Category Archives: Health

Climate change health crisis: Global experts launch Lancet Countdown

floodAn international, multi-disciplinary research initiative was launched at the COP22 climate talks taking place in Morocco. It brings together leading experts to track and analyze the impacts of climate change on public health.

The interrelation of climate change and public health is becoming increasingly clear. The Lancet Countdown builds on the findings of the 2015 Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change, which concluded that climate change posed both a “potentially catastrophic risk to human health”, while conversely being “the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century” if the right steps are taken.

Air pollution linked to increased mental illness in children

children_air_pollution

Research showed relatively small increases in air pollution were associated with a significant increase in treated psychiatric problems. Photograph: Alamy

Higher levels of air pollution may correspond to higher rates of mental health disorders in children e.g. kids and teens, according to a new study conducted in Sweden.

Researchers found that, in areas with higher levels of pollution, there were more medications dispensed for psychiatric conditions in children and teens, compared with areas with lower levels of air pollution.

The new findings add to previous research that has shown links between air pollution and anxiety, perceived levels of stress and mental health conditions in the general population, the researchers said in their study, published June 3 in the journal BMJ Open.

“The results can mean that a decreased concentration of air pollution — first and foremost, traffic-related air pollution — may reduce psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents,” lead study author Anna Oudin, a public health researcher at Umeå University in Sweden, said in a statement.

One striking aspect of the new research is that Sweden has low levels of air pollution, but the researchers still saw the link even below levels of 15mcg/m3. “Sweden is not a country that suffers from very bad air quality, said Kelly. “This suggests that other countries and cities have an even bigger challenge, as they will have to make significant improvements to their air quality so that it is even cleaner than Sweden’s.”

Prof Frank Kelly, at King’s College London, said the research was important. “This builds on existing evidence that children are particularly sensitive to poor air quality probably because their lifestyles increase the dose of air pollution they are exposed too – ie they are more active – and that developing organs may be more vulnerable until they fully mature.”

Air pollution linked to premature birth and $4.3B cost to the United States

premature_birthAir pollution is now linked to premature birth in the U.S., causing over 3% of these events, about 16,000 each year. The annual cost has reached $4.3 billion, according to a new study by the NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City (Particulate Matter Exposure and Preterm Birth: Estimates of U.S. Attributable Burden and Economic Costs, Trasande et al. 2016). Researchers say the costs include prolonged hospital stays, long-term use of medications for the infant, as well as lost economic productivity for the mother. The report also found that the number of premature births linked to air pollution was highest in urban counties. Air pollution, the research says, introduces toxic chemicals to the mother such as fine particulate matter, which in turn leads to a cascade of ill effects: immune system stress, a weakened placenta, preterm birth and a host of potential mental and physical disabilities for the baby.

In the weeks immediately after birth, premature infants often have difficulty breathing and digesting food. They can also encounter longer-term challenges such as impaired vision, hearing, and cognitive skills as well as social and behavioral problems. Pregnant women may want consider moving away from areas with heavy pollution or at least purchase air filters and close windows during high traffic periods.

“Air pollution comes with a tremendous cost, not only in terms of human life, but also in terms of the associated economic burden to society,” says Dr. Leonardo Trasande, a professor at the medical center who led the research. “It is also important to note that this burden is preventable, and can be reduced by limiting emissions from automobiles and coal-fired power plants.”

Dr. Trasande plans to share the findings with policymakers. He also says the number of premature births in the U.S. remains well above those of other developed countries. The report, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, is the first to trace the frequency and cost of premature births related to air pollution.

Climate Change is a ‘Medical Emergency’ experts warn

NASA, NOAA Analyses Reveal Record-Shattering Global Warm Temperatures in 2015

NASA, NOAA Analyses Reveal Record-Shattering Global Warm Temperatures in 2015. 2015 was the warmest year since modern record-keeping began in 1880, according to a new analysis by NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. The record-breaking year continues a long-term warming trend — 15 of the 16 warmest years on record have now occurred since 2001

According to the 2015 Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change, the threat to human health from climate change is so great that it could undermine the last 50 years of gains in development and global health.

Extreme weather events such as floods and heat waves bring rising risks of infectious diseases, poor nutrition and stress, the specialists said, while polluted cities where people work long hours and have no time or space to walk, cycle or relax are bad for the heart as well as respiratory and mental health.

Almost 200 countries have set a 2 degrees C global average temperature rise above pre-industrial times as a ceiling to limit climate change, but scientists say the current trajectory could lead to around a 4 degrees C rise in average temperatures, risking droughts, floods, storms and rising sea levels.

“That has very serious and potentially catastrophic effects for human health and human survival,” said Anthony Costello, director of University College London’s (UCL) Institute for Global Health, who co-led the report. “We see climate change as a major health issue, and that’s often neglected in policy debates,” he told reporters at a briefing in London. The report, commissioned and published by The Lancet medical journal, was compiled by a panel of specialists including European and Chinese climate scientists and geographers, social, environmental and energy scientists, biodiversity experts and health professionals.

