International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health最新文献

Wildfires in North America, particularly in western states, have caused widespread environmental, economic, social, and health impacts. Smoke from these fires travels long distances, spreading pollutants and worsening the air quality across continents. Vulnerable groups, such as children, the elderly, and those with preexisting conditions, face heightened health risks, as do firefighters working in extreme conditions. Wildfire firefighters are of particular concern as they are fighting fires in extreme conditions with minimal protective equipment. This study examined wildfire smoke during July-August 2021, when intense fires in Canada and the western U.S. led to cross-continental smoke transport and caused significant impacts on the air quality across North America. Using the GEOS-Chem model, we simulated the transport and distribution of PM_2.5 (particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 μm or smaller), identifying significant carcinogenic risks for adults, children, and firefighters using dosimetry risk methodologies established by the U.S. EPA. Significant carcinogenic risks for adult, child, and firefighter populations due to exposure to PM_2.5 were identified over the two-month period of evaluation. The findings emphasize the need for future studies to assess the toxic chemical mixtures in wildfire smoke and consider the risks to underrepresented communities.

Background: Restrictions on family visitation to long-term care facilities (LTCFs) during the COVID-19 pandemic remain an area of contention for residents, family members and staff members. Current research has explored the experience of family members; however, fewer studies have explored the impact of visitation restrictions from the perspective of LTCF staff members. We examined the experiences of LTCF staff members in implementing visitation restrictions, including maintaining contact with families, in England over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: A sample of twenty-four LTCF staff members employed at eight LTCFs in one region of England was recruited. Qualitative, in-depth interviews were conducted with staff members to explore their experiences of implementing government policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data on maintaining contact and visitation with relatives. Results: Five broad themes were identified from the data. These were: (i) engaging with family members on visitation, (ii) facilitating visitation with family members, (iii) maintaining remote contact with family members, (iv) managing visitation restrictions with residents and (v) navigating equitable access for residents and family members. While some staff welcomed the introduction of national guidance on restrictions as a source to refer family members to for justification of the LTCFs' decisions to restrict access, others reflected on the negative effect of limited social contact on resident wellbeing and difficulties in implementing the guidance. At times, LTCFs felt conflicted in their responsibility for supporting family members in visiting at the same time as communicating, enforcing and policing visitation restrictions. Guidance on facilitating remote contact required substantial time and resources required to support it. Discussion: The extent to which restricting visitation was a proportionate response to reducing the spread of COVID-19, within the wider context of negative impacts on relatives and family members, is an ongoing debate. This study identified some of the challenges experiences by LTCF staff in implementing such guidance, and calls into question the practicality of restricting visitation. Further research is needed on how social contact can be maintained between relatives and their families during pandemics, which is both equitable and achievable.

Ozone, a critical air pollutant, has been shown to lead to systemic inflammation that can alter bodily functions, including hormone secretion, fertility, and the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. This study aimed to quantify changes in hormone production and follicle development after acute exposure to ozone using an animal model to identify the potential mechanisms underlying the observed effects of air pollution exposures on fertility and hormone secretion. To accomplish this, regularly cycling 8-week-old female C57BL/6J mice were exposed to 2 ppm of ozone or filtered air (control) for 3 h on the day of proestrus. Blood, ovaries, brain tissues, and pituitary glands were collected at 4 h after exposure to evaluate hormone levels, ovarian follicle distribution, and gene expression. Ovaries were also harvested at 24 h post-exposure. We found that at 4 h after ozone exposure, mice had significantly higher (30%) circulating estradiol levels than mice exposed to filtered air. This effect was accompanied by a decrease in mRNA expression of gonadotropin genes (LH, FSH) and gonadotropin-releasing hormone in the pituitary gland. Analysis of ovarian tissue at 4 h and 24 h after exposure showed no significant changes in follicle composition or the expression of steroidogenesis genes. We conclude that acute ozone exposure affects sex hormone levels and disrupts the HPG axis. Future studies addressing chronic or long-term effects of air pollution exposure are needed to elucidate the mechanisms by which ambient ozone affects endocrine function.

