-
Environmental Pollution (Barking, Essex... May 2023Black carbon (BC) is a product of incomplete or inefficient combustion and may be associated with a variety of adverse effects on human health. The objective of this... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Black carbon (BC) is a product of incomplete or inefficient combustion and may be associated with a variety of adverse effects on human health. The objective of this study was to analyze the association between various mortalities and long-/short-term exposure to BC as an independent pollutant. In this systematic review, we searched 4 databases for original research in English up to 6 October 2022, that investigated population-wide mortality due to BC exposure. We pooled mortality estimates and expressed them as relative risk (RR) per 10 μg/m increase in BC. We used a random-effect model to derive the pooled RRs. Of the 3186 studies identified, 29 articles met the eligibility criteria, including 18 long-term exposure studies and 11 short-term exposure studies. In the major meta-analysis and sensitivity analysis, positive associations were found between BC and total mortality and cause-specific disease mortalities. Among them, the short-term effects of BC on total mortality, cardiovascular disease mortality, respiratory disease mortality, and the long-term effects of BC on total mortality, ischemic heart disease mortality, respiratory disease mortality and lung cancer mortality were found to be statistically significant. The heterogeneity of the meta-analysis results was much lower for short-term studies than for long-term. Few studies were at a high risk of bias in any domain. The certainty of the evidence for most of the exposure-outcome pairs was moderate. Our study showed a significantly positive association between short-/long-term BC exposure and various mortalities. We speculate that BC has a higher adverse health effect on the respiratory system than on the cardiovascular system. This is different from the effect of PM. Therefore, more studies are needed to consider BC as a separate pollutant, and not just as a component of PM.
Topics: Humans; Cause of Death; Air Pollutants; Environmental Pollutants; Soot; Carbon; Environmental Exposure; Particulate Matter; Air Pollution
PubMed: 36649881
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121086 -
Annals of Anatomy = Anatomischer... Jan 2023Tooth whitening is currently one of the most requested treatments to change the color of teeth. There are different types of whitening in the dental office and at home....
INTRODUCTION
Tooth whitening is currently one of the most requested treatments to change the color of teeth. There are different types of whitening in the dental office and at home. There are also many whitening agents on the market. Nowadays, the public has shown great interest in a new natural compound: activated charcoal. It has an abrasive effect and it is included in toothpastes to whiten teeth quickly and easily.
OBJECTIVES
The main objective of the systematic review is to perform a qualitative synthesis of the available literature on the use of activated charcoal-based toothpaste for tooth whitening.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
An electronic search was carried out in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. The search included the terms (charcoal-based OR activated charcoal OR charcoal OR soot) AND (toothpaste OR dentifrices OR bleaching OR oral hygiene OR enamel OR teeth). Inclusion criteria were articles that were published in English, that included activated charcoal toothpastes, that assessed the efficacy of activated charcoal bleaching and/or the safety of using activated charcoal toothpastes, that were conducted on humans or extracted teeth regardless of their origin and the year of publication.
RESULTS
Out of 208 articles, 11 met the inclusion criteria, the Risk of Bias of the selected studies was determined as medium-high. Regarding the whitening effect, there is a variety of results depending on the study: in some there are no significant differences between the proposed treatments and in others activated charcoal is not the most whitening agent. Regarding the abrasive effect, most studies agree that activated charcoal toothpaste has a higher abrasive potential.
CONCLUSION
Toothpastes based on activated charcoal possess a lower whitening effect than other alternatives and can be considered as less safe due to its high abrasive potential.
Topics: Humans; Toothpastes; Bleaching Agents; Charcoal; Tooth Bleaching; Tooth
PubMed: 36183933
DOI: 10.1016/j.aanat.2022.151998 -
Environmental Pollution (Barking, Essex... Nov 2022Exposure measurement error is an important source of bias in epidemiological studies. We assessed the validity of employing ambient (outdoor) measurements as proxies of... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Exposure measurement error is an important source of bias in epidemiological studies. We assessed the validity of employing ambient (outdoor) measurements as proxies of personal exposures at individual levels focusing on fine particles (PM) and black carbon (BC)/elemental carbon (EC) on a global scale. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis and searched databases (ISI Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE®, Ovid Embase, and Ovid BIOSIS) to retrieve observational studies in English language published from 1 January 2006 until 5 May 2021. Correlation coefficients (r) between paired ambient (outdoor) concentration and personal exposure for PM or BC/EC were standardized as effect size. We used random-effects meta-analyses to pool the correlation coefficients and investigated the causes of heterogeneity and publication bias. Furthermore, we employed subgroup and meta-regression analyses to evaluate the modification of pooled estimates by potential mediators. This systematic review identified thirty-two observational studies involving 1744 subjects from ten countries, with 28 studies for PM and 11 studies for BC/EC. Personal PM exposure is more strongly correlated with ambient (outdoor) concentrations (0.63, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.57-0.68) than personal BC/EC exposure (0.49, 95% CI: 0.38-0.59), with significant differences in ṝ (0.14, 95% CI: 0.03-0.25; p < 0.05). The results demonstrated that the health status of participants was a significant modifier of pooled correlations. In addition, the personal to ambient (P/A) ratio for PM and average ambient BC/EC levels were potential effect moderators of the pooled ṝ. The funnel plots and Egger's regression test indicated inevident publication bias. The pooled estimates were robust through sensitivity analyses. The results support the growing consensus that the validity coefficient of proxy measures should be addressed when interpreting results from epidemiological studies to better understand how strong health outcomes are affected by different levels of PM and their components.
