Dust events as a risk factor for daily hospitalization for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in Minqin,China

Dust events are common air pollution events in parts of the world with arid, semi-arid, or desert areas. There is little research on the association between respiratory and cardiovascular health and dust events in places which are close to the deserts. The aim of this study is to evaluate the health effects of dust events in a location where traffic and industry are underdeveloped and dust events are most frequent in China. The setting allows the opportunity to reduce confounding by anthropogenically derived particulate matter and to confirm the health effects of dust events. The present study was done using daily counts of hospitalizations in Minqin (1994–2003) for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases (International Classification of Diseases, Tenth revision) for males and females. Using a semi-parametric generalized additive model and controlling for long-term temporal trends, day of the week, meteorological factors, and seasonal influence, counts of hospitalization were analyzed for dust events in a Poisson regression.Relative risks (RRs) were used to estimate the risk of dust events for respiratory and cardiovascular hospitalizations. In the year-round model, dust events with a lag of 3 days were significantly associated with total respiratory hospitalization for males and females, with RRs of 1.14 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01–1.29) and 1.18 (95% CI 1.00–1.41); dust events with a lag of 4 days were significantly associated with upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) in males (RR 1.28, 95% CI 1.04–1.59), and dust events with a lag of 6 days were significantly associated with pneumonia in males, with an RR of 1.17 (95% CI 1.00–1.38). A significant association between dust events with a lag of 3 days and hypertension in males was also found (RR 1.30, 95% CI 1.03,1.64). In the seasonal analysis model, the associations between the dust events and respiratory and cardiovascular hospitalizations were stronger in spring and in winter, respectively.The results show the health effects of dust events on respiratory and cardiovascular hospitalizations, and the characteristic seasonal distribution of the health effects. In addition, the health effects of dust events are consistent with recent animal and human data showing the respiratory and cardiovascular effects of particulate matter.     

Short-term effects of air pollution on daily hospital admissions for cardiovascular diseases in western China

Controlling the confounding factors on cardiovascular diseases, such as long-time trend, calendar effect, and meteorological factors, a generalized additive model (GAM) was used to investigate the short-term effects of air pollutants (PM₁₀, SO₂, and NO₂) on daily cardiovascular admissions from March 1st to May 31st during 2007 to 2011 in Lanzhou, a heavily polluted city in western China. The influences of air pollutants were examined with different lag structures, and the potential effect modification by dust storm in spring was also investigated. Significant associations were found between air pollutants and hospital admissions for cardiovascular diseases both on dust event days and non-dust event days in spring. Air pollutants had lag effects on different age and gender groups. Relative risks (RRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) associated with a 10 μg/m³ increase were 1.14 (1.04~1.26) on lag1 for PM₁₀, 1.31 (1.21~1.51) on lag01 for SO₂, and 1.96 (1.49~2.57) on lag02 for NO₂ on dust days. Stronger effects of air pollutants were observed for females and the elderly (≥60 years). Our analysis concluded that the effects of air pollutants on cardiovascular admissions on dust days were significantly stronger than non-dust days. The current study strengthens the evidence of effects of air pollution on health and dust-exacerbated cardiovascular admissions in Lanzhou.     

Impact of ambient temperature on hospital admissions for respiratory diseases in suburban rural villages in northwest China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Extreme temperature is strongly associated with human health, but few studies are available for the effects of extreme temperatures on respiratory...     

Synergistic effects of gaseous pollutants on hospital admissions for cardiovascular disease in Liuzhou,China

