Geohealth最新文献

Exertional heat illness poses a significant risk for workers, athletes, and military personnel participating in outdoor activities during hot weather. An important component of heat safety is to monitor environmental conditions through heat stress indices like the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) and adjust activity as conditions get progressively hotter. Traditionally, on-site (OS) WBGT measurement devices are used, but phone applications (PAs) offering WBGT estimates have emerged as a potential alternative. However, there is little information on how closely PA-derived WBGTs match OS measurements to guide decision-making. This study compared the PA-derived Zelus WBGT estimates with OS measurements from Kestrel 5400 devices and their impact on activity modification categorization. A 2-month observational study collected 1,056 paired (OS and PA) WBGT measurements from 26 high schools across 11 states in the United States and over diverse surfaces (artificial turf 53%, natural grass 44%, others 3%). WBGT values were categorized using regional activity modification thresholds to account for local acclimatization. Our findings indicated that while exhibiting high correlation (r = 0.89), PA WBGTs were on average about 1°C cooler, with differences of 2–3°C at higher WBGTs. Findings were similar for both grass and artificial turf surfaces. Further, significant discrepancies were observed in WBGT-based activity modification categories, with the PA more frequently indicating lower modification categories compared to OS devices, especially in hotter conditions. In light of these findings, the PA requires further validation prior to its adoption as a replacement for OS measurements.

This study presents the interplay between wild bird migrations and global poultry trade in the unprecedented spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza, particularly the H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b strain, across the world and diverse ecosystems from 2020 to 2023. We theorized the role of migratory birds in spreading pathogens as various wild bird species traverse major flyways between the northern and southern hemispheres. Simultaneously, we analyzed the global poultry trade data to assess its role in H5N1's anthropogenic spread, highlighting how human economic activities intersect with natural avian behaviors in disease dynamics. Lastly, we conducted spatial hotspot analysis to identify areas of significant clustering of H5N1 outbreak points over different bird families from 2003 to 2023. This approach provides a strong framework for identifying specific regions at higher risk for H5N1 outbreaks and upon which to further evaluate these patterns with targeted intervention studies and research into what is driving these patterns. Our findings indicate that both the poultry sector and wild bird migrations significantly contribute to global H5N1 transmission, which helps better understanding of H5N1 transmission mechanisms when combined with ecological, epidemiological, and socio-economic perspectives. The results are intended to inform policy-making and strategic planning in wildlife conservation and the poultry trade to improve public health and animal welfare globally.

Fire activities introduce hazardous impacts on the environment and public health by emitting various chemical species into the atmosphere. Most operational air quality forecast (AQF) models estimate smoke emissions based on the latest available satellite fire products, which may not represent real-time fire behaviors without considering fire spread. Hence, a novel machine learning (ML) based fire spread forecast model, the Fire Intensity and spRead forecAst (FIRA), is developed for AQF model applications. FIRA aims to improve the performance of AQF models by providing realistic, dynamic fire characteristics including the spatial distribution and intensity of fire radiative power (FRP). In this study, data sets in 2020 over the continental United States (CONUS) and a historical California fire in 2024 are used for model training and evaluation. For application assessment, FIRA FRP predictions are applied to the Unified Forecast System coupled with smoke (UFS-Smoke) model as inputs, focusing on a California fire case in September 2020. Results show that FIRA captures fire spread with R-squared (R²) near 0.7 and good spatial similarity (∼95%). The comparison between UFS-Smoke simulations using near-real-time fire products and FIRA FRP predictions show good agreements, indicating that FIRA can accurately represent future fire activities. Although FIRA generally underestimates fire intensity, the uncertainties can be mitigated by applying scaling factors to FRP values. Use of the scaled FIRA largely outperforms the experimental UFS-Smoke model in predicting aerosol optical depth and the three-dimensional smoke contents, while also demonstrating the ability to improve surface fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) concentrations affected by fires.

