Research and Professional Experience
A large part of my research applies the methods of occupational, environmental, and molecular epidemiology to studying the health effects of chemicals. Health effects of interest include those in the central nervous (e.g., cognitive function, brain structure), peripheral nervous, cardiovascular, and renal systems. My research has focused on the health effects of metals (e.g., organic lead, inorganic lead, mercury, cadmium) and various organic compounds (e.g., polychlorinated biphenyls, hydrocarbon solvents). We are particularly interested in the importance of recent vs. lifetime cumulative dose, the timing of the dose during the lifespan and its relation to health effects, and how these each contribute to acute, reversible health effects and chronic, likely irreversible health effects. The studies are also evaluating whether genetic polymorphisms interact with chemical exposures to modify disease risk, an evaluation of gene-environment interaction. We have used several biologic markers of chemical dose in studying health effects, including some health outcomes never before studied in relation to chemicals. We have recently found that cumulative lead dose, measuring lead concentration in bone with X-ray fluorescence, is associated with persistent structural lesions in the brain (i.e., smaller volumes of brain structures and increased prevalence and severity of white matter lesions), and these, in turn, are associated with progressive declines in cognitive function as people age.
The benefits of the lead research include a better understanding of the mechanisms of the health effects of lead, and assistance with risk assessment and regulatory policy. Our research suggests that cumulative lead dose, not just recent dose, is very important to the development of health effects. This is a very important observation, because currently, all occupational lead regulations are based on blood lead levels, a measure of recent dose. Thus, although the health effects of lead may be cumulative and chronic, regulations do not require that cumulative dose be considered in the protection of the health of lead workers. We have also found that there are subgroups, characterized by the different polymorphisms, which may be more susceptible to the health effects of lead. Our research will help to address both these deficiencies.
I have become increasingly interested in the issue of global environmental sustainability, and how land use and energy use are contributing to global climate change, ecosystem degradation, biodiversity and species losses, and ultimately, posing important risks to individual and population health. We have ongoing studies of land use (the built environment) and obesity, the local food environment and local physical activity environment, and diabetes mellitus progression, abandoned mine lands and community health, and evaluating the public health risks of “after peak oil,” the notion that world petroleum production will likely soon peak then begin a steady and progressive decline. As the co-director of the Program on Global Sustainability and Health, we are developing courses and research related to these areas.
Selected Publications
2008 to 2011:
Lee BK, Glass TA, James BD, Bandeen-Roche K, Schwartz BS. Neighborhood psychosocial environment, apolipoprotein E genotype, and cognitive function in older adults. Arch Gen Psych 2011; 68: 314-21.
Weaver VM, Kim N-S, Jaar BG, Schwartz BS, Parsons PJ, Steuerwald AJ, Todd AC, Simon D, Lee B-K. Associations of low-level urine cadmium with kidney function in lead workers. Occ Environ Med 2011; 68: 250-6.
Schwartz BS, Parker C, Hess J, Frumkin H. Public health and medicine in an age of energy scarcity: the case of petroleum. Am J Public Health 2011; in press.
Zipunnikov V, Caffo B, Crainiceanu C, Davatzikos C, Schwartz BS. Functional principal components models for high dimensional brain volumetrics. J Comput Graph Stat 2011; in press.
Lee BK, Glass TA, Schwartz BS. Propensity score methods in neighborhood studies: the neighborhood psychosocial environment and cognitive function. Health & Place 2011; in press.
Schwartz BS, Parker C. Public health concerns of shale gas production. As companion to Hughes JD, Will natural gas fuel America in the 21st Century? Published by Post Carbon Institute, Santa Rosa, CA, June 2011 (in press).
Parker CL, Schwartz BS. Human Health and Well-Being in an Era of Energy Scarcity and Climate Change. In: Heinberg R, Lerch D (editors). The Post Carbon Reader: Managing the 21st Century’s Sustainability Crises. Healdsburg, CA: Watershed Media, 2010, pp 385-405.
Feng J, Glass TA, Curriero FC, Stewart WF, Schwartz BS. The built environment and obesity: a systematic review of the epidemiologic evidence. Health & Place 2010; 16: 175-90.
Schwartz BS, Caffo B, Stewart WF, Hedlin H, James BD, Yousem D, Davatzikos C. Evaluation of cumulative lead dose and longitudinal changes in structural magnetic resonance imaging in former organolead workers. J Occup Environ Med 2010; 52: 407-14.
Swihart BJ, Caffo B, James BD, Strand M, Schwartz BS, Punjabi NM. Lasagna plots: a saucy alternative to spaghetti plots. Epidemiology 2010; 21: 621-5.
Glass TA, Bandeen-Roche K, McAtee M, Bolla K, Todd AC, Schwartz BS. Neighborhood psychosocial hazards and the association of cumulative lead dose with cognitive function in older adults. Am J Epidemiol 2009; 169: 683-92.
Cagney KA, Glass TA, Skarupski KA, Barnes LL, Schwartz BS, Mendes de Leon CF. Neighborhood-level cohesion and disorder: measurement and validation in two older adult urban populations. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2009; 64: 415-24.
Bandeen-Roche K, Glass TA, Bolla KI, Todd AC, Schwartz BS. Cumulative lead dose and cognitive function in older adults. Epidemiology 2009; 20: 831-9.
Chen S, Wang C, Eberly LE, Caffo BS, Schwartz BS. Adaptive control of the false discovery rate in voxel-based morphometry. Human Brain Mapping 2009; 30: 2304-11.
Caffo B, Chen S, Stewart W, Bolla K, Yousem D, Davatzikos C, Schwartz BS. Are brain volumes based on magnetic resonance imaging mediators of the associations of cumulative lead dose with cognitive function? Am J Epidemiol 2008; 167: 429-37.
Navas-Acien A, Schwartz BS, Rothenberg SJ, Hu H, Silbergeld EK, Guallar E. Bone lead levels and blood pressure endpoints – a meta-analysis. Epidemiol 2008; 19: 496-504.
Weaver VM, Ellis LR, Lee B-K, Todd AC, Shi W, Ahn K-D, Schwartz BS. Associations between patella lead and blood pressure in lead workers. Am J Indus Med 2008; 51: 336-43.
Theppeang K, Glass TA, Bandeen-Roche K, Todd AC, Rohde CA, Links JM, Schwartz BS. Associations of bone mineral density and lead levels in blood, tibia, and patella in urban-dwelling women. Environ Health Perspect 2008; 116: 784-790.
Theppeang K, Glass TA, Bandeen-Roche K, Todd AC, Rohde CA, Schwartz BS. Sex and race/ethnicity differences in lead dose biomarkers: predictors of lead in blood, tibia, and patella in older, community-dwelling adults in an urban setting. Am J Public Health 2008; 98: 1248-55.
Augustin T, Glass TA, James BD, Schwartz BS. Neighborhood psychosocial hazards and cardiovascular disease: the Baltimore Memory Study. Am J Public Health 2008; 98: 1664-70.
Lee BK, Glass TA, Wand GS, McAtee MJ, Bandeen-Roche K, Bolla KI, Schwartz BS. Apolipoprotein E genotype, cortisol, and cognitive function in community-dwelling older adults. Am J Psych 2008; 165: 1456-64.
Schwartz BS. Climate Change and Public Health – Overview: Climate Change, Peak Petroleum, and Public Health. Selection from APHA 2007: Emergent Issues in Public Health. A summary of climate change presentations at the 135th Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association. Conference Coverage, Medscape Public Health and Prevention, Medscape (WebMD) online 2008 (www.medscape.com/viewarticle/574087).
