Environ Health Glob
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Environ Health Glob · Aug 2021
Long-term personal air pollution exposure and risk for acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Urban air pollution is involved in the progress of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Its potential role on the devastating event of Acute Exacerbation of IPF (AE-IPF) needs to be clarified. This study examined the association between long-term personal air pollution exposure and AE- IPF risk taking into consideration inflammatory mediators and telomere length (TL). ⋯ Long-term personal exposure to increased concentrations of air pollutants is an independent risk factor of AE-IPF. Inflammatory mediators implicated in lung repair mechanisms are involved.
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Environ Health Glob · Apr 2021
Acute and chronic exposure to air pollution in relation with incidence, prevalence, severity and mortality of COVID-19: a rapid systematic review.
Air pollution is one of the world's leading mortality risk factors contributing to seven million deaths annually. COVID-19 pandemic has claimed about one million deaths in less than a year. However, it is unclear whether exposure to acute and chronic air pollution influences the COVID-19 epidemiologic curve. ⋯ The body of evidence indicates that both acute and chronic exposure to air pollution can affect COVID-19 epidemiology. The evidence is unclear for acute exposure due to a higher level of bias in existing studies as compared to moderate evidence with chronic exposure. Public health interventions that help minimize anthropogenic pollutant source and socio-economic injustice/disparities may reduce the planetary threat posed by both COVID-19 and air pollution pandemics.
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Environ Health Glob · Dec 2020
Synergistic health effects of air pollution, temperature, and pollen exposure: a systematic review of epidemiological evidence.
Exposure to heat, air pollution, and pollen are associated with health outcomes, including cardiovascular and respiratory disease. Studies assessing the health impacts of climate change have considered increased exposure to these risk factors separately, though they may be increasing simultaneously for some populations and may act synergistically on health. Our objective is to systematically review epidemiological evidence for interactive effects of multiple exposures to heat, air pollution, and pollen on human health. ⋯ If synergistic effects between heat and air pollution are confirmed with additional research, the health impacts from climate change-driven increases in air pollution and heat exposure may be larger than previously estimated in studies that consider these risk factors individually.
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Environ Health Glob · Oct 2020
Can climatic factors explain the differences in COVID-19 incidence and severity across the Spanish regions?: An ecological study.
Environmental factors play a central role in seasonal epidemics. SARS-CoV-2 infection in Spain has shown a heterogeneous geographical pattern This study aimed to assess the influence of several climatic factors on the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 and the severity of COVID-19 among the Spanish Autonomous Communities (AA.CC.). ⋯ Climatic factors may partially explain the differences in COVID-19 incidence and severity across the different Spanish regions. The knowledge of these factors could help to develop preventive and public health actions against upcoming outbreaks of the disease.
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Environ Health Glob · Oct 2019
Low concentrations of fine particle air pollution and mortality in the Canadian Community Health Survey cohort.
Approximately 2.9 million deaths are attributed to ambient fine particle air pollution around the world each year (PM2.5). In general, cohort studies of mortality and outdoor PM2.5 concentrations have limited information on individuals exposed to low levels of PM2.5 as well as covariates such as smoking behaviours, alcohol consumption, and diet which may confound relationships with mortality. This study provides an updated and extended analysis of the Canadian Community Health Survey-Mortality cohort: a population-based cohort with detailed PM2.5 exposure data and information on a number of important individual-level behavioural risk factors. We also used this rich dataset to provide insight into the shape of the concentration-response curve for mortality at low levels of PM2.5. ⋯ Outdoor PM2.5 concentrations were associated with non-accidental mortality and adjusting for individual-level behavioural covariates did not materially change this relationship. The concentration-response curve was supra-linear with increased mortality risks extending to low outdoor PM2.5 concentrations.