Reviews on Environmental Health最新文献

The present review aimed to evaluate the apoptotic effect of tributyltin (TBT) exposure on mammalian tissues and cells in vivo. A search was conducted in specialized literature databases including Embase, Medline, Pubmed, Scholar Google, and Scopus for all manuscripts using the following keywords: "tributyltin", "apoptosis", "mammals", "mammalian cells', "eukaryotic cells", 'rodents', "rats", "mice" and "in vivo" for all data published until September 2023. A total of 16 studies were included. The studies have demonstrated that TBT exposure induces apoptosis in cells from various mammalian organs or tissues in vivo. TBT is capable to increase apoptotic cells, to activate proapoptotic proteins such as calpain, caspases, bax and beclin-1 and to inhibit antiapoptotic protein bcl-2. Additionally, TBT alters the ratio of bcl-2/bax which favor apoptosis. Therefore, the activation of enzymes such as calpain induces apoptosis mediated by ERS and caspases through the intrinsic apoptosis pathway. This review has demonstrated that TBT exposure induces apoptosis in mammalian tissues and cells in vivo.

Cystic fibrosis is the most common autosomal recessive disease in the Caucasian race. Its course is chronic and progressive, with pulmonary involvement being associated with greater morbidity and mortality. One of the factors most related to worse prognosis in these patients is respiratory exacerbations. Although limited, there is evidence demonstrating that increased exposure to environmental pollution, both acute and chronic, is associated with an increase in these exacerbations. It is crucial to fully understand this relationship in order to attempt to improve the respiratory health of these patients. That is why the available evidence is reviewed and measures are established to reduce exposure to pollutants.

Microplastics (MPs) as an atmospheric pollutant are currently receiving widespread attention. Although atmospheric MPs have been extensively studied, due to different research methods, systematic comparisons of atmospheric MPs are still needed. This review critically reviewed the analytical methods, research status and potential human exposure. In this review, the detection principles, advantages and limitations of different visual and chemical analysis methods are reported, and the potential risks of MPs to the human are also introduced. Based on future research about the human risks, emphasized the importance of establishing standardized research methods.

Many chemicals associated with unconventional oil and natural gas (UOG) are known toxicants, leading to health concerns about the effects of UOG. Our objective was to conduct a scoping review of the toxicological literature to assess the effects of UOG chemical exposures in models relevant to human health. We searched databases for primary research studies published in English or French between January 2000 and June 2023 on UOG-related toxicology studies. Two reviewers independently screened abstracts and full texts to determine inclusion. Seventeen studies met our study inclusion criteria. Nine studies used solely in vitro models, while six conducted their investigation solely in animal models. Two studies incorporated both types of models. Most studies used real water samples impacted by UOG or lab-made mixtures of UOG chemicals to expose their models. Most in vitro models used human cells in monocultures, while all animal studies were conducted in rodents. All studies detected significant deleterious effects associated with exposure to UOG chemicals or samples, including endocrine disruption, carcinogenicity, behavioral changes and metabolic alterations. Given the plausibility of causal relationships between UOG chemicals and adverse health outcomes highlighted in this review, future risk assessment studies should focus on measuring exposure to UOG chemicals in human populations.

We examined one of the first published of the several systematic reviews being part of WHO's renewed initiative to assess the evidence of associations between man-made radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMF) and adverse health effects in humans. The examined review addresses experimental studies of pregnancy and birth outcomes in non-human mammals. The review claims that the analyzed data did not provide conclusions certain enough to inform decisions at a regulatory level. Our objective was to assess the quality of this systematic review and evaluate the relevance of its conclusions to pregnant women and their offspring. The quality and relevance were checked on the review's own premises: e.g., we did not question the selection of papers, nor the chosen statistical methods. While the WHO systematic review presents itself as thorough, scientific, and relevant to human health, we identified numerous issues rendering the WHO review irrelevant and severely flawed. All flaws found skew the results in support of the review's conclusion that there is no conclusive evidence for nonthermal effects. We show that the underlying data, when relevant studies are cited correctly, support the opposite conclusion: There are clear indications of detrimental nonthermal effects from RF-EMF exposure. The many identified flaws uncover a pattern of systematic skewedness aiming for uncertainty hidden behind complex scientific rigor. The skewed methodology and low quality of this review is highly concerning, as it threatens to undermine the trustworthiness and professionalism of the WHO in the area of human health hazards from man-made RF-EMF.

