Environmental Health

The globally escalating thyroid nodule incidence rates may be only partially ascribed to better diagnostics, allowing for the assessment of environmental risk factors on thyroid disease. Endocrine disruptors or thyroid-disrupting chemicals (TDC) like bisphenol A, phthalates, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers are widely used as plastic additives in consumer products. This comprehensive review studied the magnitude and uncertainty of TDC exposures and their effects on thyroid hormones for sensitive subpopulation groups like pregnant women, infants, and children. Our findings qualitatively suggest the mixed, significant (α = 0.05) TDC associations with natural thyroid hormones (positive or negative sign). Future studies should undertake systematic meta-analyses to elucidate pooled TDC effect estimates on thyroid health indicators and outcomes.

Fruit growers from three districts of the Punjab took part in this study whereas their knowledge, attitude, skill and practices were evaluated regarding the use of pesticides. The hygiene and sanitation practices of the respondent were also related with proper use of PPA ...

Medical Geology, the study of the impacts of geologic materials and processes on animal and human health, is a dynamic emerging discipline bringing together the geoscience, biomedical, and public health communities to solve a wide range of environmental health problems. Among the Medical Geology described in this review are examples of both deficiency and toxicity of trace element exposure. Goiter is a widespread and potentially serious health problem caused by deficiency of iodine. In many locations the deficiency is attributable to low concentrations of iodine in the bedrock. Similarly, deficiency of selenium in the soil has been cited as the principal cause of juvenile cardiomyopathy and muscular abnormalities. Overexposure to arsenic is one of the most widespread Medical Geology problems affecting more than one hundred million people in Bangladesh, India, China, Europe, Africa and North and South America. The arsenic exposure is primarily due to naturally high levels in groundwa...

Despite the public health concern, there is a dearth of research regarding perceived noise pollution and noise-related health status in Bangladesh. This study was carried out to evaluate the noise-related health status among Bangladesh’s adult population. 1386 adult Bangladeshis participated in an online survey. A linear regression model was used to evaluate overall noise-related health status determinants. 91% of the survey population reported noisy environments in their neighborhood, with the majority reporting two types (34%) of noise pollution sources. Road vehicles (38%) and construction activities (24%) were identified as significant source of noise pollution. The Bangladeshis are primarily exposed to noise during school and office hours. Socio-demographic information, perceived noise pollution and individual views towards noise pollution were examined as determinants of noise-related health problems. Females were found to be more impacted than males, and young people also exp...

Background: All over the world, the use of pesticides is considered the most attractive method of controlling pests which involves less labor and characterizes higher output per hectare of land. I aim to study to assess Farmers Knowledge and Practices of Pesticides used and self-reported health systems associated with pesticides used in Thimi, Bhaktapur.   Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among farmers of Thimi, Bhaktapur. 210 farmers were enrolled in the study. Data collection involved a self-prepared questionnaire to farmers and information was collected by face to face interviews. Socio demographics status, unsafe pesticide handling practices of pesticide storage, conditions of personal protective equipment (PPE) was assessed as per the questionnaires. Results: Out of 210 farmers, who participated in the study, 70% were male and 30% were female. Majority 87% of farmers couldn’t read and write. Knowledge regarding the personal protective equipment was known to 85...

Communicable diseases continue to pose a threat to the health of Singaporeans. Despite advances in medical science and the implementation of good public health infrastructure and hygiene measures, new and old diseases continue to emerge and re-emerge. Family physicians are often the first point of contact for patients infected with communicable diseases. Understanding the epidemiology of communicable diseases in the community would enable the family physician to better manage, prevent and control these ...

Air quality indices currently in use have been criticized because they do not capture additive effects of multiple pollutants, or reflect the apparent no-threshold concentration-response relationship between air pollution and health. We propose a new air quality health index (AQHI), constructed as the sum of excess mortality risk associated with individual pollutants from a time-series analysis of air pollution and

An outbreak of acute liver failure occurred at a dialysis center in Caruaru, Brazil (8 degrees 17'S, 35 degrees 58'W), 134 km from Recife, the state capital of Pernambuco. At the clinic, 116 (89%) of 131 patients experienced visual disturbances, nausea, and vomiting ...

Wastewater constitutes an alternative water source for the irrigation sector. To fully benefit from it, and reduce possible adverse effects on public health and the environment, we need to look at the regulation of the practice. A prerequisite for this is an institutional analysis, and the points to consider are the institutional mandates. We used the city of Hyderabad, India, as a case study. There, irrigation with wastewater is not supported or recognized, but it happens in practice. It takes place in an indirect and unplanned way. Institutions fail at enforcing regulations, and little attention is given to formalization of the practice. With this article, we aim to untangle the institutional setup, and by doing so, identify the constraints surrounding development of a formal practice. Ultimately, we aim at contributing to the discussion on the agricultural use of wastewater.