Topics: Air Pollutants; Carbon; Databases, Factual; Environmental Exposure; Humans; Particulate Matter; Regression Analysis; Soot
PubMed: 36037851
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120030 -
Mutation Research. Reviews in Mutation... 2022Carbon black exposure causes oxidative stress, inflammation and genotoxicity. The objective of this systematic review was to assess the contributions of primary (i.e.... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Carbon black exposure causes oxidative stress, inflammation and genotoxicity. The objective of this systematic review was to assess the contributions of primary (i.e. direct formation of DNA damage) and secondary genotoxicity (i.e., DNA lesions produced indirectly by inflammation) to the overall level of DNA damage by carbon black. The database is dominated by studies that have measured DNA damage by the comet assay. Cell culture studies indicate a genotoxic action of carbon black, which might be mediated by oxidative stress. Many in vivo studies originate from one laboratory that has investigated the genotoxic effects of Printex 90 in mice by intra-tracheal instillation. Meta-analysis and pooled analysis of these results demonstrate that Printex 90 exposure is associated with a slightly increased level of DNA strand breaks in bronchoalveolar lavage cells and lung tissue. Other types of genotoxic damage have not been investigated as thoroughly as DNA strand breaks, although there is evidence to suggest that carbon black exposure might increase the mutation frequency and cytogenetic endpoints. Stratification of studies according to concurrent inflammation and DNA damage does not indicate that carbon black exposure gives rise to secondary genotoxicity. Even substantial pulmonary inflammation is at best only associated with a weak genotoxic response in lung tissue. In conclusion, the review indicates that nanosized carbon black is a weak genotoxic agent and this effect is more likely to originate from a primary genotoxic mechanism of action, mediated by e.g., oxidative stress, than inflammation-driven (secondary) genotoxicity.
Topics: Mice; Animals; Soot; Comet Assay; DNA Damage; Nanoparticles; Inflammation; Mammals
PubMed: 36007825
DOI: 10.1016/j.mrrev.2022.108441 -
Toxicology and Industrial Health Jul 2022Today, tattooing has become very popular among people all over the world. Tattooists, with the help of tiny needles, place tattoo ink inside the skin surface and...
Tattoo inks are toxicological risks to human health: A systematic review of their ingredients, fate inside skin, toxicity due to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, primary aromatic amines, metals, and overview of regulatory frameworks.
Today, tattooing has become very popular among people all over the world. Tattooists, with the help of tiny needles, place tattoo ink inside the skin surface and unintentionally introduce a large number of unknown ingredients. These ingredients include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heavy metals, and primary aromatic amines (PAAs), which are either unintentionally introduced along with the ink or produced inside the skin by different types of processes for example cleavage, metabolism and photodecomposition. These could pose toxicological risks to human health, if present beyond permissible limits. PAH such as Benzo(a)pyrene is present in carbon black ink. PAAs could be formed inside the skin as a result of reductive cleavage of organic azo dyes. They are reported to be highly carcinogenic by environmental protection agencies. Heavy metals, namely, cadmium, lead, mercury, antimony, beryllium, and arsenic are responsible for cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, lungs, kidneys, liver, endocrine, and bone diseases. Mercury, cobalt sulphate, other soluble cobalt salts, and carbon black are in Group 2B, which means they may cause cancer in humans. Cadmium and compounds of cadmium, on the other hand, are in Group 1 (carcinogenic to humans). The present article addresses the various ingredients of tattoo inks, their metabolic fate inside human skin and unintentionally added impurities that could pose toxicological risk to human health. Public awareness and regulations that are warranted to be implemented globally for improving the safety of tattooing.
Topics: Amines; Cadmium; Carcinogens; Humans; Ink; Mercury; Metals; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; Soot; Tattooing
PubMed: 35592919
DOI: 10.1177/07482337221100870 -
Forensic Science International Jan 2020Suicides involving more than one suicide method are termed "complex suicides" and need to be differentiated from murders. Self-immolation is the action of setting fire...
Suicides involving more than one suicide method are termed "complex suicides" and need to be differentiated from murders. Self-immolation is the action of setting fire to oneself and is an infrequent method of suicide method in Western countries. However, burned corpses must be carefully examined because setting fire to a body after death can be a way of covering up a crime. Complex suicides involving self-immolation are rare, but careful analysis is necessary if we are to identify the manner of death. A systematic search of the literature concerning self-incineration in cases of complex suicides was carried out. This covered the age, gender and psychiatric condition of the victims, any history of previous suicide attempts, the existence of suicide notes, evidence of fire accelerants, signs of vital exposure to the fire, toxicology, the other suicide methods used in combination with burning and the characteristics of the burns. 46 cases were found in 22 papers published since 1985, but few of these studies provide any detailed analysis and in several cases many important data were missing. There is, therefore, a need to study this topic and to use an approach based on careful examination of the corpse, detailed investigation of the scene, toxicological examination and an evaluation of the victim's physical and psychiatric state.
Topics: Age Distribution; Burns; Carboxyhemoglobin; Fires; Forensic Pathology; Humans; Mental Disorders; Periodicals as Topic; Respiratory Mucosa; Sex Distribution; Soot; Substance Abuse Detection; Suicide, Completed
PubMed: 31812818
DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2019.110073