Solid fuel use is increasingly linked to low birth weight (LBW), but conclusions were inconsistent. We aimed to summarize the association between solid fuel use and LBW. Twenty-one studies that met the inclusion criteria were identified through PubMed, Qvid Medline, and Web of Science databases. The final search occurred on March 20, 2024. Summary relative effect and 95 % confidence intervals were estimated with a random-effects model. Subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses were performed to investigate possible sources of heterogeneity and to test the stability of the results. Nineteen studies evaluated the association between solid fuel use in pregnant woman and LBW (1.188 for solid fuels: 1.055 to 1.322). No significant heterogeneity was identified among the included studies (p=0.010, Tau²=0.02, I²=48.1 %). Subgroup analysis found positive correlations for Asia, data years prior to 2014, and rural studies (1.245 for Asia: 1.077 to 1.412; Tau²=0.03, I²=56.0 %; 1.243 for data years prior to 2014: 1.062 to 1.424; Tau²=0.04, I²=60.98 %; 1.514 for rural: 1.258 to 1.771; Tau²=0.00, I²=0.0 %). Our meta-analysis showed that solid fuel use in pregnant women had an impact on LBW. Measures and policies are also needed to promote energy conversion and to limit and reduce the use of solid fuels.

The fifth generation, 5G, for wireless communication is currently deployed in Sweden since 2019/2020, as well as in many other countries. We have previously published seven case reports that include a total of 16 persons aged between 4 and 83 years that developed the microwave syndrome within short time after being exposed to 5G base stations close to their dwellings. In all cases high radiofrequency (RF) radiation from 4G/5G was measured with a broadband meter. RF radiation reached >2,500,000 to >3,180,000 μW/m² in peak maximum value in three of the studies. In total 41 different health issues were assessed for each person graded 0 (no complaint) to 10 (worst symptoms). Most prevalent and severe were sleeping difficultly (insomnia, waking night time, early wake-up), headache, fatique, irritability, concentration problems, loss of immediate memory, emotional distress, depression tendency, anxiety/panic, dysesthesia (unusual touched based sensations), burning and lancinating skin, cardiovascular symptoms (transitory high or irregular pulse), dyspnea, and pain in muscles and joints. Balance disorder and tinnitus were less prevalent. All these symptoms are included in the microwave syndrome. In most cases the symptoms declined and disappeared within a short time period after the studied persons had moved to a place with no 5G. These case histories are classical examples of provocation studies. They reinforce the urgency to inhibit the deployment of 5G until more safety studies have been performed.

The impact of air pollution is a major public health concern. However, there are few studies on the correlation between PM_2.5 and respiratory infections. This study aimed to determine a link between PM_2.5 and respiratory diseases among the elderly in Thailand. The data source for this study consisted of 43 electronic files from the Khon Kaen Provincial Health Office covering years 2020 and 2021 and surveyed a total of 43,534 people. The generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) was used to determine the adjusted odds ratio (AOR), and 95 % CI. We found that exposure to PM_2.5 concentrations (in 10 μg m^-3 increments) was associated with respiratory diseases (AOR: 3.98; 95 % CI [1.53-10.31]). Respondents who are male, aged less than 80 years, single, self-employed, or working as contractors, have a body mass index (BMI) not equal to the standard, have NCDs (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular disease), are smokers, live in sub-districts where more than 5 % of the land is planted to sugarcane, or live in close proximity to a biomass power plant were at significantly higher risk of developing respiratory diseases (p<0.05). Therefore, environmental factors including ambient PM_2.5 concentrations, the proportion of sugarcane plantation areas, and biomass power plants impact the occurrence of respiratory diseases among the elderly. Also, demographic factors and NCDs are serious issues. Systematic approaches to reducing PM_2.5 levels in industrial and agricultural sectors are necessary for both the general population and vulnerable groups, including the elderly and NCD patients.

Lead poisoning is a serious environmental health problem in every country in the world. Exposure to lead results in neurocognitive and behavioral changes, has adverse effects on the immune system, causes anemia, hypertension and perturbs other organ systems. The effects of lead poisoning are most critical for children because their bodies are growing and developing, and particularly because agents that reduce cognitive function and attention span as well as promote disruptive behavior will have life-long consequences. Lead exposure, especially to children, is a major health disparity issue. If the next generation starts with reduced cognitive ability, there will be significant barriers for development of skills and country-wide development. While there are many sources of exposure to lead, the commonest source is lead in soil and dust. Since lead is an element, it does not go away and past releases of lead into the environment remain as soil and dust contamination. This is an especially important route of exposure to children because children regularly play in soil and are exposed via hand-to-mouth activity. In addition to indoor sources of lead, contaminated soil is tracked on shoes or feet and blown by air currents into homes, accumulating in household dust which is a major source of exposure for both children and adults. The purpose of this review is to determine standards presumed to be health protective for lead and dust in different countries. We find that many countries have no standards for lead in soil and dust and rely on standards set by the World Health Organization or the US Environmental Protection Agency, and these standards may or may not be enforced. There is considerable variation in standards set by other countries.