Environmental Health最新文献

{"title":"Exposure to violence and socioeconomic deprivation in susceptibility to nitrogen dioxide on term infant birthweight in New York City.","authors":"Richard V Remigio, Heather H Burris, Jane E Clougherty","doi":"10.1186/s12940-025-01189-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-025-01189-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Air pollution has been associated with adverse birth outcomes, with variation by socioeconomic position (SEP). However, it remains unknown which aspects of lower SEP - comprised of myriad physical and psychosocial stressors - may best explain observed pollution susceptibilities. Building upon previous studies that estimated joint associations of air pollution and socioeconomic deprivation on term birth weight in New York City (NYC), this study seeks to identify specific social stressors underlying that relationship.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We examined records for 243,853 term births in NYC from 2007-2010. Residence-specific pregnancy-average NO₂ was estimated using NYC Community Air Survey (NYCCAS) and EPA regulatory data. Twenty-six community social stressor indicators were tested as modifiers of NO₂-birthweight associations in linear mixed-effects models, adjusting for particulate matter (PM_2.5), individual-level maternal characteristics, and other covariates. In sensitivity analyses, we also examined non-linear interactions between continuous NO₂ and census-tract level violence and deprivation terms.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Consistent with previous work, a 1-IQR (6.2 ppb) increase in average prenatal NO₂ exposure was associated with a 12.6 (SE = 2.7)-gram decrease in term birthweight.We observed similar values in independent models for most stressors related to violent crime or SEP and significantly lower birthweights with higher stressor exposures. In models of effect modification, however, we found that - despite lower average birthweights in high-stressor communities - NO₂-birthweight associations were weaker in higher-stressor communities, particularly for violence-related stressors. For example, in the highest-quartile communities for assault, a 1-IQR increase in NO₂ exhibited a decrement of only 7.3 g, on average, compared to 16.9 g in the lowest-assault quartile (p = .01 trend across quartiles). Exposures to non-violent stressors were not significantly associated with lower birthweights, nor modified observed NO₂-birthweight associations.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>We found significantly lower term-infant birthweights with higher NO₂ or community stressors. Counter to hypotheses, however, in communities with very high stressor exposures (esp. violent crimes), despite lower overall birthweights, associations for NO₂ were weaker than in low-stressor communities. Our results suggest a possible saturation effect in stress-pollution interactions, wherein very high stressor exposures appear to overwhelm any effects of pollution. In addition, we observed stronger effects for violent crimes, in relation to other social stressors.</p>","PeriodicalId":11686,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Health","volume":"24 1","pages":"33"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144191621","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The role of artificial intelligence in occupational health in radiation exposure: a scoping review of the literature.","authors":"Zohreh Fazli, Mehran Sadeghi, Mohebat Vali, Parvin Ahmadinejad","doi":"10.1186/s12940-025-01186-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12940-025-01186-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to significantly enhance workplace safety and mitigate occupational radiation exposure risks by improving the accuracy of assessment and management of these hazards. This study aims to review research on the use of AI in the assessment, monitoring, control, and protection of occupational radiation exposure.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>This review was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. A comprehensive search was performed in the Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed databases from inception to April 2024. The search strategy was designed based on the PICO principle and included keywords related to artificial intelligence, occupational exposure, radiation, and industry. The inclusion criteria explored the application of artificial intelligence in the assessment, monitoring, control, and protection against occupational radiation exposure. The quality of the included studies was evaluated using the MMAT critical appraisal tool.</p><p><strong>Result: </strong>In this review, the initial literature search in the Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed databases identified 2920 articles. After removing duplicate references, screened based on title, keywords, and abstract, Ultimately, 59 eligible articles were selected, which utilized various artificial intelligence tools, such as expert systems, machine learning, deep learning, and other applied AI models. Of all the articles, 76% had high scores and were considered strong. These studies were categorized into three groups: supervision and assessment, detection and monitoring, protection, control, and personal protective equipment.