Dr. G.S. (George) Downward

PhD Candidate
One Health Epidemiology Chemical Agents
Associate Professor
One Health Epidemiology Chemical Agents
g.s.downward@uu.nl

Publications

2024

Scholarly publications

COVID-19 remote early detection (COVID-RED) consortium (2024). Sex-specific differences in physiological parameters related to SARS-CoV-2 infections among a national cohort (COVI-GAPP study). PLoS One, 19(3 March), Article e0292203. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0292203
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/437283/journal.pone.0292203.pdf?sequence=1
Bazdar, S., van den Berg, S., Rutjes, N. W., Bloemsma, L. D., Downward, G. S., De Weger, L. A., Terheggen-Lagro, S. W. J., van Wijck, Y., Maitland van der Zee, A. H., & Kapitein, B. (2024). The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on PICU admissions for severe asthma exacerbations: A single-center experience. Pediatric Pulmonology, 59(2), 263-273. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppul.26741
Houweling, L., Maitland-Van der Zee, A.-H., Holtjer, J. C. S., Bazdar, S., Vermeulen, R. C. H., Downward, G. S., & Bloemsma, L. D. (2024). The effect of the urban exposome on COVID-19 health outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Environmental Research, 240(Pt 2), Article 117351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.117351

2023

Scholarly publications

Lomme, J., Reedijk, M., Peters, S., Downward, G. S., Stefanopoulou, M., Vermeulen, R., & Huss, A. (2023). Traffic-related air pollution, road traffic noise, and Parkinson's disease: Evaluations in two Dutch cohort studies. Environmental Epidemiology, 7(6), Article E272. https://doi.org/10.1097/EE9.0000000000000272
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/437281/traffic_related_air_pollution_road_traffic_noise_.3.pdf?sequence=1
Weber, E., Downward, G., Pinho, M. G. M., & Van Vuuren, D. P. (2023). Healthy lives and well-being for all at all ages: expanding representations of determinants of health within systems dynamics and integrated assessment models. Sustainable Earth Reviews, 6(1), Article 15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42055-023-00064-5
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/435551/s42055-023-00064-5.pdf?sequence=1
P4O2 Consortium, Weersink, E. J., van de Werken, M., de Wit-van Wijck, Y., Young, S., & Nossent, E. J. (2023). Precision Medicine for More Oxygen (P4O2)-Study Design and First Results of the Long COVID-19 Extension. Journal of Personalized Medicine, 13(7), Article 1060. https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm13071060
Weber, E., Downward, G. S., Ebi, K. L., Lucas, P. L., & van Vuuren, D. (2023). The use of environmental scenarios to project future health effects: a scoping review. The Lancet Planetary Health, 7(7), e611-e621. Article e611-e621. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(23)00110-9
Blechter, B., Cardenas, A., Shi, J., Wong, J. Y. Y., Hu, W., Rahman, M. L., Breeze, C., Downward, G. S., Portengen, L., Zhang, Y., Ning, B., Ji, B.-T., Cawthon, R., Li, J., Yang, K., Bozack, A., Dean Hosgood, H., Silverman, D. T., Huang, Y., ... Lan, Q. (2023). Household air pollution and epigenetic aging in Xuanwei, China. Environment International, 178, Article 108041. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2023.108041
P4O2 Consortium, Holtjer, J. C. S., Bloemsma, L. D., Beijers, R. J. H. C. G., Cornelissen, M. E. B., Hilvering, B., Houweling, L., Vermeulen, R. C. H., Downward, G. S., & Maitland-Van der Zee, A.-H. (2023). Identifying risk factors for COPD and adult-onset asthma: an umbrella review. European Respiratory Review, 32(168), Article 230009. https://doi.org/10.1183/16000617.0009-2023
Blechter, B., Wong, J. Y. Y., Hu, W., Cawthon, R., Downward, G. S., Portengen, L., Zhang, Y., Ning, B., Rahman, M. L., Ji, B.-T., Li, J., Yang, K., Hosgood, H. D., Silverman, D. T., Huang, Y., Rothman, N., Vermeulen, R., & Lan, Q. (2023). Exposure to smoky coal combustion emissions and leukocyte Alu retroelement copy number. Carcinogenesis, 44(5), 404-410. https://doi.org/10.1093/carcin/bgad027
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/430340/bgad027.pdf?sequence=1
Wong, J. Y., Blechter, B., Bassig, B. A., Dai, Y., Vermeulen, R., Hu, W., Rahman, M. L., Duan, H., Niu, Y., Downward, G. S., Leng, S., Ji, B.-T., Fu, W., Xu, J., Meliefste, K., Zhou, B., Yang, J., Ren, D., Ye, M., ... Lan, Q. (2023). Alterations to biomarkers related to long-term exposure to diesel exhaust at concentrations below occupational exposure limits in the European Union and the USA. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 80(5), 260-267. https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2022-108719
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/428968/260.full.pdf?sequence=1
P4O2 Consortium (2023). A Systematic Review of Chest Imaging Findings in Long COVID Patients. Journal of Personalized Medicine, 13(2), Article 282. https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm13020282
Portengen, L., Downward, G., Bassig, B. A., Blechter, B., Hu, W., Wong, J. Y. Y., Ning, B., Rahman, M. L., Ji, B.-T., Li, J., Yang, K., Hosgood, H. D., Silverman, D. T., Rothman, N., Huang, Y., Vermeulen, R., & Lan, Q. (2023). Methylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from household coal use across the life course and risk of lung cancer in a large cohort of 42,420 subjects in Xuanwei, China. Environment international, 173, 1-8. Article 107870. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2023.107870