It said that because responses to mitigate climate change have direct and indirect health benefits – from reducing air pollution to improving diet – a concerted effort would also provide a great opportunity to improve global health.

The report said direct health impacts of climate change come from more frequent and intense extreme weather events, while indirect impacts come from changes in infectious disease patterns, air pollution, food insecurity and malnutrition, displacement and conflicts.

“Climate Change is a medical emergency,” said Hugh Montgomery, director of UCL’s institute for human health and performance and a co-author on the report. “It demands an emergency response using technologies available right now.”

The panel said there were already numerous ways to bring about immediate health gains with action on climate change.

Burning fewer fossil fuels reduces respiratory diseases, for example, and getting people walking and cycling more cuts pollution, road accidents and rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and stroke. 

Cardiovascular disease is the world’s number one killer, leading to some 17 million deaths a year, according to World Health Organization data.

“There’s a big (energy) saving in people using calories to get around, and there are some immediate gains from more active lifestyles,” Montgomery said.

The commission also recommended the creation of a new global independent body with the task of monitoring climate change and global health. This coalition would report every two years on the health effects of climate change, track the progress of policies designed to mitigate climate change and make new suggestions on how to further adapt to climate change and implement low-carbon, sustainable health systems.

SOURCE: The Lancet, news release, June 22, 2015

WHO Shock figures to reveal deadly toll of global air pollution

smog central london

Smog in central London in 2011. Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images

The World Health Organisation has issued a stark new warning about deadly levels of pollution in many of the world’s biggest cities, claiming poor air quality is killing millions and threatening to overwhelm health services across the globe.

Before the release next month of figures that will show air pollution has worsened since 2014 in hundreds of already blighted urban areas, the WHO says there is now a global “public health emergency” that will have untold financial implications for governments.

The latest data, taken from 2,000 cities, will show further deterioration in many places as populations have grown, leaving large areas under clouds of smog created by a mix of transport fumes, construction dust, toxic gases from power generation and wood burning in homes.

“We have a public health emergency in many countries from pollution. It’s dramatic, one of the biggest problems we are facing globally, with horrible future costs to society,” said Maria Neira, head of public health at the WHO, which is a specialist agency of the United Nations. “Air pollution leads to chronic diseases which require hospital space. Before, we knew that pollution was responsible for diseases like pneumonia and asthma. Now we know that it leads to bloodstream, heart and cardiovascular diseases, too – even dementia. We are storing up problems. These are chronic diseases that require hospital beds. The cost will be enormous,” said Neira.

The latest scientific research, published in the journal Nature, suggests that air pollution now kills more people a year than malaria and HIV combined, and in many countries accounts for roughly 10 times more deaths than road accidents.

According to the WHO, air quality is deteriorating around the world to the point where only one in eight people live in cities that meet recommended air pollution levels.

Courtesy of Guardian News & Media Ltd

Half of Americans live with unhealthy air

147.6 million Americans (47%) live in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to an American Lung Association (ALA) report released in April 2014.

The two air pollutants cited in the report were ozone and particle pollution. Particle pollution is believed to be more harmful than ozone because its microscopic particles can pass through the body’s defense systems, and even get into the bloodstream, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The report found the impact of climate change is threatening to undo advances in cutting down harmful emissions. The report warns that much needs to be done to improve air quality.  Most scientists agree that a 2-degree Celsius global temperature rise above preindustrial temperatures would be safe for humanity. A recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said keeping the temperature rise to 2 degrees would require lowering greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 70 percent compared with 2010 numbers by midcentury. At current emissions levels, the world will be almost 5 degrees hotter by the end of the century

“We are happy to report continued reduction of year-round particle pollution across the nation, thanks to cleaner diesel fleets and cleaner power plants,” said Harold Wimmer, National President and CEO of the American Lung Association.  “However, this improvement represents only a partial victory. We know that warmer temperatures increase risk for ozone pollution, so climate change sets the stage for tougher challenges to protect human health. We must meet these challenges head on to protect the health of millions of Americans living with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. All of us –everyone in every family—have the right to healthy air.”

Cutting Short-Lived Air Pollutants: A Win-Win for Development and Climate

green_leaf_logo_06070800 (Reuters) – The World Bank said on Tuesday, September 3rd 2013, it was planning “aggressive action” to help developing nations cut emissions of soot and other air pollutants blamed for causing climate change, in a shift also meant to protect human health and aid crop growth.

Of its funding to poor nations, almost 8% – $18 billion from 2007-12 – goes to sectors such as energy, farming, waste and transport that have a potential to cut emissions, the “Integration of Short-Lived Climate Pollutants in World Bank Activities, WorldBank 2013″ report said.