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The successful application of AI can potentially improve occupational radiation exposure management, but several key challenges must be addressed. These include the need for high-quality training data, interpretability of complex AI algorithms, alignment with safety standards, integration with existing systems, and the lack of interdisciplinary expertise. Addressing these research gaps through further study and collaboration will be crucial to realizing the benefits of AI in this domain, which has long been a critical concern in human and work environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":11686,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Health","volume":"24 1","pages":"32"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12082979/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144085994","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and their associations with serum lipid profiles in the general Korean adult population.","authors":"Sanghee Shin, Youlim Kim, Yunsoo Choe, Su Hwan Kim, Jaelim Cho, Changsoo Kim, Kyoung-Nam Kim","doi":"10.1186/s12940-025-01185-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-025-01185-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Previous studies on associations between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and lipid profiles are limited. We investigated the associations between urinary PAH metabolites and serum lipid profiles using a representative sample of Korean adults.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study utilized data from the Korean National Environmental Health Survey (2018-2020) (n = 2,516). The associations of PAH metabolites, heavy metals, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), which are ubiquitous pollutants, with lipid indicators and dyslipidemia types were evaluated using linear and logistic regression models, respectively. We examined the associations between a mixture of PAH metabolites, heavy metals, and PFASs and lipid profiles using quantile g-computation analyses.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A doubling of 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) concentrations was associated with higher total cholesterol (TC) [β = 2.50 mg/dL, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.09, 3.91], low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (β = 2.39 mg/dL, 95% CI: 1.14, 3.63), and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) concentrations (β = 2.13 mg/dL, 95% CI: 0.77, 3.49). A doubling of 1-OHP concentrations was also linked to higher odds of high TC [odds ratio (OR) = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.30]. Additionally, 2-naphthol concentrations were associated with higher odds of high TC (OR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.29) and high LDL-C (OR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.51). Lead concentrations were associated with higher levels of TC, LDL-C, non-HDL-C, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), as well as with higher odds of high TC, high LDL-C, and high non-HDL-C. Mercury concentrations were associated with higher levels of TC, LDL-C, and non-HDL-C, and with higher odds of high TC. Several PFASs, such as perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorononanoic acid, and perfluorodecanoic acid, were also associated with lipid profiles. A mixture of PAH metabolites, heavy metals, and PFASs was associated with higher TC, LDL-C, non-HDL-C, and HDL-C concentrations. This mixture was also linked to higher odds of high TC and high LDL-C.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Concentrations of PAH metabolites, heavy metals, and PFASs were associated with unfavorable lipid profiles in the general adult population.</p>","PeriodicalId":11686,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Health","volume":"24 1","pages":"30"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12067673/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143998192","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Adverse effects and underlying mechanism of rare earth elements.","authors":"Xuemei Wang, Feiyu Wang, Lirong Yan, Zhixiang Gao, Shengbo Yang, Zhigang Su, Wenting Chen, Yanan Li, Fenghong Wang","doi":"10.1186/s12940-025-01178-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12940-025-01178-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Rare earth elements (REEs) have found broad application in a range of industries, including electronics, automotive, agriculture, and healthcare. However, their widespread utilization and release into the environment pose potential risks of human exposure. Despite extensive research on REEs toxicity, the relationship between exposure and subsequent health concerns remains ambiguous. Given that the biological effects of REEs can vary based on their design and application, assessing their toxicity can be highly challenging.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This review is to offer a thorough comprehension of REEs' application and toxicity, guiding future research and policy-making to safeguard public health and environmental integrity.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A systematic search across PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Embase was conducted using the terms: (\"rare earth\" OR \"lanthanoid\") AND (\"health hazard\" OR \"toxic\" OR \"adverse health effect\"). From 5,924 initial records, 89 studies were selected through deduplication and two-stage screening to assess systemic toxicity of REEs. An additional 100 articles on REEs mechanisms and applications were incorporated via citation tracking. All selections followed PRISMA guidelines with dual-author verification to ensure rigor.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The review emphasizes REEs' applications in various domains and documents potential environmental pathways. Furthermore, it elaborates on current processes to assess REEs-related toxicity across different model organisms and cell lines, estimating health threats posed by REEs exposure. Finally, based on the findings of both in vivo and in vitro experiments, the potential toxic mechanisms of REEs are detailed. To guide future research and policy development to safeguard public health and environmental integrity.