Professional publications

Asia Cohort Consortium Executive Board (2023). Ambient Air Pollution and All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality in an Analysis of Asian Cohorts. (Research report (Health Effects Institute); No. 213). Health Effects Institute. https://www.healtheffects.org/system/files/downward-rr-213-report_1.pdf
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/429639/downward-rr-213-report_1.pdf?sequence=1

2022

Scholarly publications

Heath, A. K., Muller, D. C., van den Brandt, P. A., Critselis, E., Gunter, M., Vineis, P., Weiderpass, E., Boeing, H., Ferrari, P., Merritt, M. A., Rostgaard-Hansen, A. L., Tjønneland, A., Overvad, K., Katzke, V., Srour, B., Masala, G., Sacerdote, C., Ricceri, F., Pasanisi, F., ... Tsilidis, K. K. (2022). Diet-wide association study of 92 foods and nutrients and lung cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study and the Netherlands Cohort Study. International Journal of Cancer, 151(11), 1935-1946. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.34211
Wong, J. Y. Y., Imani, P., Grigoryan, H., Bassig, B. A., Dai, Y., Wei, H., Blechter, B., Rahman, M. L., Ji, B. T., Duan, H., Niu, Y., Ye, M., Jia, X., Meng, T., Bin, P., Downward, G., Meliefste, K., Leng, S., Fu, W., ... Lan, Q. (2022). Exposure to diesel engine exhaust and alterations to the Cys34/Lys525 adductome of human serum albumin. Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology, 95, Article 103966. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.etap.2022.103966
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/425228/1_s2.0_S1382668922001594_main.pdf?sequence=1
Nagaradona, T., Bassig, B. A., Hosgood, D., Vermeulen, R. C. H., Ning, B., Seow, W. J., Hu, W., Portengen, L., Wong, J., Shu, X.-O., Zheng, W., Appel, N., Gao, Y.-T., Cai, Q.-Y., Yang, G., Chen, Y., Downward, G., Li, J., Yang, K., ... Lan, Q. (2022). Overall and cause-specific mortality rates among men and women with high exposure to indoor air pollution from the use of smoky and smokeless coal: a cohort study in Xuanwei, China. BMJ Open, 12(11), Article e058714. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-058714
Seow, W. J., Hu, W., Dai, Y., Vermeulen, R., Byun, H.-M., Wong, J. Y. Y., Bassig, B. A., Blechter, B., Duan, H., Niu, Y., Downward, G., Leng, S., Ji, B.-T., Fu, W., Xu, J., Meliefste, K., Yang, J., Ren, D., Ye, M., ... Lan, Q. (2022). Association between diesel exhaust exposure and mitochondrial DNA methylation. Carcinogenesis, 43(12), 1131–1136. https://doi.org/10.1093/carcin/bgac077
COVID-19 remote early detection (COVID-RED) consortium (2022). Investigation of the use of a sensor bracelet for the presymptomatic detection of changes in physiological parameters related to COVID-19: an interim analysis of a prospective cohort study (COVI-GAPP). BMJ Open, 12(6), 1-12. Article e058274. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-058274
Mitratza, M., Goodale, B. M., Shagadatova, A., Kovacevic, V., van de Wijgert, J., Brakenhoff, T. B., Dobson, R., Franks, B., Veen, D., Folarin, A. A., Stolk, P., Grobbee, J., Cronin, M., & Downward, G. S. (2022). The performance of wearable sensors in the detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection: a systematic review. The Lancet Digital Health, 4(5), e370-e383. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2589-7500(22)00019-X
Scholten, B., Portengen, L., Pronk, A., Stierum, R., Downward, G. S., Vlaanderen, J., & Vermeulen, R. (2022). Estimation of the exposure response relation between benzene and acute myeloid leukemia by combining epidemiological, human biomarker, and animal data. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, 31(4), 751–757. https://doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.epi-21-0287
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/431666/751.pdf?sequence=1