Previous studies demonstrated that short-term exposure to gaseous pollutants (nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), and ozone (O₃)) had a greater adverse effect on cardiovascular disease. However, little evidence exists regarding the synergy between gaseous pollutants and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Therefore, we aimed to estimate the effect of individual gaseous pollutants on hospital admissions for CVD and to explore the possible synergistic effects between gaseous pollutants. Daily hospitalization counts for CVD were collected from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2015. We also collected daily time series on gaseous pollutants from the Environment of the People’s Republic of China, including NO₂, SO₂, and O₃. We used distributed lag nonlinear models (DLNMs) to assess the association of individual gaseous pollutants on CVD hospitalization, after controlling for seasonality, day of the week, public holidays, and weather variables. Then, we explored the variability across age and sex groups. In addition, we analyzed the synergistic effects between gaseous pollutants on CVD. Extremely low NO₂ and SO₂ increase the risk of CVD in all subgroup at lag 7 days. The greatest effect of high concentration of SO₂ was observed in male and the elderly (≥ 65 years) at lag 3 days. Greater effects of high concentration of O₃ were more pronounced in the young (< 65 years) and female at lag 3 days, while the effect of low concentration of O₃ was greater in male and the young (< 65 years) at lag 0 day. We found a synergistic effect between NO₂ and SO₂ for CVD, as well as between SO₂ and O₃. The synergistic effects of NO₂ and SO₂ on CVD were stronger in the elderly (≥ 65) and female. The female was sensitive to synergistic effects of SO₂-O₃ and NO₂-O₃. Interestingly, we found that there was a risk of CVD in the susceptible population even for gaseous pollutant concentrations below the National Environmental Quality Standard. The synergy between NO₂ and SO₂ was significantly associated with cardiovascular disease hospitalization in the elderly (≥ 65). This study provides evidence for the synergistic effect of gaseous pollutants on hospital admissions for cardiovascular disease.

     

Air pollution and hospital admissions for diseases of the circulatory system in three U.S. metropolitan areas

Generalized additive models were used to analyze the time series of daily hospital admissions for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases over the period of 1987-1995 in three major metropolitan areas--Cook County, IL; Los Angeles County, CA; and Maricopa County, AZ--in the United States. In Cook and Maricopa Counties, admissions information was only available for the elderly (ages 65 and over), while in Los Angeles County, admissions information was available for all ages. In Cook County, daily monitoring information was available on PM10, CO, SO2, NO2, and O3. In Los Angeles and Maricopa Counties, monitoring information was available daily on the gases, and information on PM10 was available every sixth day. In Los Angeles County, information on PM2.5 was also available every sixth day. In Cook and Los Angeles Counties, associations were found between each pollutant, with the exception of O3, and admissions for cardiovascular disease, with the gases showing the strongest associations. In two-pollutant models with PM and one of the gases, the effect of the gases remained stable, while the effect of PM became unstable and insignificant. In Maricopa County, the gases, with the exception of O3, were weakly associated with hospital admissions for cardiovascular disease, while PM was not. In two-pollutant models with two of CO, SO2, and NO2, the pattern of results is heterogeneous in the three counties. In all three counties, only weak evidence of any association between air pollution and cerebrovascular admissions was found.     

Effects of air pollution on emergency admissions for chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases in Oporto, Portugal

The present paper is based on results collected from the air quality network, which was assembled for covering the Oporto metropolitan area, in Portugal. Among the SO₂ and PM₁₀ levels obtained for the last two decades, a particular unpolluted year was chosen to evaluate the health effects of concentrations lower than those that usually cause acute episodes. It was observed that even low levels of SO₂ could be related with the increase of obstructive chronic pulmonary diseases morbidity daily rates recorded in Oporto during the same year. When the relationship between levels of atmospheric pollution and human health is considered, climatic factors have a synergetic effect. The observation of respiratory symptoms for concentrations below the current ambient standards, in agreement with previous studies carried out in the same area and other countries, suggests that it is urgent the process of updating and revision of those values in order to protect in effect the health of populations. As particles have shown an important role on health impact, its characterisation was done, considering their respirable fractions. It was concluded that most of the total suspended particles are breathable. Moreover, more than 78% and 87% of the organic composition and of the carcinogenic agent benzo(a)pyrene content, respectively, are detected in particles liable to attain the respiratory tract.     

Management of oxidative stress and inflammation in cardiovascular diseases: mechanisms and challenges

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have diverse physiopathological mechanisms with interconnected oxidative stress and inflammation as one of the common...     

Correction to: Evaluating the relationship between the respiratory exposure to the benzene with the primary damages of deoxyribonucleic acid and total antioxidant capacity in one of the oil companies in Iran

Environmental Science and Pollution Research -     

Evaluating the relationship between the respiratory exposure to the benzene with the primary damages of deoxyribonucleic acid and total antioxidant capacity in one of the oil companies in Iran

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Benzene is a carcinogenic chemical substance which causes the injuries and damages through producing the free radicals in DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)...     