</p>","PeriodicalId":11686,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Health","volume":"24 1","pages":"31"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12067734/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143987111","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"\"Low-to-moderate arsenic exposure: a global systematic review of cardiovascular disease risks\".","authors":"Meroona Gopang, Mahdieh Danesh Yazdi, Anne Moyer, Dylan M Smith, Jaymie R Meliker","doi":"10.1186/s12940-025-01184-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12940-025-01184-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>High arsenic (As) exposure (≥ 100 µg/l) is associated with cardiovascular (CVD) outcomes, however, the CVD risk from low-to-moderate As exposure (< 100 µg/l) has been less explored. There is a paucity of systematic reviews that comprehensively evaluate both urine and water As exposure metrics in assessing As-related CVD outcomes within the general population. To fill this gap, this review sought to update and consolidate data regarding the correlation between low-to-moderate As exposure and specific CVD outcomes, including stroke, ischemic heart disease (IHD), acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and heart failure (HF). A search for peer-reviewed articles indexed in PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, the Global Medicos Index, and Web of Science and unpublished dissertations in Prospero until October 31, 2024, was performed. Nineteen studies were included. Relative risks were pooled by contrasting the highest v/s lowest exposure groups across studies. Positive associations were observed between urine As and stroke incidence, and water As with IHD incidence. Associations between water As and IHD and AMI mortality were suggestive and became stronger after excluding ecological studies. Sex-stratified analyses suggested an increased risk for all groups with strongest indication of an increased risk of AMI mortality in men. Increased risk was suggested for HF but only two studies assessed this outcome. These findings underscore potential risk for CVD outcomes in relation to low-to-moderate As exposure, and highlight the necessity for additional rigorous, well-structured studies to more clearly delineate the possible effects of low-to-moderate As exposure on different CVD outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":11686,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Health","volume":"24 1","pages":"29"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12065288/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143977745","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Short-term exposure to fine particulate matter and asthma exacerbation: a large population-based case-crossover study in Southern Thailand.","authors":"Suebsai Varopichetsan, Natthaya Bunplod, Racha Dejchanchaiwong, Perapong Tekasakul, Thammasin Ingviya","doi":"10.1186/s12940-025-01182-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-025-01182-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Asthma exacerbations remain a significant global health issue despite advances in management. Fine particulate matter (PM_2.5, particles ≤ 2.5 μm in diameter) is a known trigger for asthma exacerbations. However, studies on the acute effects of PM_2.5, particularly in regions with relatively low pollution levels, are limited. This study examined the time-lagged association between daily PM_2.5 exposure and asthma exacerbations in Songkhla province, southern Thailand, where PM_2.5 concentrations frequently approach the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Air Quality Guidelines. Approximately 41% of days during the study period had PM_2.5 concentrations below the 2021 Guideline level of 15 µg/m³. Additionally, the province is periodically affected by seasonal transboundary haze from forest fires.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A case-crossover study was conducted using daily PM_2.5 and meteorological data from January 2010 to December 2023, alongside health records of asthma patients from Songklanagarind Hospital. District-level daily PM_2.5 concentrations were estimated through inverse distance weighted interpolation. Conditional logistic regression, incorporating time-lagged models and cubic splines, was applied.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The study included 11,848 case days and 39,810 control days, with a mean daily PM_2.5 concentration of 18.2 µg/m³. PM_2.5 concentrations > 50 µg/m³ were significantly associated with asthma exacerbations at multiple time lags (lag0, lag2, and lag01 to lag03), with odds ratios ranging from 1.41 to 1.64, compared to the lowest concentration group (PM_2.5 0-15 µg/m³). Temperature showed no significant effect, while relative humidity was positively associated with asthma exacerbations at lag3, lag06, and lag07. Subgroup analyses revealed associations between PM_2.5 exposure and asthma exacerbations at early lags for both males and females. Additionally, children aged 6-11 years and 12-17 years exhibited greater susceptibility to asthma exacerbations, particularly at PM_2.5 concentrations of 15-25 µg/m³.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study underscores the short-term effects of PM_2.5 on asthma exacerbations, particularly during high-pollution episodes of transboundary haze in regions that generally experience low levels of air pollution. These findings emphasize the importance of achieving the WHO air quality targets to mitigate the health impacts from PM_2.5.