2021

Scholarly publications

Yu, Z., Peters, S., van Boxmeer, L., Downward, G. S., Hoek, G., Kioumourtzoglou, M.-A., Weisskopf, M. G., Hansen, J., van den Berg, L. H., & Vermeulen, R. C. H. (2021). Long-Term Exposure to Ultrafine Particles and Particulate Matter Constituents and the Risk of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Environmental Health Perspectives, 129(9), 1-4. Article 097702. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp9131
Zhang, Y., Meliefste, K., Hu, W., Li, J., Xu, J., Ning, B., Yang, K., Chen, Y., Liu, D., Wong, J., Rahman, M., Rothman, N., Huang, Y., Cassee, F., Vermeulen, R., Lan, Q., & Downward, G. S. (2021). Household air pollution from, and fuel efficiency of, different coal types following local cooking practices in Xuanwei, China. Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987), 290, 1-9. Article 117949. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117949
Wong, J. Y. Y., Cawthon, R., Dai, Y., Vermeulen, R., Bassig, B. A., Hu, W., Duan, H., Niu, Y., Downward, G. S., Leng, S., Ji, B.-T., Fu, W., Xu, J., Meliefste, K., Zhou, B., Yang, J., Ren, D., Ye, M., Jia, X., ... Lan, Q. (2021). Elevated Alu retroelement copy number among workers exposed to diesel engine exhaust. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 78(11), 823-828. Article 107462. https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2021-107462
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/418827/823.full.pdf?sequence=1
Ribeiro, A. G., Vermeulen, R., Cardoso, M. R. A., Latorre, M. D. R. D. D. O., Hystad, P., Downward, G. S., & Nardocci, A. C. (2021). Residential traffic exposure and lymphohematopoietic malignancies among children in the city of São Paulo, Brazil: An ecological study. Cancer Epidemiology, 70, Article 101859. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.canep.2020.101859

2020

Scholarly publications

Hu, W., Downward, G., Wong, J. Y. Y., Reiss, B., Rothman, N., Portengen, L., Li, J., Jones, R. R., Huang, Y., Yang, K., Chen, Y., Xu, J., He, J., Bassig, B., Seow, W. J., Hosgood, H. D., Zhang, L., Wu, G., Wei, F., ... Lan, Q. (2020). Characterization of outdoor air pollution from solid fuel combustion in Xuanwei and Fuyuan, a rural region of China. Scientific Reports, 10(1), Article 11335. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-68229-2
Zhou, Y., Shao, Y., Yuan, Y., Liu, J., Zou, X., Bai, P., Zhan, M., Zhang, P., Vlaanderen, J., Vermeulen, R., & Downward, G. S. (2020). Personal black carbon and ultrafine particles exposures among high school students in urban China. Environmental Pollution, 265(Pt A), 1-9. Article 114825. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114825
Weber, E., Adu-Bonsaffoh, K., Vermeulen, R., Klipstein-Grobusch, K., Grobbee, D. E., Browne, J. L., & Downward, G. S. (2020). Household fuel use and adverse pregnancy outcomes in a Ghanaian cohort study. Reproductive Health Matters, 17(1), 1-8. Article 29. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-020-0878-3

