Identifying studies evaluating susceptibility factors for chemical health assessments: A case study focused on methylmercury developmental neurotoxicity
Identifying susceptibility factors for adverse health effects from chemical exposures is an important aspect of characterizing human health impacts. However, to date, an efficient approach for identifying these factors has not been established. To address this limitation, two approaches were utilize...
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Elsevier
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Environment International |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412025000820 |
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| author | Deborah Segal Rebecca Nachman Onyemaechi Nweke Elizabeth Radke Geanine Brunson Bita Khoshhal G. Nicole Helguero Leonid Kopylev |
| author_facet | Deborah Segal Rebecca Nachman Onyemaechi Nweke Elizabeth Radke Geanine Brunson Bita Khoshhal G. Nicole Helguero Leonid Kopylev |
| author_sort | Deborah Segal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Identifying susceptibility factors for adverse health effects from chemical exposures is an important aspect of characterizing human health impacts. However, to date, an efficient approach for identifying these factors has not been established. To address this limitation, two approaches were utilized to find studies that contained susceptibility information using methylmercury (MeHg) developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) as a case study. Both approaches start with a comprehensive literature search of 5 databases on MeHg followed by keyword filtering for potential epidemiology studies; however, the approaches diverged for the subsequent steps. Approach 1 initially included screening of all 7,531 studies captured by the human filter, but was modified when it was determined that 96% of studies found to include susceptibility information were captured by a dose–response filter. Approach 2 developed a susceptibility filter to limit the screening needed.Approach 1 resulted in the identification of 172 studies with information on MeHg DNT susceptibility. Approach 2 reduced screening by 52%, but only captured 74% of PECO-relevant studies when applied to the final study set. Although Approach 2 reduced screening by 12% compared with the use of the dose–response filter in Approach 1, the decreased detection of relevant studies precludes its use in most cases. Expected technological advances that allow refinement of a susceptibility filter to improve performance would be advantageous because of the potential further reduction in screening burden. However, at this time, Approach 1, involving the application of a dose–response filter, is currently recommended for identifying epidemiology papers with information on susceptibility factors. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c9246535fea64763aa8fc97352a14519 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0160-4120 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| spelling | doaj-art-c9246535fea64763aa8fc97352a145192025-08-20T02:15:38ZengElsevierEnvironment International0160-41202025-03-0119710933110.1016/j.envint.2025.109331Identifying studies evaluating susceptibility factors for chemical health assessments: A case study focused on methylmercury developmental neurotoxicityDeborah Segal0Rebecca Nachman1Onyemaechi Nweke2Elizabeth Radke3Geanine Brunson4Bita Khoshhal5G. Nicole Helguero6Leonid Kopylev7US EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20460 USA; Corresponding author.US EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20460 USAUS EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20460 USAUS EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20460 USAUniversity of Maryland School of Public Health, 4200 Valley Dr, College Park, MD 20742, USAGeorge Mason University, 4400 University Drive, MS: 5B7, Fairfax, VA 22030 USAGeorge Mason University, 4400 University Drive, MS: 5B7, Fairfax, VA 22030 USAUS EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20460 USAIdentifying susceptibility factors for adverse health effects from chemical exposures is an important aspect of characterizing human health impacts. However, to date, an efficient approach for identifying these factors has not been established. To address this limitation, two approaches were utilized to find studies that contained susceptibility information using methylmercury (MeHg) developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) as a case study. Both approaches start with a comprehensive literature search of 5 databases on MeHg followed by keyword filtering for potential epidemiology studies; however, the approaches diverged for the subsequent steps. Approach 1 initially included screening of all 7,531 studies captured by the human filter, but was modified when it was determined that 96% of studies found to include susceptibility information were captured by a dose–response filter. Approach 2 developed a susceptibility filter to limit the screening needed.Approach 1 resulted in the identification of 172 studies with information on MeHg DNT susceptibility. Approach 2 reduced screening by 52%, but only captured 74% of PECO-relevant studies when applied to the final study set. Although Approach 2 reduced screening by 12% compared with the use of the dose–response filter in Approach 1, the decreased detection of relevant studies precludes its use in most cases. Expected technological advances that allow refinement of a susceptibility filter to improve performance would be advantageous because of the potential further reduction in screening burden. However, at this time, Approach 1, involving the application of a dose–response filter, is currently recommended for identifying epidemiology papers with information on susceptibility factors.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412025000820Literature searchSystematic reviewSusceptibilityMethylmercuryFilterScreening |
| spellingShingle | Deborah Segal Rebecca Nachman Onyemaechi Nweke Elizabeth Radke Geanine Brunson Bita Khoshhal G. Nicole Helguero Leonid Kopylev Identifying studies evaluating susceptibility factors for chemical health assessments: A case study focused on methylmercury developmental neurotoxicity Environment International Literature search Systematic review Susceptibility Methylmercury Filter Screening |
| title | Identifying studies evaluating susceptibility factors for chemical health assessments: A case study focused on methylmercury developmental neurotoxicity |
| title_full | Identifying studies evaluating susceptibility factors for chemical health assessments: A case study focused on methylmercury developmental neurotoxicity |
| title_fullStr | Identifying studies evaluating susceptibility factors for chemical health assessments: A case study focused on methylmercury developmental neurotoxicity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Identifying studies evaluating susceptibility factors for chemical health assessments: A case study focused on methylmercury developmental neurotoxicity |
| title_short | Identifying studies evaluating susceptibility factors for chemical health assessments: A case study focused on methylmercury developmental neurotoxicity |
| title_sort | identifying studies evaluating susceptibility factors for chemical health assessments a case study focused on methylmercury developmental neurotoxicity |
| topic | Literature search Systematic review Susceptibility Methylmercury Filter Screening |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412025000820 |
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