</p>","PeriodicalId":11686,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Health","volume":"24 1","pages":"28"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12057204/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143969871","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Environmental change increases the transmission risk of visceral leishmaniasis in central China around the Taihang mountains.","authors":"Ze Meng, Pei-Wei Fan, Zi-Xuan Fan, Shuai Chen, Hou Jiang, Yue Shi, Ling Yao, Jian-Yi Yao, Ye-Ping Wang, Meng-Meng Hao, Wen-Qi Xie, Yong-Qing Bai, Qian Wang, Kai Sun, Xiao-Lan Xie, Jian-Wei Zhou, Dong Jiang, Can-Jun Zheng, Hua Wu, Tian Ma, Fang-Yu Ding","doi":"10.1186/s12940-025-01180-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-025-01180-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Visceral leishmaniasis is a neglected life-threatening sandfly-borne disease, which brings a growing public health threat in Central China around the Taihang Mountains. However, the spatiotemporal dynamics of visceral leishmaniasis in the local community and the potential driving factors remain poorly understood.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We analyzed the spatiotemporal patterns of new reported visceral leishmaniasis cases in the region from 2006 to 2023, and combined random forest modeling approach with environmental covariates to identify the main influencing factors related to transmission risk of the disease.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Our results show that there was a total number of 800 reported human visceral leishmaniasis cases, affecting 29 cities, and 113 counties across the region, exhibiting a geographic expansion of the disease during this period, especially in Shanxi province. Two high-risk clusters were identified in the study. Environmental change-related factors, including standardized precipitation deviation, forest cumulative change ratio, and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) cumulative change, played important roles in increasing the transmission risk of visceral leishmaniasis, with their relative contributions summing up to 66.17%.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our findings provide a better understanding of the spatiotemporal dynamics and driving factors of visceral leishmaniasis recurrence across Central China around the Taihang Mountains, which underscore prevention and control measures should be taken immediately to reduce the risk.</p>","PeriodicalId":11686,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Health","volume":"24 1","pages":"27"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12051288/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143992295","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Individual and mixtures of PFAS during pregnancy are associated with maternal cardiometabolic outcomes during pregnancy.","authors":"Clark R Sims, Neha Sehgal, Donald Turner, Lauren A Havens, Andrew J Morris, Kartik Shankar, Kevin J Pearson, Todd M Everson, Aline Andres","doi":"10.1186/s12940-025-01181-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-025-01181-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are endocrine-disrupting chemicals and widespread environmental contaminants. PFAS cross the placental barrier and reach the developing fetus with potential impacts on many organ systems. There are no studies of PFAS in residents of central Arkansas despite reports of environmental contamination in the region. We aimed to quantify PFAS concentrations in repeated serum samples from participants living in central Arkansas and to investigate relationships with maternal cardiometabolic health during pregnancy.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Participants were enrolled during early pregnancy in a longitudinal study (NCT01131117) from 2010 to 2014. PFAS concentrations were measured in serum from each trimester (first trimester n = 282, second trimester n = 217, and third trimester n = 195). PFAS were compared across pregnancy. Linear and linear-mixed effects models were used to investigate relationships between trimester-specific PFAS levels, as single exposures, and maternal outcomes. Effects of PFAS as an exposure mixture were estimated using quantile g-computation.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Six PFAS were detected in more than 70% of the maternal serum samples: PFOS, PFOA, PFBS, PFHxS, PFNA, and PFHxA. In adjusted linear-mixed models and quantile g-computation models, maternal serum PFAS levels were significantly negatively associated with triglycerides [effect estimates (β)= -16.29; 95% confidence interval (CI)= -24.95, -7.63], total cholesterol (β= -12.77; 95%CI= -19.80, -5.74), low-density lipoproteins (β= -10.83; 95%CI = -16.72, -4.93), high-density lipoproteins (β= -4.10; 95%CI= -6.23, -1.96), and pulse (β= -1.60; 95%CI= -2.85, -0.35). Maternal serum PFAS, as a mixture, was not associated with maternal diastolic blood pressure, but separately, PFAS_sum, PFOS, PFOA and PFNA had significant positive associations.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study evaluated PFAS exposures during pregnancy in central Arkansas. We show that PFAS exposure during pregnancy influences maternal cardiometabolic outcomes and a case in point that future studies are needed to determine the impact on maternal health and to investigate potential interventions to limit the effects of PFAS exposure during pregnancy.