2019

Scholarly publications

Wong, J. Y. Y., Downward, G. S., Hu, W., Portengen, L., Seow, W. J., Silverman, D. T., Bassig, B. A., Zhang, J., Xu, J., Ji, B.-T., Li, J., He, J., Yang, K., Tian, L., Shen, M., Huang, Y., Vermeulen, R., Rothman, N., & Lan, Q. (2019). Lung cancer risk by geologic coal deposits: A case-control study of female never-smokers from Xuanwei and Fuyuan, China. International Journal of Cancer, 144(12), 2918-2927. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.32034
Ribeiro, A. G., Downward, G. S., Freitas, C. U. D., Chiaravalloti Neto, F., Cardoso, M. R. A., Latorre, M. D. R. D. D. O., Hystad, P., Vermeulen, R., & Nardocci, A. C. (2019). Incidence and mortality for respiratory cancer and traffic-related air pollution in São Paulo, Brazil. Environmental Research, 170, 243-251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2018.12.034
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/385058/Incidence_and_mortality.pdf?sequence=1
Vermeulen, R., Downward, G. S., Zhang, J., Hu, W., Portengen, L., Bassig, B. A., Hammond, S. K., Wong, J. Y. Y., Li, J., Reiss, B., He, J., Tian, L., Yang, K., Seow, W. J., Xu, J., Anderson, K., Ji, B.-T., Silverman, D., Chanock, S., ... Lan, Q. (2019). Constituents of Household Air Pollution and Risk of Lung Cancer among Never-Smoking Women in Xuanwei and Fuyuan, China. Environmental Health Perspectives, 127(9), Article 97001. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP4913
Wong, J. Y. Y., Bassig, B. A., Hu, W., Seow, W. J., Shiels, M. S., Ji, B.-T., Downward, G. S., Huang, Y., Yang, K., Li, J., He, J., Chen, Y., Hildesheim, A., Vermeulen, R., Lan, Q., & Rothman, N. (2019). Household coal combustion, indoor air pollutants, and circulating immunologic/inflammatory markers in rural China. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, 82(6), 411-421. https://doi.org/10.1080/15287394.2019.1614500
Bassig, B. A., Dean Hosgood, H., Shu, X.-O., Vermeulen, R., Chen, B. E., Katki, H. A., Seow, W. J., Hu, W., Portengen, L., Ji, B.-T., Wong, J. Y. Y., Ning, B., Downward, G. S., Li, J., Yang, K., Yang, G., Gao, Y.-T., Xiang, Y.-B., Nagaradona, T., ... Lan, Q. (2019). Ischaemic heart disease and stroke mortality by specific coal type among non-smoking women with substantial indoor air pollution exposure in China. International Journal of Epidemiology. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyz158
Hosgood, H. D., Klugman, M., Matsuo, K., White, A. J., Sadakane, A., Shu, X.-O., Lopez-Ridaura, R., Shin, A., Tsuji, I., Malekzadeh, R., Noisel, N., Bhatti, P., Yang, G., Saito, E., Rahman, S., Hu, W., Bassig, B., Downward, G., Vermeulen, R., ... Lan, Q. (2019). The Establishment of the Household Air Pollution Consortium (HAPCO). ATMOSPHERE, 10(7), Article 422. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10070422
Toro, R., Downward, G. S., van der Mark, M., Brouwer, M., Huss, A., Peters, S., Hoek, G., Nijssen, P., Mulleners, W. M., Sas, A., van Laar, T., Kromhout, H., & Vermeulen, R. (2019). Parkinson's disease and long-term exposure to outdoor air pollution: A matched case-control study in the Netherlands. Environment international, 129, 28-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.04.069

2018

Scholarly publications

Downward, G. S., van Nunen, E. J. H. M., Kerckhoffs, J., Vineis, P., Brunekreef, B., Boer, J. M. A., Messier, K. P., Roy, A., Verschuren, W. M. M., van der Schouw, Y. T., Sluijs, I., Gulliver, J., Hoek, G., & Vermeulen, R. (2018). Long-Term Exposure to Ultrafine Particles and Incidence of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease in a Prospective Study of a Dutch Cohort. Environmental Health Perspectives, 126(12), Article 127007. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP3047
Downward, G. S., van der Zwaag, H. P., Simons, L., Meliefste, K., Tefera, Y., Carreon, J. R., Vermeulen, R., & Smit, L. A. M. (2018). Occupational exposure to indoor air pollution among bakery workers in Ethiopia; A comparison of electric and biomass cookstoves. Environmental Pollution, 233, 690-697. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.10.094
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/362134/downward.pdf?sequence=1

