BackgroundSocial welfare policies such as the minimum wage can affect population health, though the impact may differ by the level of unemployment experienced by society at a given time.MethodsWe ran difference-in-differences models using monthly data from all 50 states and Washington, DC from 1990 to 2015. We used educational attainment to define treatment and control groups. The exposure was the difference between state and federal minimum wage in US$2015, defined both by the date the state law became effective and lagged by 1 year. Models included state and year fixed effects, and additional state-level covariates to account for state-specific time-varying confounding. We assessed effect modification by the state-level unemployment rate, and estimated predicted suicide counts under different minimum wage scenarios.ResultsThe effect of a US$1 increase in the minimum wage ranged from a 3.4% decrease (95% CI 0.4 to 6.4) to a 5.9% decrease (95% CI 1.4 to 10.2) in the suicide rate among adults aged 18–64 years with a high school education or less. We detected significant effect modification by unemployment rate, with the largest effects of minimum wage on reducing suicides observed at higher unemployment levels.ConclusionMinimum wage increases appear to reduce the suicide rate among those with a high school education or less, and may reduce disparities between socioeconomic groups. Effects appear greatest during periods of high unemployment.

Background:Epidemiological studies suggest that women exposed to disinfection by-products (DBPs) have an increased risk of delivering babies with cardiovascular defects (CVDs).Objective:We examined nine CVDs in relation to categorical DBP exposures including bromoform, chloroform, dibromochloromethane (DBCM), bromodichloromethane (BDCM), monobromoacetic acid (MBAA), dichloroacetic acid (DCAA), trichloroacetic acid (TCAA), and summary DBP measures (HAA5, THMBr, THM4, and DBP9).Methods:We calculated adjusted odds ratios (aORs) in a case–control study of birth defects in Massachusetts with complete quarterly 1999–2004 trihalomethane (THM) and haloacetic acid (HAA) data. We randomly matched 10 controls each to 904 CVD cases based on week of conception. Weight-averaged aggregate first-trimester DBP exposures were assigned to individuals based on residence at birth.Results:We detected associations for tetralogy of Fallot and the upper exposure categories for TCAA, DCAA, and HAA5 (aOR range, 3.34–6.51) including positive exposure–response relationships for DCAA and HAA5. aORs consistent in magnitude were detected between atrial septal defects and bromoform (aOR = 1.56; 95% CI: 1.01, 2.43), as well as DBCM, chloroform, and THM4 (aOR range, 1.26–1.67). Ventricular septal defects (VSDs) were associated with the highest bromoform (aOR = 1.85; 95% CI: 1.20, 2.83), MBAA (aOR = 1.81; 95% CI: 0.85, 3.84), and DBCM (aOR = 1.54; 95% CI: 1.00, 2.37) exposure categories.Conclusions:To our knowledge, this is the first birth defect study to develop multi-DBP adjusted regression models as well as the first CVD study to evaluate HAA exposures and the second to evaluate bromoform exposures. Our findings, therefore, inform exposure specificity for the consistent associations previously reported between THM4 and CVDs including VSDs.Citation:Wright JM, Evans A, Kaufman JA, Rivera-Núñez Z, Narotsky MG. 2017. Disinfection by-product exposures and the risk of specific cardiac birth defects. Environ Health Perspect 125:269–277; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP103

Background: Epidemiological studies report fairly consistent associations between various air pollution metrics and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with some elevated risks reported for different prenatal and postnatal periods. Objectives:To examine associations between ASD and ambient fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and ozone concentrations during the prenatal period through the second year of life in a casecontrol study.Methods: ASD cases (n=428) diagnosed at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center were frequency matched (15:1) to 6,420 controls from Ohio birth records. We assigned daily PM 2.5 and ozone estimates for 2005-2012 from US EPA's Fused Air Quality Surface Using Downscaling model to each participant for each day based on the mother's census tract of residence at birth. We calculated adjusted odds ratios (aORs) using logistic regression across continuous and categorical exposure window averages (trimesters, first and second postnatal years, and cumulative measure), adjusting for maternal-and birth-related confounders, both air pollutants, and multiple temporal exposure windows. Results:We detected elevated aORs for PM 2.5 during the 2 nd trimester, 1 st year of life, and a cumulative period from pregnancy through the 2 nd year (aOR ranges across categories: 1.41-1.44, 1.54-1.84, and 1.41-1.52 respectively), and for ozone in the 2 nd year of life (aOR range across categories: 1.29-1.42). Per each change in IQR, we observed elevated aORs for ozone in the 3 rd