West Nile virus (WNV) is a zoonotic virus with a mosquito-avian transmission cycle having occasional spillover to mammals. A network analysis of annual log-transformed WNV case numbers (2003–2022) generated four spatially and temporally coherent clusters among 48 U.S. states and six Canadian provinces. Cluster 1 and Cluster 3 were the largest groups corresponding to the Central Flyway and the closely associated Eastern Flyway (with an east-coast subset). Cluster 2 and Cluster 4 corresponded with less-well defined segments of a distinctly different Western Flyway. Thus, clustering can be explained by migratory pathways of terrestrial birds. We investigated avian involvement in the spread of WNV from potential sources in the southern U.S. Analyses revealed consistent patterns in log-transformed case numbers of human WNV. This study highlights the significant role of migratory birds in shaping the spatiotemporal patterns of WNV incidence across North America. However, the observed variability in incidence also likely reflects the interplay of other factors including local environmental conditions, mosquito populations, and regional variations in both migratory and non-migratory bird populations.

While short-term studies of the adverse effects of air pollution have found regional differences, there has been insufficient evidence from long-term studies. This study investigated the spatial variation of the association between long-term exposure to particulate matter (PM) air pollution and cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence and their relevant regional characteristics. We selected 155,017 adults who have lived over 13 years in each of the 16 regions of South Korea from the National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort. We assessed the individual long-term exposure as a 5-year average concentration at district-level residential addresses estimated by previously validated exposure prediction models. We applied time-dependent Cox-proportional hazard models to explore the spatial variation of long-term PM exposure's association with CVD incidence. After adjusting for individual-level characteristics, we estimated the region-specific hazard ratios (HRs) of incident CVD per 10 μg/m³ increase in PM₁₀ and PM_2.5. Then, we calculated the correlation coefficients between region-specific HRs and 80 regional attributes in 13 categories across 16 regions to identify the related regional characteristics. Region-specific HRs of CVD incidence for PM showed considerable variation in magnitude and direction across 16 regions. HRs of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 were higher in major urban areas and lower in rural areas. Urbanicity and emission sources exhibited significant correlations with HRs of overall CVD. Our findings offer an opportunity to explore regional characteristics that derive the difference in air pollution-associated health effects and help us provide guidance to target specific characteristics to avoid the adverse health effects of air pollution.

Peer-review is the foundation and the safeguard of scientific research. Without the dedication of our reviewers, the journal would not have been successful. In 2024, 231 reviewers completed the review for 238 manuscripts submitted to GeoHealth. Our reviewers are from all continents except Antarctica. Besides reviewers from North America, China, Europe, and China, we started to have reviewers from India, Latin America, and Africa. GeoHealth editorial board is committed to expanding the readership, authorship, and reviewership to other countries. If you have already reviewed for us, no matter where or who you are, we hope you and your colleagues will consider GeoHeatlh a home for your work. Below is the list of reviewers who completed more than two reviews (noted in italics) or have outstanding quality reviews. Two of our reviewers have been nominated for AGU Best Reviewers awards (*noted with an asterisk).

Expansion of residential and commercial facilities have contributed to rapid urbanization of Ho municipality. As a result, quarry activities have intensified in Klefe a major stone quarry source for construction. The increased demand for quarry stones has created jobs for many but has also led to the perception of health and environment challenges negatively affecting the people and the natural environment. In view of the extensive quarry activities in the area, the aim of the study was to assess perceptions of effects of quarrying activities on human health and the environment. Stratified random sampling method was used to select respondents to answer questions on a questionnaire and application of a relative importance index to examine what the study community perceive as the most important environmental and health effects of quarrying. Exploratory factor analysis was used to determine relationships existing among environmental hazards and their perceived health effects. Sedimentation, land degradation and injury from quarrying were the main perceived effects of quarrying. Efforts to address any perceived effects of quarrying should focus on sedimentation, land degradation and injury from quarrying.