2017

Scholarly publications

Downward, G. S., Hu, W., Rothman, N., Reiss, B., Tromp, P., Wu, G., Wei, F., Xu, J., Seow, W. J., Chapman, R. S., Lan, Q., & Vermeulen, R. (2017). Quartz in ash, and air in a high lung cancer incidence area in China. Environmental Pollution, 221, 318-325. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2016.11.081
Wong, J. Y. Y., Bassig, B. A., Vermeulen, R., Hu, W., Ning, B., Seow, W. J., Ji, B. T., Downward, G. S., Katki, H. A., Barone-Adesi, F., Rothman, N., Chapman, R. S., & Lan, Q. (2017). Sleep Duration across the Adult Lifecourse and Risk of Lung Cancer Mortality: A Cohort Study in Xuanwei, China. Cancer prevention research (Philadelphia, Pa.), 10(6), 327-336. https://doi.org/10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-16-0295
Wong, J. Y. Y., Hu, W., Downward, G. S., Seow, W. J., Bassig, B. A., Ji, B. T., Wei, F., Wu, G., Li, J., He, J., Liu, C.-S., Cheng, W.-L., Huang, Y., Yang, K., Chen, Y., Rothman, N., Vermeulen, R. C., & Lan, Q. (2017). Personal exposure to fine particulate matter and benzo[a]pyrene from indoor air pollution and leukocyte mitochondrial DNA copy number in rural China. Carcinogenesis, 38(9), 893-899. https://doi.org/10.1093/carcin/bgx068

2016

Scholarly publications

Downward, G. S., Hu, W., Rothman, N., Reiss, B., Wu, G., Wei, F., Xu, J., Seow, W. J., Brunekreef, B., Chapman, R. S., Qing, L., & Vermeulen, R. (2016). Outdoor, indoor, and personal black carbon exposure from cookstoves burning solid fuels. Indoor Air, 26(5), 784-795. https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12255
Seow, W. J., Downward, G. S., Wei, H., Rothman, N., Reiss, B., Xu, J., Bassig, B. A., Li, J., He, J., Hosgood, H. D., Wu, G., Chapman, R. S., Tian, L., Wei, F., Caporaso, N. E., Vermeulen, R., & Lan, Q. (2016). Indoor concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide from burning solid fuels for cooking and heating in Yunnan Province, China. Indoor Air, 26(5), 776-783. https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12251

2015

Scholarly publications

Wang, T. W., Vermeulen, R. C. H., Hu, W., Liu, G., Xiao, X., Alekseyev, Y., Xu, J., Reiss, B., Steiling, K., Downward, G. S., Silverman, D. T., Wei, F., Wu, G., Li, J., Lenburg, M. E., Rothman, N., Spira, A., & Lan, Q. (2015). Gene-expression profiling of buccal epithelium among non-smoking women exposed to household air pollution from smoky coal. Carcinogenesis, 36(12), 1494-1501. https://doi.org/10.1093/carcin/bgv150
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/329483/1494.full.pdf?sequence=1
Downward, G. S. (2015). Quantification and characterization of household air pollution exposure from the use of solid fuels; Clues to the lung cancer epidemic in Xuanwei and Fuyuan, China. [Doctoral thesis 1 (Research UU / Graduation UU), Universiteit Utrecht]. Utrecht University. https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/312312

2014

Scholarly publications

Seow, W. J., Hu, W., Vermeulen, R., Dean Hosgood, H., Downward, G. S., Chapman, R. S., He, X., Bassig, B. A., Kim, C., Wen, C., Rothman, N., & Lan, Q. (2014). Household air pollution and lung cancer in China: A review of studies in Xuanwei. Chinese Journal of Cancer, 33(10), 471-475. https://doi.org/10.5732/cjc.014.10132
Hu, W., Downward, G. S., Reiss, B., Xu, J., Bassig, B. A., Hosgood, H. D., Zhang, L., Seow, W. J., Wu, G., Chapman, R. S., Tian, L., Wei, F., Vermeulen, R., & Lan, Q. (2014). Personal and indoor PM2.5 exposure from burning solid fuels in vented and unvented stoves in a rural region of China with a high incidence of lung cancer. Environmental Science and Technology, 48(15), 8456-8464. https://doi.org/10.1021/es502201s
Downward, G. S., Hu, W., Rothman, N., Reiss, B., Wu, G., Wei, F., Chapman, R. S., Portengen, L., Qing, L., & Vermeulen, R. (2014). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure in household air pollution from solid fuel combustion among the female population of Xuanwei and Fuyuan counties, China. Environmental Science and Technology, 48(24), 14632-14641. https://doi.org/10.1021/es504102z
Downward, G. S., Hu, W., Large, D., Veld, H., Xu, J., Reiss, B., Wu, G., Wei, F., Chapman, R. S., Rothman, N., Qing, L., & Vermeulen, R. (2014). Heterogeneity in coal composition and implications for lung cancer risk in Xuanwei and Fuyuan counties, China. Environment international, 68, 94-104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2014.03.019