Background-Preliminary evidence is equivocal regarding the role of exhaled nitric oxide in clinical asthma management. This study evaluates the usefulness of eNO as an adjunct to asthma guidelines-based clinical care among inner-city adolescents and young adults.

Background:The 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster led to the largest ever marine oil spill. Individuals who worked on the spill were exposed to toxicants and stressors that could lead to adverse effects.Objectives:The GuLF STUDY was designed to investigate relationships between oil spill exposures and multiple potential physical and mental health effects.Methods:Participants were recruited by telephone from lists of individuals who worked on the oil spill response and clean-up or received safety training. Enrollment interviews between 2011 and 2013 collected information about spill-related activities, demographics, lifestyle, and health. Exposure measurements taken during the oil spill were used with questionnaire responses to characterize oil exposures of participants. Participants from Gulf states completed a home visit in which biological and environmental samples, anthropometric and clinical measurements, and additional health and lifestyle information were collected. Participants are being followed for changes in health status.Results:Thirty-two thousand six hundred eight individuals enrolled in the cohort, and 11,193 completed a home visit. Most were young (56.2% ≤ 45 years of age), male (80.8%), lived in a Gulf state (82.3%), and worked at least 1 day on the oil spill (76.5%). Workers were involved in response (18.0%), support operations (17.5%), clean-up on water (17.4%) or land (14.6%), decontamination (14.3%), and administrative support (18.3%). Using an ordinal job exposure matrix, 45% had maximum daily total hydrocarbon exposure levels ≥ 1.0 ppm.Conclusions:The GuLF STUDY provides a unique opportunity to study potential adverse health effects from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.Citation:Kwok RK, Engel LS, Miller AK, Blair A, Curry MD, Jackson WB II, Stewart PA, Stenzel MR, Birnbaum LS, Sandler DP for the GuLF STUDY Research Team. 2017. The GuLF STUDY: a prospective study of persons involved in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response and clean-up. Environ Health Perspect 125:570–578; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP715

Summary Background Adverse mental health effects were reported following oil spills but few studies identified specific responsible attributes of the clean-up experience. Methods We evaluated the impact of multiple oil spill response and clean-up (OSRC) exposures following the Deepwater Horizon disaster on the mental health using data from the GuLF STUDY which includes 8,968 workers and 2,225 non-workers who completed an exam with depression and post-traumatic stress (PTS) screeners. Findings OSRC work was associated with increased prevalence of depression, PRDepression=1·22 (1·08, 1·37) and PTS, PRPTS =1·35 (1·07, 1·71). Among workers, those who reported smelling oil, dispersants or cleaning chemicals had an elevated prevalence of depression, PRDepression=1·58 (1·38, 1·81) and PTS, PRPTS=2·29 (1·71, 3·07). Other factors associated with depression and PTS included stopping work because of the heat (PRDepression=1·36 [1·22, 1·52] and PRPTS =1·41 [1·14, 1·74]) and working as a commercial fisherman prior to the spill (PRDepression=1·36 [1·19, 1·56]; PRPTS =1·86 [1·46, 2·38]). Increasing exposure to total hydrocarbons (TH) appeared associated with depression and PTS but after taking into account work experiences, only the association between the highest TH level and PTS remained, PRPTS=1·75 (1·11, 2·76). Interpretation Workers with high levels of TH exposure or potentially stressful work experiences had increased prevalence of depression and PTS.

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Background Studies of workers exposed to benzene at average air concentrations below one part per million suggest that benzene, a known hematotoxin, causes hematopoietic damage even at low exposure levels. However, evidence of such effects outside of occupational settings and for other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is limited. Objective To investigate associations between ambient exposures to five VOCs, including benzene, and hematologic parameters among adult residents of the U. S. Gulf Coast. Materials and Methods Blood concentrations of selected VOCs were measured in a sample of adult participants in the Gulf Long-term Follow-up Study (GuLF STUDY) during 2012 and 2013. Complete blood counts with differentials were also performed on a subset of participants (n=406). We used these data together with detailed questionnaire data to estimate adjusted associations between blood BTEXS (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, o-xylene, m/p-xylene, and styrene) concentrations and hematologic parameters using generalized linear models. Results We observed inverse associations between blood benzene concentrations and hemoglobin concentration and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, and a positive association with red cell distribution width among tobacco smoke-unexposed participants (n=146). Among tobacco smoke-exposed participants (n=247), we observed positive associations between blood VOC concentrations and several hematologic parameters, including increased white blood cell and platelet counts, suggestive of hematopoietic stimulation typically associated with tobacco smoke exposure. Most associations were stronger for benzene than for the other VOCs. Conclusions Our results suggest that ambient exposure to BTEXS, particularly benzene, may be associated with hematologic effects, including decreased hemoglobin concentration, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, and increased red cell distribution width.