Environmental exposure Archives

Current air pollution standards are insufficient to reduce heart risks

February 24, 2023

Long-term exposure to air pollution is tied to an increased risk of having a heart attack or dying from heart disease — with the greatest harms impacting under-resourced communities, new Kaiser Permanente research shows.

Study finds little evidence of link between autistic traits and PFAS environmental chemicals

January 12, 2023

A Kaiser Permanente analysis of prenatal exposure to the persistent environmental chemicals known as PFAS found suggestive evidence of an association with autism-related traits in children for just 1 of 8 PFAS chemicals studied.

Link between commonly used chemicals, gestational diabetes

October 13, 2022

Pregnant people may have increased risk of gestational diabetes if they have higher exposure to phenols, common chemicals used in food packaging and many consumer products, according to Kaiser Permanente research.

Higher street-level traffic-related air pollution linked to increased emergency room costs

August 9, 2022

Kaiser Permanente study conducted with scientists from the Environmental Defense Fund finds higher total health care costs for people with heart disease.

Neighborhood green space tied to lower health care costs

March 18, 2022

New Kaiser Permanente research finds health care system costs were lower for people who live in greener areas.

Long-term exposure to air pollution increases risk of dying from heart disease and stroke

January 4, 2021

New study is first to quantify and compare the effects of long-term exposure to small particle pollution on risk for different types of cardiovascular disease.

Girls who do not live with both parents more likely to start puberty early

October 28, 2020

New study by research scientist Ai Kubo, MPH, PhD, adds to the evidence suggesting a link between early life family structure and onset of puberty.

5 Questions for… Yeyi Zhu

September 19, 2019

Yeyi Zhu, PhD, wants to use big data analytics to improve women’s and children’s clinical care and health.

Medical imaging rates continue to rise despite push to reduce their use

September 3, 2019

Despite a broad campaign among physician groups to reduce the amount of imaging in medicine, the rates of use of CT, MRI and other scans have continued to increase in both the United States and Ontario, Canada, according to a new study of more than 135 million imaging exams.

Kaiser Permanente Data Helps Create Street-level View of the Health Impacts of Air Pollution in Oakland

May 15, 2018

Google’s Street View mapping cars have been mapping more than roads lately. Outfitted with new sensors to measure traffic-related air pollution, the cars roamed the streets of Oakland to create a block-by-block map of air pollution in three neighborhoods.

Kaiser Permanente to Examine Role of Environmental Factors in Childhood Obesity and Developmental Disorders

November 15, 2016

Kaiser Permanente researchers have received a major new grant from the National Institutes of Health to study how exposures to...

RPGEH: A world-class genomics project studying disease causes and healthy aging

February 2, 2011

It’s not every day Division of Research staff members are briefed by a Nobel Prize winner. Recently, 100 employees of...

Voice of the RPGEH: Marcia Ewing and the phone/survey team

January 30, 2011

It’s simply a case of cause and effect. To recruit 500,000 Northern California Kaiser Permanente members for a research project,...

RPGEH: Fast facts

January 29, 2011

Goal is database with 500,000 participants 430,000 have completed a health survey 170,000 gave saliva samples Future participants will be...

BPA study of Chinese factory workers finds link to reduced semen quality

January 21, 2011

In 2010, a five-year Kaiser Permanente Northern California study of more than 500 male Chinese factory workers found that those...

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