APHL 2022 POSTER ABSTRACTS
Environmental Health system . PFAS are a group of chemicals that have been used in many industrial applications and consumer products . Firefighters are often exposed to PFAS through the use of firefighting foam containing PFAS . Participants in PFOMS provide blood samples for serum PFAS lab testing and complete an exposure survey . Research Electronic Data Capture ( REDCap ®) is a secure web application for building and managing online surveys and databases . In establishing the data systems in REDCap ® for this surveillance program , the PFOMS data team have addressed challenges related to data standardization and transfer capability , restricted data issues , multiple users from an interdisciplinary team and data security . The PFOMS data system was designed as six linked REDCap ® projects , each a relational database . The database allows the project team to recruit participants , track communication , link participant information across projects using unique identifiers , store laboratory data and automate communications between project team members and participants . REDCap ® projects utilize simple workflows that funnel data from three different sources into self-contained databases . These include internal data entry forms used by 20 different staff members and external data collection surveys completed by an estimated 350 participants at multiple distinct time points . After extraction from STARLIMSTM , R scripts are used to automatically clean and standardize data for 39 PFAS analytes through several quality assurance and control processes before upload into a REDCap ® project . An application programming interface ( API ) within R allows for uploading and extracting data to each REDCap ® project , automating much of the ETL ( extract , transform , load ) process from one system to the next . The exposure survey data is ultimately linked to these lab testing data which is collected using REDCap ® project in the database . REDCap ®, alongside the R coding software as implemented in the PFOMS project , allows for easy data collection , storage , retrieval and processing of laboratory results . This allows for improved communication and coordination within the project team .
Presenter : Omolade Latonia and Alex Perry , Michigan Department of Human and Health Services , Emails : latonao @ michigan . gov & perrya12 @ michigan . gov
NJHANES – Implementation , Progress , Learned Lessons
CH Yu , E Bind , E Cook , E Lax , M Chaves , D Riker and Z Fan , New Jersey Department of Health
The New Jersey Department of Health ( NJDOH ) is conducting a probability-based population surveillance study , NJHANES , that collects basic health and exposure information , nutritional status , and specimens ( blood , urine and serum ). The survey will measure physical health ( height , weight , blood pressure and heart rate ) at participants ’ homes and ~ 130 environmental contaminants in collected specimens at NJDOH labs . NJHANES ’ s design has been significantly modified since its inception to address COVID-19 brought challenges and limitations . For example , all activities with NJHANES participants are primarily established through non-contact online approaches , including mailing out recruitment package , screening eligible household members and conducting questionnaires through REDCap ( HIPPA-complaint survey platform ), consenting individual participants through virtual meetings over MS Teams , and scheduling the home visit and results reporting through an NJDOH secure email account . Only physical measurements and specimen collection are conducted at participant ’ s home by the contracted mobile phlebotomist service . We have adapted specimen collection to be efficient , accommodating and COVID-19 safe . Each staff member is required to wear PPE and use sanitized equipment . COVID-19 has complicated the scheduling of home visits and we prioritize participant ’ s comfort . The specimens are dropped off at NJDOH for testing through the contracted courier service . As of March 31 , 2022 , 49 households from the 2,000 randomly selected households contacted have responded with interest and 34 participants are consented to participate in the study . 29 home visits and specimen collection were made by simultaneously administering NJHANES surveys . Participants ’ specimen analyses were complete for metals ( n = 26 ) and individual metal results with established health limits ( lead , mercury and cadmium in blood and urine ; arsenic in urine ) were reported to study participants ( n = 23 ). We noted COVID-19 brings unanticipated recruitment challenges . We also note a low response rate due to the COVID-19 pandemic and that the participating population leans toward certain sociodemographic subdomains . By comparing NJHANES data with NJ reference data from US Census , we found statistical differences in NJHANES participants vs . NJ reference population , which were derived by higher participation rates from educated and older people . We will address these sampling biases by exploring recruitment strategies that invite nonresponse households including revising recruitment materials , door-to-door recruitment and increased incentives .
Presenter : Zhihua ( Tina ) Fan , New Jersey Public Health & Environmental Laboratories , tina . fan @ doh . nj . gov
Ultra-Sensitive SLE-LC-MS / MS Method Optimization and Validation for Nicotine Metabolites Measurement in Human Serum
C Xu , CH Yu , S O ’ Leary and Z Fan , New Jersey Public Health & Environmental Laboratories
Tobacco smoking remains a leading cause of preventable disease and premature death in the United States and other countries . Its active ingredient , nicotine , has long been recognized to be an addictive substance . Cotinine ( COT ) and trans-3 ’ -hydroxycotinine ( HC ) are two primary metabolites of nicotine after exposure to tobacco smoke . Because their concentrations in body fluids are greater and their half-lives are longer than nicotine , these two metabolites are generally preferred over nicotine as biomarkers of tobacco smoke exposure and are often used for biomonitoring in general population study . A bioanalytical method for the measurement of COT and HC in human serum has been developed by CDC ( Method 2017 ). The CDC method has been used for largescale biomonitoring study such as the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey ( NHANES ) that is ongoing . Due to a wide range of tobacco exposure in general population ( e . g ., smokers and non-smokers simultaneously ), a higher sensitivity / selectivity and a wider range of linearity are required for a population study . The Environmental and Chemical Laboratory Services ( ECLS ) within the New Jersey Department of Health ( NJDOH ) conducted experiments to optimize the method based on the CDC method # 2017 , including