Systematic review and meta-analysis of studies between short-term exposure to ambient carbon monoxide and non-accidental,cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality in China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Although a growing number of original epidemiological studies imply a link between ambient pollution exposure and mortality risk, the findings...     

Hydrochemical evaluation of groundwater quality and human health risk assessment of trace elements in the largest mining district of South Khorasan,Eastern Iran

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The groundwater resources of mining areas have been in a challenging condition in terms of metal pollution and human health. Therefore, this study...     

Association between short-term exposure to ambient air pollution and hospital admissions for transient ischemic attacks in Beijing,China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Numerous studies have examined the associations between air pollution and stroke. However, little is known about the associations between air...     

A simulation of sulfur wet deposition and its dependence on the inflow of sulfur species to storms

Numerical precipitation scavenging models are used to investigate the relationship between the inflow concentrations of sulfur species to precipitation systems and the resulting sulfur wet deposition. Simulations have been made for summer and winter seasons using concentration ranges of SO₂, aerosol SO₄²⁻, H₂O₂ and O₃ appropriate for the eastern U.S. summer simulations use one-dimensional timedependent convective cloud and scavenging models; winter simulations use two-dimensional steady-state warm-frontal models. Sulfur scavenging mechanisms include nucleation scavenging of aerosol, aqueous reactions of H₂O₂, O₃ and HCHO with S(IV), and nonreactive S(IV) scavenging. Over the wide range of conditions that have been examined, the relation between sulfur inflow and sulfur wet deposition varies from nearly linear to strongly nonlinear. The degree of nonlinearity is most affected by aerosol SO₄²⁻ levels and relative levels of SO₂ vs H₂O₂. Higher aerosol SO₄²⁻ levels (as found in summer) produce a more linear relation. The greatest nonlinearity occurs when SO₂ exceeds H₂O₂. Winter simulations show more nonlinearity than summer simulations.     

Effect of ambient O3 on mortality due to circulatory and respiratory diseases in a high latitude city of northeast China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In recent years, O3 pollution had been worsening in China and became a major challenge for human health. To evaluate the O3 effects on circulatory and...     

Trends in atmospheric reactive nitrogen for the Eastern United States

Reactive nitrogen can travel far from emission sources and impact sensitive ecosystems. From 2002 to 2006, policy actions have led to decreases in NO(x) emissions from power plants and motor vehicles. In this study, atmospheric chemical transport modeling demonstrates that these emissions reductions have led to a downward trend in ambient measurements of transported reactive nitrogen, especially atmospheric concentrations and wet deposition of nitrate. The trend in reduced nitrogen, namely ammonium, is ambiguous. As reduced nitrogen becomes a larger fraction of the reactive nitrogen budget, wide-spread NH(3) measurements and improved NH(3) emissions assessments are a critical need.     

Association of increased risk of cardiovascular diseases with higher levels of perfluoroalkylated substances in the serum of adults

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Evidence showing the association of perfluoroalkylated substance (PFAS) exposure with CVD risk is scarce. The objective of this study was to explore...     

Current efforts to monitor and conserve the Eastern Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca in Hungary

The globally threatened Eastern Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca has been one of the flagship species of Hungarian bird conservation efforts since the 1980s. Due to these conservation activities and positive land-use changes during the last 2 decades, the Hungarian Imperial Eagle population increased from as few as approximately 20 pairs in the early 1980s to 81 pairs by 2006. Between 2002 and 2005 as part of a LIFE-Nature project, MME/Birdlife Hungary carried out particularly intensive monitoring, conservation, research, and public awareness actions. The main goal of the project was to secure the long-term sustainable increase in the Imperial Eagle population after Hungary's European Union accession in 2004. New methods were developed and applied to census and monitor the breeding and wintering population sizes. Standardized baseline land-use mapping and surveys were introduced to detect long-term land-use and prey density changes in priority areas for Imperial Eagles and to monitor the effects of key mortality factors, such as electrocution. Historical information and data gathered before and during the project period were assimilated using a Geographic Information System and incorporated into a comprehensive set of Imperial Eagle Management Guidelines.     

Evaluation of ecological risk,source, and spatial distribution of some heavy metals in marine sediments in the Middle and Eastern Black Sea region,Turkey

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In the present study, the concentration levels of heavy metals such as Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cr, and Pb in sediment samples collected from 16 sampling...