Air Pollution News and Research

RSS

FIGO takes stand on human exposure to toxic chemicals

Dramatic increases in exposure to toxic chemicals in the last four decades are threatening human reproduction and health, according to the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), the first global reproductive health organization to take a stand on human exposure to toxic chemicals.

1 Oct 2015

Walking to work through quieter side streets may reduce risk of exposure to peaks in harmful air pollution

Commuting to work by walking on quieter side streets rather than main roads can help people avoid exposure to peaks in harmful air pollution, according to new research presented today at the European Respiratory Society's International Congress, 2015.

28 Sep 2015

UI study shows biomass has environmental and health benefits

Biomass burning sometimes gets a bad rap. That's because many associate the burning of living and dead vegetation with human-caused fires and clearing of land that release unhealthy particles and gases that spur global warming.

26 Sep 2015

New study heightens concerns over detrimental impact of air pollution on gene associated with AD risk

A new study by researchers at the Universities of Montana, Valle de México, Boise State, and North Carolina, the Centro de Ciencias de la Atmósfera, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto Nacional de Pediatría, and Centro Médico Cozumel heightens concerns over the detrimental impact of air pollution on hippocampal metabolites as early markers of neurodegeneration in young urbanites carrying an allele 4 of the apolipoprotein E gene (APOE).

26 Sep 2015

Study reveals measures that could be implemented to improve air quality, fight climate change

Ozone, methane and aerosols (tiny pollutant particles) remain in the atmosphere for a shorter time than CO2, but can affect both the climate and air quality.

25 Sep 2015

Air pollution from forest fires aggravates children’s respiratory health

Research coordinated by lecturer of the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Valencia Ferran Ballester has shown that air pollution from forest fires aggravates the respiratory health of children.

15 Sep 2015

Air pollution linked to overall increase in risk of death

In what is believed to be the largest, most detailed study of its kind in the United States, scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center and elsewhere have confirmed that tiny chemical particles in the air we breathe are linked to an overall increase in risk of death.

15 Sep 2015

A growing number of deaths attributed to avoidable risk factors

A wide range of avoidable risk factors to health – ranging from air pollution to poor diets to unsafe water – account for a growing number of deaths and a significant amount of disease burden, according to a new analysis of 79 risks in 188 countries.

11 Sep 2015

High blood pressure, smoking, and poor dietary habits are greatest risk factors for death

A huge international study of global causes of death has revealed that since 1990, there has been a profound change in risk factors for death.

11 Sep 2015

Risk of illness and death increases when people migrate to urban slum areas

As an increasing proportion of the population in low- and middle-income countries migrates to urban slums areas, the risk of illness and death increases due to harmful environmental exposure.

10 Sep 2015

Fine particulate matter released from different sources in Houston linked to slight increased mortality risk

Fine particulate matter released from a variety of sources in Houston was associated with slight increased mortality risk from 2000 to 2011, according to research from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

9 Sep 2015

Inhalation exposure to PM2.5 pollution triggers liver fibrosis

A research team led by Kezhong Zhang, Ph.D., at the Wayne State University School of Medicine's Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, has discovered that exposure to air pollution has a direct adverse health effect on the liver and causes liver fibrosis, an illness associated with metabolic disease and liver cancer.

3 Sep 2015

Scientists elucidate chemical process behind eosinophilic esophagitis

Scientists from the D'Or Institute of Research and Education, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and the Yale University School of Medicine have elucidated the chemical process behind a mysterious gastrointestinal disease that is becoming more frequent every day: the eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), also known as the "asthma of the esophagus".

1 Sep 2015

Particulate matter, NO2 air pollution associated with increased risk of heart attacks

Particulate matter and NO2 air pollution are associated with increased risk of severe heart attacks despite being within European recommended levels, according to research presented at ESC Congress today by Dr Jean-Francois Argacha, a cardiologist at University Hospital Brussels (UZ Brussel-Vrije Universiteit Brussel), in Belgium.

31 Aug 2015

Weather and pollution affect outcomes after heart attack

Pollution and weather influence outcomes after a heart attack, according to research presented at ESC Congress today by Ms Aneta Cislak, research fellow in the Silesian Centre for Heart Diseases, Medical University of Silesia in Zabrze, Poland.

29 Aug 2015

Air and noise pollution has severe consequences on heart health

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD), including heart disease and stroke, are the no 1 killer worldwide and in Europe, where they cause the death of over 10 000 people daily, i.e. more than all cancers combined.

28 Aug 2015

Children exposed to toxic air pollutants at home more likely to have lower GPAs

A University of Texas at El Paso study on children's health has found that fourth and fifth graders who are exposed to toxic air pollutants at home are more likely to have lower GPAs.

28 Aug 2015

Study reveals potential health risks associated with burning of incense in indoor environments

The burning of incense might need to come with a health warning. This follows the first study evaluating the health risks associated with its indoor use. The effects of incense and cigarette smoke were also compared, and made for some surprising results. The research was led by Rong Zhou of the South China University of Technology and the China Tobacco Guangdong Industrial Company in China, and is published in Springer's journal Environmental Chemistry Letters.

25 Aug 2015

Nitrogen oxides affect pollen of common ragweed plant

Pollen of the common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) has higher concentrations of allergen when the plant is exposed to NO2 exhaust gases, according to findings of scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München. In addition, the study published in the journal 'Plant, Cell & Environment' indicates the presence of a possible new allergen in the plant.

17 Aug 2015

Six hot line sessions set to reveal latest research in cardiovascular disease at ESC Congress 2015

Six hot line sessions at ESC Congress 2015 are set to reveal the latest in cardiovascular disease research across a range of conditions and comorbidities. Hot topics include atrial fibrillation, pacing, acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, pharmacology and coronary artery disease.

23 Jul 2015