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Background: The observed age of menarche has fallen, which may have important adverse social and health consequences. Increased exposure to endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) has been associated with adverse reproductive outcomes.Objective: Our objective was to assess the relationship between EDC exposure and the age of menarche in adolescent girls.Methods: We used data from female participants 12–16 years of age who had completed the reproductive health questionnaire and laboratory examination for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for years 2003–2008 (2005–2008 for analyses of phthalates and parabens). Exposures were assessed based on creatinine-corrected natural log urine concentrations of selected environmental chemicals and metabolites found in at least 75% of samples in our study sample. We used Cox proportional hazards analysis in SAS 9.2 survey procedures to estimate associations after accounting for censored data among participants who had not reached menarche. We evaluated body mass index (BMI; kilograms per meter squared), family income-to-poverty ratio, race/ethnicity, mother’s smoking status during pregnancy, and birth weight as potential confounders.Results: The weighted mean age of menarche was 12.0 years of age. Among 440 girls with both reproductive health and laboratory data, after accounting for BMI and race/ethnicity, we found that 2,5-dichlorophenol (2,5-DCP) and summed environmental phenols (2,5-DCP and 2,4-DCP) were inversely associated with age of menarche [hazard ratios of 1.10; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01, 1.19 and 1.09; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.19, respectively]. Other exposures (total parabens, bisphenol A, triclosan, benzophenone-3, total phthalates, and 2,4-DCP) were not significantly associated with age of menarche.Conclusions: Our findings suggest an association between 2,5-DCP, a potential EDC, and earlier age of menarche in the general U.S. population.

Background Unintentional, non-fire related (UNFR) carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning deaths are preventable. Surveillance of the populations most at-risk for unintentional, non-fire related (UNFR) carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is crucial for targeting prevention efforts. Objective This study provides estimates on UNFR CO poisoning mortality in the United States and characterizes the at-risk populations. Methods We used 1999 to 2012 data to calculate death rates. We used underlying and multiple conditions variables from death records to identify UNFR CO poisoning cases. Results For this study, we identified 6136 CO poisoning fatalities during 1999 to 2012 resulting in an average of 438 deaths annually. The annual average age-adjusted death rate was 1.48 deaths per million. Fifty four percent of the deaths occurred in a home. Age-adjusted death rates were highest for males (2.21 deaths per million) and non-Hispanic blacks (1.74 deaths per million). The age-specific death rate was highest for those aged ≥85 years (6.00 deaths per million). The annual rate of UNFR CO poisoning deaths did not change substantially during the study period, but we observed a decrease in the rate of suicide and unintentional fire related cases. Conclusion CO poisoning was the second most common non-medicinal poisonings death. Developing and enhancing current public health interventions could reduce ongoing exposures to CO from common sources, such as those in the residential setting.

In this study, the authors examined the distribution and odds of occupational injury among hourly employees of a US aluminum manufacturing company by body mass index (weight (kg)/height (m)(2)). In 2002, height and weight data on 7,690 workers at eight plants were extracted from medical records from annual physicals, and body mass index was categorized. Information on traumatic injuries recorded between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2004, was obtained from a company injury surveillance system. Twenty-nine percent of the employees (n = 2,221) sustained at least one injury. Approximately 85 percent of injured workers were classified as overweight or obese. The odds of injury in the highest obesity group as compared with the ideal body mass index group were 2.21 (95% confidence interval: 1.34, 3.53), after adjustment for sex, age, education, smoking, physical demands of the job, plant process and location, time since hire, time in the job, and significant interaction terms. Injuries to the leg or knee were especially prevalent among members of this very obese group. Research findings support an association between body mass index and traumatic workplace injuries among manufacturing employees. Workplace safety personnel might consider adding policies or programs that address weight reduction and maintenance as part of ongoing comprehensive workplace safety strategies.