Social Stressors and Susceptibility to Chemical Exposures

Dear Colleagues,

Substantial evidence indicates greater susceptibility to chemical exposures, including air pollution, in communities of lower socioeconomic position (SEP). The reasons underlying this susceptibility, however, remain unidentified, and may include factors as varied as material deprivation, resource access, health behaviors, aspects of the social environment, and/ or chronic stress associated with financial strain, safety concerns, housing, or many other stressors which may be more prevalent in lower-SEP communities. Growing evidence suggests that chronic psychosocial stress may drive a substantial portion of this SEP-related susceptibility, and may operate via immune, endocrine, metabolic, or other biologic processes.

This Special Issue seeks qualitative and quantitative papers on the combined effects of psychosocial stress and physical environmental exposures on health, throughout the life cycle. Specific emphasis will be placed on papers advancing methods for investigating combined effects, including exposure assessment for chemical and non-chemical exposures at the individual or aggregate (community, workplace, etc.) level, and statistical methods to quantify joint contributions. Empirical epidemiologic and mechanistic studies will be considered. High-quality qualitative and/ or systematic reviews will be also considered.

Prof. Jane E. Clougherty
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.