The bank said it would shift policy to insist that such projects in future included a component to curb air pollution. The bank would look for new ways to help, for instance, reduce pollution from public transport, curb methane emissions from rice irrigation, and improve the efficiency of high-polluting cooking stoves and brick kilns.

The focus on short-lived air pollutants is meant to complement efforts to cut carbon dioxide. Cutting short-lived pollutants would also protect human health – six million people worldwide die early every year from air pollution. “First aid for the climate can also be first aid for people’s health,” Norwegian Environment Minister Baard Vegar Soljhell said. Reducing pollutants “can also help rural economies, with current estimates showing the potential to save about 50 million tonnes of crops each year”, the statement said.

Credits: Pollution over Beijing image courtesy the NASA MODIS Rapid Response Team.

Particle pollution or particulate matter (PM) are mixtures of solid particles or liquid droplets in the air. Some, such as dust, dirt, soot, or smoke, are large or dark enough to be seen with the naked eye. These tiny particles come in many sizes and shapes and can be made up of hundreds of different chemicals. In general, they consist of a mixture of larger materials, “coarse particles”, with diameters between 2.5μm and 40 μm and smaller particles, “fine particles.” with diameters below 2.5 μm.

They come from natural sources e.g. dust or sea salt from wind erosion or wave breaking, human-made processes mainly in urban or industrial areas (agriculture, construction, industrial and energy processes, motor vehicles) and chemical reactions in the atmosphere. Particle pollution and their chemical composition vary by time of year, location and are affected by the weather (temperature, humidity, and wind).

They are an environmental concern as they lower visibility, contribute to acid rain, and adversely affect human health. Largest particles do not get very far into the lungs and tend to cause fewer harmful effects. Coarse and fine particles however pose the greatest problems by getting deep into the lungs, and some may even get into the bloodstream. Long-term exposures of people living for many years in areas with high PM levels are associated with decreased lung function, chronic bronchitis development and premature death. Short-term exposures of hours or days are associated with decreased lung function, increased respiratory symptoms, cardiac arrhythmias, heart attacks, hospital admissions, emergency room visits and premature death. Sensitive groups at greatest risk include people with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children.

Fortunately, many countries have instituted control programs to reduce particulate levels and strategies in place to combat smog, acidic deposition, and smoke releases are also effective in reducing particle levels and thus the risks of health effects.

Tanguy Griffon

Antioxidants may reduce harm from air pollution

Orange vitamin CA study of adults with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) found that individuals with lower levels of some antioxidants in their blood were more vulnerable to the harmful effects of air pollution.  Particulate matter (PM) – the main pollutant measured in this study – is produced by traffic and combustion of fossil fuels. PM less than 10 micrometers in diameter, or PM10, is known to exacerbate respiratory illness and increase the risk of heart attacks and other cardiovascular disease. One way air pollutants can harm health is through oxidative stress. Harmful oxidant molecules can form when air pollutants are absorbed through the lungs. These oxidants also called free radicals damage cells. The body constantly tries to counteract oxidant molecules with protective ones (antioxidant). If not enough anti-oxidant molecules are available to cancel them out, oxidative stress  may occur.

In this study, researchers wanted to see if individual levels of antioxidants and related genetic markers would protect against harm from oxidative stress imposed by particulate air pollution. Results showed participants with low levels of vitamin C in their blood were more vulnerable to PM10. The study is important as it indicates that a healthy diet including fruits and vegetables may protect against the common health threat of air pollution.

Canova C et al. 2012. PM10-induced hospital admissions for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: The modifying effect of individual characteristics.

Health and economic benefits of green urbanism

Leave a reply

 

Credits: California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco

A Natural England study on green urbanism found that people with good access to green spaces such as parks, gardens and trees at the heart of neighborhoods are 24% more likely to be physically active and hence, healthier, both physically and mentally, even after accounting for the tendency of wealthier people to live in more attractive areas. A swedish study suggests that use of green space reduced self-reported stress in the long term.

Another health benefit of green urbanism is the key improvement in air quality. It is estimated that poor air quality leads to an average life expectancy reduction of 7 – 8 months in the UK. Urban trees and green space help to absorb some of the air pollution particles.  Cities can also use green infrastructure to prepare for the challenge of climate change.  Concrete and other hard surfaces retain heat much more than trees, plants and grass, which substantially increases heat-wave health risks for urban populations. The biosphere also plays a positive role in the absorption of greenhouse gases.

Green infrastructure has also proved attractive to city planners by helping to save money at a city scale. In New York money was invested in protecting the main water catchment area instead of building a traditional filtration plant.  Although this cost the city $1.5 billion over ten years, it avoided capital costs of $6 billion for a new filtration plant and annual running costs of $300 million. Evidence contained in the studies suggests that a range of economic benefits can be gained by planning for the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and wildlife in our urban communities.