</p>","PeriodicalId":11686,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Health","volume":"24 1","pages":"26"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12042336/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143958166","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The association between hot days and substance-related suicides: a time-stratified case-crossover analysis in British Columbia, Canada.","authors":"Karen Li, Sarah B Henderson, Eric S Coker, Kathleen E McLean, Michael Joseph Lee","doi":"10.1186/s12940-025-01176-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-025-01176-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Hot weather can negatively impact mental health and increase the risk of suicide. The relationship between heat and risk of suicide is not fully understood, and varies geographically across regions with differing climates, cultures, and socio-economic factors. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between hot summer days and suicides in British Columbia, Canada (BC).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A time-stratified case-crossover design was used to estimate the relationship between hot days (exposure) and suicide (outcome), considering same-day and two-day mean temperature. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) for the association between hot days and suicides for three outcomes including: (1) suicide attempts by self-poisoning extracted from BC Drug and Poison Information Centre (DPIC) database (2012-2023); (2) completed suicides by self-poisoning extracted from BC vital statistics (2004-2023); and (3) completed suicides by violent methods extracted from BC vital statistics (2004-2023). Analyses were stratified by sex, age, ecological region, substance types used in self-poisonings, and by methods of violent suicide.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>There were 9,599 suicide attempts via self-poisoning and 2,571 suicide deaths included in this study. Overall, hot days were associated with increased odds of self-poisoning suicide attempts and deaths, but not with suicide deaths via violent methods. The odds ratio [95% confidence interval] for suicide attempts via self-poisoning on hot days was 1.19 [1.11, 1.29], and 1.48 [1.12, 1.95] for suicide deaths. There was no effect of hot days on suicide deaths by violent methods. The associations varied by day of exposure, sex, age groups, and geography. The effect of hot days was greatest for suicide attempts and deaths involving opioids and elevated for suicide attempts involving opioid and analgesia combinations, analgesics alone, and alcohol.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The risk of suicide via self-poisoning was increased on hot summer days in BC, Canada. However, the relationship was influenced by other factors that vary among individuals and geographies. Policy decisions and future research for suicide-prevention during hot weather should consider sub-population susceptibility.</p>","PeriodicalId":11686,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Health","volume":"24 1","pages":"25"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12042471/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143968458","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"From inequalities to vulnerability paradoxes: juxtaposing older adults' heat mortality risk and heat experiences.","authors":"Małgorzata Wrotek, Iulia Marginean, Zofia Boni, Franciszek Chwałczyk, Ana M Vicedo-Cabrera, Coral Salvador, Barbara Jancewicz","doi":"10.1186/s12940-025-01179-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-025-01179-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Increasing temperatures across the globe, including in Europe, pose one of the biggest threats to human health and wellbeing. Different kinds of inequalities, determined by age, sex/gender, isolation, socio-economic status, occupation, living in the city, and health situation, create vulnerability factors influencing people's heat-related mortality risk and their daily experiences during summer.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Our study uses an interdisciplinary approach to research how intersecting inequalities generate vulnerabilities to heat stress among older adults (65+) in two European cities: Warsaw and Madrid. We combine three methodological approaches juxtaposing quantitative and qualitative data: (1) epidemiological analysis that uses daily mortality data in Warsaw and Madrid coupled with meteorological station temperature data from HadISD; (2) the OLS regression based on the survey conducted in Warsaw and Madrid in 2022; and (3) the focus group interviews conducted in Warsaw in 2021.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Our data confirms that good health and financial situation protect people both from mortality risk and negative heat experiences. Interestingly, both air conditioning (A/C) usage and being physically active increase the negative heat experiences people reported. Finally, we identified two vulnerability paradoxes understood as situations when a person or a group might be more at risk but not experience or perceive negative impacts of heat. These paradoxes affect the oldest adults (80+) and older people living alone in both cities.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Studies on vulnerability and adaptation need to incorporate both large scale top-down data sets and bottom-up, localized data based on individual experience. Combining various methods and disciplinary approaches enables identification of inequality factors and vulnerability paradoxes that remain unnoticed or underestimated while increasing people's vulnerability to heat stress.</p>","PeriodicalId":11686,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Health","volume":"24 1","pages":"24"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12034184/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143996615","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}