg/m 2 [0.14–1.51] , P =0.03), systolic BP (2.04 mm Hg [0.20–3.88], P =0.03), and diastolic BP (1.73 mm Hg [0.28–3.18], P =0.02). The effects of an adverse developmental environment through famine in early life on BMI and BP later in life may persist beyond one generation.

Parental Pesticide Exposure and Childhood Brain Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Confirming the IARC/WHO Monographs on Some Organophosphate Insecticides and Herbicides

Background: Brain tumors are the second most common neoplasm in the pediatric age. Pesticides may play an etiologic role, but literature results are conflicting. This review provides a systematic overview, meta-analysis, and IARC/WHO consideration of data on parental exposure to pesticides and childhood brain tumors. Methods: We searched PubMed, SCOPUS, and Google Scholar for literature (1 January 1966–31 December 2020) that assessed childhood brain tumors and parental exposure to pesticides. We undertook a meta-analysis addressing prenatal exposure, exposure after birth, occupational exposure, and residential exposure. A total of 130 case-control investigations involving 43,598 individuals (18,198 cases and 25,400 controls) were included. Results: Prenatal exposure is associated with childhood brain tumors (odds ratio, OR = 1.32; 95% CI: 1.17–1.49; I2 = 41.1%). The same occurs after birth exposure (OR = 1.22; 95% CI: 1.03–1.45, I2 = 72.3%) and residential exposure to pesticides (OR = 1.31; 95% CI: 1.11–1.54, I2 = 67.2%). Parental occupational exposure is only marginally associated with CBT (OR = 1.17, 95% CI: 0.99–1.38, I2 = 67.0%). Conclusions: There is an association between CBT and parental pesticides exposure before childbirth, after birth, and residential exposure. It is in line with the IARC Monograph evaluating the carcinogenicity of diazinon, glyphosate, malathion, parathion, and tetrachlorvinphos.