(1) Background: Although alcohol use increased overall in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 16% of people decreased their drinking. Understanding reasons for decreasing or discontinuing alcohol use during a time of crisis could inform alcohol messaging during future crises. (2) Methods: We conducted hour-long interviews with 26 participants who reported drinking above NIAAA guidelines at the second wave of the National Alcohol Survey COVID Cohort (a longitudinal study of alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic). Data were analyzed using codebook thematic analysis. (3) Results: Many participants reported decreasing use after a period of heavy drinking. Four themes emerged as reasons for doing so: (1) health conditions attributed to or worsened by drinking, (2) concerns about developing the same alcohol problems as a family member, (3) life demands and transitions that limited drinking opportunities, and (4) disliking the side- and after-effects of drinking (e.g., hangovers). (4) Conclusions: Concerns about negative health consequences from heavy alcohol use and limited opportunities to use alcohol due to competing life demands were salient reasons for reducing or abstaining from alcohol use during COVID-19. Incorporating themes about health and life obligations into messaging to reduce alcohol use during crises may improve message relevance.

A high prevalence of chronic diseases exposes diverse healthcare pain points due to the limited effectiveness of pharmaceutical drugs and biologics, sedentary lifestyles, insufficient health literacy, chronic stress, unsatisfactory patient experience, environmental pollution and competition with commercial determinants of health. To improve patient care and long-term outcomes, the impact of the home environment is overlooked and underutilized by healthcare. This cross-disciplinary work describes perspectives on (1) the home environment as a therapeutic target for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases and (2) transforming health-centric household goods e-commerce platforms into digital health interventions. We provide a rationale for creating therapeutic home environments grounded in biophilic design (multisensory, environmental enrichment) and supporting physical activities, quality sleep, nutrition, music, stress reduction, self-efficacy, social support and health education, hence providing clinical benefits through the modulation of the autonomic nervous system, neuroplasticity and behavior change. These pleiotropic "active non-pharmacological ingredients" can be personalized for people living with depression, anxiety, migraine, chronic pain, cancer, cardiovascular and other conditions. We discuss prospects for integrating e-commerce with digital health platforms to create "therapeutic home environment" interventions delivered through digital therapeutics and their combinations with prescription drugs. This multimodal approach can enhance patient engagement while bridging consumer spending with healthcare outcomes.

It is not uncommon for basic scientists to switch into public health research. Such career transitions present a variety of challenges and opportunities and can reinvigorate a career, lead to new skills, and provide the chance to contribute to individual and community health and social justice. Based on our respective experiences switching from applied physics to infectious disease modelling and from evolutionary physiology to cancer prevention and control, we propose ten simple rules intended to help researchers from other disciplines think about a transition to public health research. Together, these rules are largely about navigating between pairs of extremes related to why you want to move in a new direction, how to balance old and new expertise, and balancing humility with the confidence that you are bringing something important to the table. A career transition can also fulfill some of the basic motivators for a research career, including curiosity and a passion to try to solve important problems. Our career transitions proved deeply satisfying. We hope yours will as well.