Convective dust events are common in the greater Phoenix area over the summer. These short-duration dust events degrade the air quality and pose a potential health threat to millions. In this study, 93 convective dust events that occurred in July and August 2015 to 2021 were examined to determine their impact on air quality. Seven PM₁₀ stations were used to evaluate the changes in PM₁₀ concentrations over different time intervals (10-min, hourly, and daily). Out of these 93 dust events, only 15.1% had a daily average above the EPA PM₁₀ daily threshold, however, these daily concentrations were 12.8 and 28 times lower compared to hourly and 10-min concentrations (respectively) at the peak of the dust. 10-minute PM₁₀ concentrations were on average 2.2 ± 0.8 times higher than the hourly concentrations. The findings of this study demonstrated that the traditional methods that use daily or hourly averages underestimate the atmospheric PM₁₀ concentrations during short convective dust events and therefore lower the estimated exposure. There is a need to consider shorter time intervals to capture the PM concentrations accurately and highlight the importance of real-time monitoring and accurate characterization of short-duration events to assess their impacts on air quality and human health.

Globally, solid biofuels (SB) have been widely used for household cooking and energy production for decades due to electricity shortages and socio-economic barriers to adopting renewable energy alternatives. This has detrimental effects on air quality, human health, and climate through trace gas and aerosol emissions. Despite numerous studies, the long-term consequences of SB emissions remain poorly understood. Here, we use the Community Earth System Model and the Community Emissions Data System emission inventory to investigate the SB emission impacts on air quality and human health for 2000–2019. Global SB emission increased the ambient PM_2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters $��\le �$2.5 μm) and ozone (O₃) concentrations up to 23.61 $��\mu �g�$/m³ and 13.69 ppbv, with significant effects found in India, China, and the Rest of Asia (ROA). Our study estimates total annual premature deaths (APDs) associated with global SB-attributable PM_2.5 and O₃ exposure as 1.11 million [95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.00–1.22 million] in 2000 up to 1.43 million (95% CI: 1.30–1.56 million) in 2019. China's SB emissions and associated APDs have reduced substantially, whereas India and ROA had a major leap in both estimates in 2019 compared to 2000. China's progress in cutting residential SB emissions accounts for its improvements. Our study urges the reduction of SB usage and emissions to potentially improve overall air quality and human health conditions, especially in highly populated, low- and middle-income countries, where the poor air quality and associated health burden attributable to SB emissions are estimated to be higher.

The association between ambient ozone (O₃) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) onset is unclear, particularly for younger patients and AMI subtypes. This study examined the short-term association of O₃ with AMI onset in patients aged 18–55 years and explored differences by AMI subtypes and patient characteristics. We analyzed 2,322 AMI patients admitted to 103 US hospitals (2008–2012). Daily maximum 8-hr O₃ concentrations estimated using a spatiotemporal deep learning approach were assigned to participants' home addresses. We used a time-stratified case-crossover design with conditional logistic regression to assess the association between O₃ and AMI, adjusting for fine particulate matter, air temperature, and relative humidity. We conducted stratified analyses to examine associations for AMI subtypes and effect modification by sociodemographic status, lifestyle factors, and medical history. An interquartile range (16.6 ppb) increase in O₃ concentrations was associated with an increased AMI risk at lag 4 days (odds ratio [OR] = 1.21, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.08–1.34) and lag 5 days (OR = 1.11, 95% CI: 1.00–1.24). The association was more pronounced for non-ST-segment elevation AMI and type 2 AMI compared with ST-segment elevation AMI and type 1 AMI, respectively. Stronger O₃-AMI associations were observed in non-Hispanic Blacks than in non-Hispanic Whites. Our study provides evidence that short-term O₃ exposure is associated with increased AMI risk in younger patients, with varying associations across AMI subtypes. The effect modification by race/ethnicity highlights the need for population-specific intervention strategies.