Indoor environmental health is now recognized as an important factor in preventing respiratory health problems in the United States. It is also a concern in Canada due to the amount of time that Canadians spend indoors because of cold weather and the potential for increased time indoors during the summer if the climate warms. The negative health effects are often labeled as sick building syndrome, but diagnosing a building or its occupants as sick is complicated by the variety of symptoms, the presence of chronic versus acute symptoms and social and psychological (socio-psychological) factors that may reduce the effectiveness of an engineering solution. As a case study, the contribution of various factors to indoor environmental health, in three buildings at the University of Toronto, was examined using five different methods. The results indicate that the inhabitants of the buildings consider features other than air quality in considering building health such as design, maintenance...

A consensus of the Workgroup on Community and Socioeconomic Issues was that improving and sustaining healthy rural communities depends on integrating socioeconomic development and environmental protection. The workgroup agreed that the World Health ...

To better understand the potential environmental health risk presented by West Nile virus (WNV)-contaminated feces, we quantified the amount of WNV present in the feces of experimentally infected American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) and fish crows (Corvus ossifragus). Peak fecal titers ranged from 10(3.5) to 10(8.8) plaque-forming units (PFU)/g for 10 American crows and from 10(2.3) to 10(6.4) PFU/g for 10 fish crows. The presence of infectious WNV in bird feces indicates a potential for direct transmission of WNV. Thus, handlers of sick or dead birds should take appropriate precautions to avoid exposure to fecal material.

Recently, a novel approach to a highly sensitive and quantitative detection of rare earth element (REE) ions including La3+, Eu3+ and Tb3+, by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, has been reported. The detection of REE ions is based on the catalytic nature of REE ions targeting the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), thus monitoring of the ions can be achieved by reading the level of intact DNA by PCR. Despite of its high sensitivity (at ppb to ppt levels), the conventional PCR-based REE detection protocol requires certain length of time (1-2 hours). In the present study, we modified the PCR-based REE detection protocols by employing the high-speed PCR, and performed the automated and rapid detection of La3+ in small-sized aqueous samples within 5min.

Damp and mould in homes have been established as risk factors for respiratory health. There is a need for a relatively straightforward assessment of the home that quantifies this risk. Using data from 891 New Zealand houses, the utility of a Respiratory Hazard Index quantifying key attributes related to damp and mould was tested by studying its associations with self-reported respiratory symptoms. A dose-response relationship was found whereby each unit increase in the Respiratory Hazard Index was associated with an 11% increase in the odds of at least one episode of wheezing/whistling in the chest over the last 12 months (relative odds of 1.11 with a 95% CI 1.04%-1.20%). An 11% increase in the odds of an asthma attack over the last 12 months was estimated (relative odds of 1.11 with a 95% CI 1.01%-1.22%). These estimates were adjusted for household crowding levels, age, sex and smoking status. There was suggestive evidence of more steeply increasing odds of respiratory symptoms wit...

This paper discusses both occupational health risks to workers and environmental health risks to residents and workers. The report presents an overview of the available health literature for causes of diseases, injuries, and accidents from solid waste management collection, treatment, and disposal technologies. Illnesses discussed include infectious diseases, allergies, respiratory damage, and cancers. Some diseases are derived from direct ingestion of infectious micro-organisms, others involve infection through contamination of the food chain, whereby animals or other vectors have ingested infectious micro-organisms. Injuries include joint and spinal damage, fractures, puncture wounds, damage to eyes and ears. Accidents include slides from unstable disposal piles, cave-ins of disposal site surfaces, fires, explosions, being caught in processing equipment, and being run over by mobile equipment. As the next steps toward improving occupational and environmental health and safety in s...

Recent attention is focused on understanding the genetic basis for individual susceptibility to the development of chronic disease. An emphasis is concentrated on establishing an association be-tween inheritance of polymorphic chemical metab-olizing genes and development of ...

Dog parks represent a recent trend in western countries, enabling owners to spend quality time with their pets in a controlled environment. Despite their growing popularity, few studies have been performed to date on these parks to investigate dog intestinal parasitic infections and soil contamination. The present study examined 369 faecal and 18 soil samples collected from 3 dog parks in Greater Lisbon, Portugal. Additionally, 102 interviews were performed with dog owners to assess dog-walking behaviours and parasite risk. In total, 33% of the faecal dog samples were infected with at least one parasitic agent: hookworms (16.5%), Cryptosporidium spp. (11.9%), Giardia spp. (11.4%), Toxascaris leonina (1.1%), Cystoisospora spp. (1.1%), Toxocara spp. (0.5%), and Sarcocystis sp. (0.3%). The soil of all the parks was contaminated with hookworm eggs. This is the first study performed in a European urban area to assess canine faecal contamination and parasitic agents in dog parks. Our resu...