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Air pollution exposure may have direct role in triggering lupus among children and adolescents

The results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress show for the first time that an individual's exposure to air pollution may have a direct role in triggering disease activity as well as airway inflammation in children and adolescents with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE).

10 Jun 2016

Exposure to air pollution affects psychiatric health of children and adolescents

New research from Umeå University in Sweden indicates that dispensed medication for psychiatric diagnosis can be related to air pollution concentrations. The study covers a large part of the Swedish population and has been published in the journal BMJ Open.

8 Jun 2016

Correcting defective p73 gene function may be promising therapeutic strategy for chronic lung diseases

Rising global air pollution and increasing smoking prevalence in many developing nations will likely lead to a growing incidence of lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which currently affects more than 330 million people worldwide, is the third-leading cause of death and carries an estimated healthcare cost of $2.1 trillion.

2 Jun 2016

European cardiovascular prevention guidelines emphasise population approaches

The European Society of Cardiology has updated its cardiovascular disease prevention guidelines to include, for the first time, population approaches to be implemented by legislators, schools and workplaces.

28 May 2016

Updates on sixty-ninth World Health Assembly

Delegates at the World Health Assembly have agreed resolutions and decisions on air pollution, chemicals, the health workforce, childhood obesity, violence, noncommunicable diseases, and the election of the next Director-General.

28 May 2016

Global life expectancy on the rise, but major health inequalities persist

Dramatic gains in life expectancy have been made globally since 2000, but major inequalities persist within and among countries, according to this year’s “World Health Statistics: Monitoring Health for the SDGs”.

20 May 2016

WHO: Air pollution levels increase in low- and middle income cities

More than 80% of people living in urban areas that monitor air pollution are exposed to air quality levels that exceed the World Health Organization limits. While all regions of the world are affected, populations in low-income cities are the most impacted.

13 May 2016

Exposure to fine particulate matter in air can increase risk of cancer-specific mortality

In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) published a series of monographs on the evaluation of various carcinogenic risks. In a monograph on air pollution, the organization pointed out the difficulty of assessing the effects of pollution on multiple types of cancers, given their different etiologies, risk factors and variability in the composition of air pollutants in space and time. However, the IARC identified certain key components of air pollution, including particulates.

30 Apr 2016

Maternal exposure to air pollution increases risk of long-term health problems in children

Even small amounts of air pollution appear to raise the risk of a condition in pregnant women linked to premature births and lifelong neurological and respiratory disorders in their children, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests.

28 Apr 2016

Children living closer to major roadways have increased risk of lower lung function, study finds

According to new research led by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center pulmonologist and critical care physician Mary B. Rice, MD, MPH, improved air quality in U.S. cities since the 1990s may not be enough to ensure normal lung function in children. The findings were recently published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care, a journal of the American Thoracic Society.

26 Apr 2016

Higher levels of neighborhood greenness linked to lower chronic disease risk

A new study of a quarter-million Miami-Dade County Medicare beneficiaries showed that higher levels of neighborhood greenness, including trees, grass and other vegetation, were linked to a significant reduction in the rate of chronic illnesses, particularly in low-to-middle income neighborhoods.

22 Apr 2016

Green vegetation near homes plays important role in reducing mortality

Women live longer in areas with more green vegetation, according to new research funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health. Women with the highest levels of vegetation, or greenness, near their homes had a 12 percent lower death rate compared to women with the lowest levels of vegetation near their homes. The results were published Apr. 14, 2016 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

18 Apr 2016

Scientists develop graphene-based sensor that can detect harmful air pollution in home

Scientists from the University of Southampton, in partnership with the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, have developed a graphene-based sensor and switch that can detect harmful air pollution in the home with very low power consumption.

18 Apr 2016

Study finds link between low pollution levels and stronger lungs in California kids

A USC study that tracked Southern California children over a 20-year period has found they now have significantly fewer respiratory symptoms as a result of improved air quality.

13 Apr 2016

Air pollution reduction linked to decrease in bronchitic symptoms in children

Decreases in ambient air pollution levels over the past 20 years in Southern California were associated with significant reductions in bronchitic symptoms in children with and without asthma, according to a study appearing in the April 12 issue of JAMA.

13 Apr 2016

Low-level exposures to air pollution may affect normal lung function in children

Dramatic improvements in air quality in U.S. cities since the 1990s may not be enough to ensure normal lung function in children, according to new research published in the April 15 American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care, a journal of the American Thoracic Society.

12 Apr 2016

Respiratory filter mask helps reduce impact of pollution on people with heart failure

The use of a respiratory filter mask, a common practice in China and Japan, among other countries, helps minimize the impact of pollution on people with heart failure during rush-hour traffic in cities such as São Paulo, Brazil.

7 Apr 2016

Unhealthy BMIs, smoking, drinking alcohol and solid fuel use increase asthma risk in women

Underweight and obese women who also drank alcohol and smoked tobacco had a two-fold higher risk of being diagnosed with asthma than women with a healthy body mass index who did not drink or smoke, a St. Michael's Hospital study found.

7 Apr 2016

Health inequities become a persistent challenge as world’s urban population continues to grow

New data on the health of city-dwellers in almost 100 countries show that as the world’s urban population continues to grow, health inequities - especially between the richest and poorest urban populations - are a persistent challenge, according to a report by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme.

31 Mar 2016

Annual economic cost of U.S. premature births linked to air pollution reaches $4.33 billion

The annual economic cost of the nearly 16,000 premature births linked to air pollution in the United States has reached $4.33 billion, according to a report by scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center.

29 Mar 2016