Air Pollution News and Research

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Back from COP28, California climate leaders talk health impacts of warming

Wildfire smoke. Drought. Brutal heat. Floods. As Californians increasingly feel the health effects of climate change, state leaders are adopting sweeping policies they hope will fend off the worst impacts — and be replicated by other countries.

5 Feb 2024

Are urban green spaces beneficial to air quality?

Study reveals that urban green space has a limited impact on air pollution control, with street-level vegetation potentially increasing pollution by hindering ventilation.

1 Feb 2024

New research highlights regional variations in COPD prevalence according to diagnostic criteria

The global and regional prevalence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

30 Jan 2024

Prenatal air pollution exposure increases the risk of severe respiratory distress in newborns

Prenatal exposure to air pollution increases the risk of severe respiratory distress in newborn babies, according to new research conducted at the Penn State College of Medicine in collaboration with the Maternal-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals (MIREC) Study led by Health Canada.

29 Jan 2024

Study sheds light on how serious people find COVID-19 compared to other health problems

A large seven-country study has shed light on how serious people find the COVID-19 pandemic compared to other major public health problems.

27 Jan 2024

Study links heavy metals to depleted ovarian reserves

Middle-aged women with elevated levels of heavy metals are more likely to have depleted ovarian function and egg reserves, which may lead to earlier arrival of menopause and its negative health effects, a new University of Michigan study shows.

25 Jan 2024

Widespread exposure to toxic metals linked with earlier aging of the ovaries in middle-aged women

Middle-aged women who are exposed to toxic metals may have fewer eggs in their ovaries as they approach menopause, according to new research published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

25 Jan 2024

Climate change emerges as major eczema trigger

In an analysis of all relevant published studies that assessed atopic dermatitis (also known as eczema) associated with trends in climate-related hazards due to greenhouse gas emissions, investigators found that impacts include direct effects on eczema, like particulate matter-induced inflammation from wildfires, and indirect effects, such as stress resulting from drought-induced food insecurity.

24 Jan 2024

What’s indoor air quality like in long-term care facilities during wildfires? Worse than you’d think.

Every year, wildfires across the western U.S. and Canada send plumes of smoke into the sky. When that smoke blows into southwestern Idaho’s Treasure Valley, it blankets Boise-area residents in dirty air.

23 Jan 2024

Air pollution affects the heart at surprisingly low levels, but diet may offer protection

Exposure to air pollutants, even at very low concentrations, was associated with adverse changes in cardiometabolic risk factors in a recent Finnish study

22 Jan 2024

Associations between mercury exposure and allergic diseases in children

Associations between mercury levels in urine and allergic diseases in children.

19 Jan 2024

Climate change to quadruple air quality alerts, challenging adaptation in vulnerable U.S. communities

Study examines the impact of climate change on air quality alerts in the U.S., revealing a potential four-fold increase by 2100, with significant health and equity implications for adaptation strategies, especially in vulnerable communities.

17 Jan 2024

23% of dementia cases linked to controllable risk factors vary by race and ethnicity

Approximately 23% of people diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or another related dementia in their 60s and later have cases that can be explained by controllable risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, physical inactivity, and too little or too much sleep, and that percentage varies depending on race and ethnicity, according to a new study published in the January 17, 2024, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

17 Jan 2024

Medical community calls for unified action on climate and biodiversity crises as global health emergency

An editorial in BMC Public Health urges the United Nations and health professionals to declare the intertwined climate and biodiversity crisis as a global health emergency, emphasizing the need for integrated solutions to address these interdependent issues.

16 Jan 2024

Science takes center stage at Open Forum Davos 2024

As part of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024, this year's Open Forum Davos – convening under the theme "From Life to Lab: Science in Action – will feature sessions on topics of critical importance through a scientific lens.

13 Jan 2024

Gum bacteria fuel COPD through immune cell activation

Severe gum disease has been linked to the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, but an understanding of how the connection plays out in the immune system remains unclear.

12 Jan 2024

Non-smokers' lung cancer among top five global cancer-related deaths in 2023

The development of lung cancer in individuals who have never smoked.

11 Jan 2024

Silicone wristbands track personal PAH exposure

Environmental epidemiologists at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team of researchers at Oregon State University, Pacific Northwest National Labs, and Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, report on the findings of a new study of air pollution exposures collected using personal wristband monitors worn by pregnant individuals in New York City matched with data from a questionnaire.

10 Jan 2024

Prenatal weather exposure could affect future blood pressure of the unborn child

Outdoor humidity and temperature levels during pregnancy could affect the future blood pressure of the unborn child, according to new research by the University of Bristol, published in JACC: Advances.