Asbestos is a fibrous variety of certain minerals, some of which occur naturally as an accessory to a wide variety of mineral resources. Although asbestos itself has been historically mined for various useful properties, the negative health effects of asbestos dust have greatly diminished it as a useful earth material, as many countries have banned the use of these fibrous minerals based on those health concerns. Resulting regulations of asbestos have focused primarily on intentionally mined material used in product manufacturing, such as building materials made with beneficiated asbestos and their derivative exposures, e.g., airborne asbestos in schools with asbestos-containing materials. The hazards of asbestos as unintended byproducts have not been as extensively considered, although this "contamination" has been repeatedly observed in common earth materials including talc, vermiculite, sand, and gravel. This study reveals such contamination of ornamental and dimension stone commonly referred to as "marble". Asbestos types that can be associated with certain Indian marble reserves include asbestiform tremolite, actinolite, anthophyllite, and chrysotile asbestos. This case reveals such contamination in a marble reserve in Rajsamand, Rajasthan. At this location, marble dust in slurry is disposed at waste collection points, unfortunately including a location now open to the public that has become a tourist destination. Using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) in this study, dust from this location revealed abundant tremolite asbestos fibres in the disaggregated dust. This poses potential health risks to the workers, bystanders, and tourists that may be exposed to this recognized carcinogen, a known cause of mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other asbestos-related diseases.

Endocrine disruptors (EDs) are substances that interfere with the endocrine system, posing risks to health across various life stages, particularly during adolescence when hormonal changes are pronounced. Despite the recognition of adolescents as vulnerable, there have been few interventions targeting their exposure to EDs. This study developed the COPE ADOS program using the intervention mapping (IM) framework to enhance adolescents' knowledge and skills in identifying and mitigating exposure to EDs. The IM framework guided the creation of the program through four steps: conducting a needs assessment, formulating program objectives, selecting relevant behavioral theories, and developing a logical model. The need assessment conducted through focus groups revealed significant knowledge gaps and misconceptions about EDs among adolescents, leading to the establishment of six performance objectives aimed at addressing attitude, knowledge, risk perception, self-efficacy, and skills. As a result, 15 educational tools were created. The COPE ADOS program represents a novel, collaborative effort tailored to the needs of students and demonstrates the potential of the IM framework in developing effective health interventions for adolescents. Future research should evaluate the impact of this program on reducing ED exposure among high school students.

The digital delivery of mental health services became increasingly common following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is still much to learn regarding tailoring interventions for trauma-affected populations (military members, Veterans, public safety personnel). Through the current pilot study, we explored the perceptions of digitally delivered psychotherapies utilized for trauma-affected populations, as reported by Canadian military members, Veterans, and public safety personnel who completed such interventions. Quantitative data were collected from 11 Canadian clients (military members, Veterans, and public safety personnel with posttraumatic stress injury). Survey questions were based on the Alberta Quality Matrix of Health and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model. As a follow-up, clients were invited to partake in a semi-structured interview to further explore their perspectives on digitally delivered trauma-focused and adjunct therapies. Four clients participated in an interview. The client participants reported that digitally delivered trauma and adjunct therapies offered similar treatment effectiveness to in-person delivery while also improving treatment access. The participants indicated several unique advantages of digital delivery, including the increased accessibility of treatment, cost-effectiveness, and more efficient use of resources, although the small sample size limits the generalizability of our findings. Further research with a larger, more diverse population is required to corroborate our results and identify other avenues in which psychotherapies utilized for trauma-affected populations can be engaged with and improved upon.

Public health is the basis of society's well-being and the nation's development. Despite the importance of this factor and huge investments in the health sector in the United States, public health is facing enormous challenges due to the unknown nature of the influential variables in this sector. This research aims to investigate the influential variables on public health from different sources including the demographic features, built environment, socioeconomic variables, and environmental factors impact on 30 major health issues. To achieve this goal, this study utilizes exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression methods on the data obtained from the state of Indiana. The results indicated that health issues and influential factors can be divided into five main factors. This study identifies Health Burdens and Socioeconomic Disparities as a key factor, encompassing a wide range of health issues and socioeconomic variables, highlighting a significant association between socioeconomic disparities, poor health outcomes, and environmental exposures. The analysis underscores the intricate relationship between socioeconomic status, health behaviors, chronic diseases, and environmental factors, suggesting that effective interventions must address healthcare access, quality, and broader determinants of health to improve outcomes in affected communities. The results of this study can be helpful to public health policymakers, urban planners, and future public health researchers.