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Climate change threatens health in Europe: Urgent action needed to protect vulnerable populations

A recent report in The Lancet Public Health details how climate change affects human health in Europe through 42 indicators, emphasizing the urgency of climate action to protect vulnerable populations and address health inequalities. The report highlights the significant health risks and the need for equitable interventions.

14 May 2024

UW study reveals health risks of military aircraft noise on Whidbey Island residents

Bob Wilbur thought he'd found a retirement home that would be a place of peace. Nestled against Admiralty Bay on the western edge of Whidbey Island, the three-story house is surrounded by trees and shoreline. It offers the kind of quiet that only an island can provide. Except when the Growlers fly.

10 May 2024

Surprising study suggests urbanization might reduce global infectious disease risk

A comprehensive meta-analysis reveals that biodiversity loss, climate change, and chemical pollution significantly increase global infectious disease risk, while urbanization may decrease it.

10 May 2024

Placental DNA methylation patterns altered by pregnancy air pollution exposure, research reveals

The relationship between prenatal air pollutant exposure concentrations and changes in placental deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) methylation.

9 May 2024

Examining the causal link between long-term PM1 exposure and hypertension hospitalization risk

Hypertension is among the leading cardiovascular diseases. Despite extensive research, evidence concerning the relationship between long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter and hypertension remains limited and inconsistent, particularly with regard to submicron particulate matter (PM1).

8 May 2024

Could better inhalers help patients, and the planet?

Miguel Divo, a lung specialist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, sits in an exam room across from Joel Rubinstein, who has asthma. Rubinstein, a retired psychiatrist, is about to get a checkup and hear a surprising pitch — for the planet, as well as his health.

6 May 2024

Study finds no fetal growth benefits from LPG cooking in resource-limited settings

Despite reducing exposure to air pollution, a study found that using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in cooking did not improve fetal growth compared to traditional biomass fuels in resource-limited settings.

5 May 2024

Rising scooter injuries: Dentists warn of growing trend in e-scooter accidents

Study found a significant rise in electric scooter-related dental injuries in the UK from 2020 to 2022, with unprovoked falls being the most common cause, and many injuries linked to lack of helmet use and intoxication.

5 May 2024

Toxic gas adds to a long history of pollution in Southwest Memphis

For many years, Rose Sims had no idea what was going on inside a nondescript brick building on Florida Street a couple of miles from her modest one-story home on the southwestern side of town.

30 Apr 2024

Exposed to agent orange at US bases, veterans face cancer without VA compensation

As a young GI at Fort Ord in Monterey County, California, Dean Osborn spent much of his time in the oceanside woodlands, training on soil and guzzling water from streams and aquifers now known to be contaminated with cancer-causing pollutants.

29 Apr 2024

Study shows link between air pollution, stress, and heart health risk

A study in more than 3,000 US counties, with 315 million residents, has suggested that air pollution is linked with stress and depression, putting under-65-year-olds at increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.

26 Apr 2024

National study links air pollution to increased risk of heart attacks in Poland

Subpopulations at heightened risk for ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) due to air pollution.

25 Apr 2024

Tire toxicity faces fresh scrutiny after salmon die-offs

For decades, concerns about automobile pollution have focused on what comes out of the tailpipe. Now, researchers and regulators say, we need to pay more attention to toxic emissions from tires as vehicles roll down the road.

24 Apr 2024

ESC Preventive Cardiology 2024: Delving into burning issues about heart disease and much more

The hottest science in the prevention of heart disease awaits at ESC Preventive Cardiology 2024, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

22 Apr 2024

Study links air pollution to increased colorectal cancer risk through DNA changes

Researchers reveal how air pollution increases colorectal cancer (CRC) risk through epigenetic changes, using a large-scale study and Mendelian randomization to demonstrate ambient pollution’s impact on CRC mortality and incidence in China.

21 Apr 2024

Study finds high microplastic levels in Mediterranean fish despite low chemical contaminants

Researchers in a recent study published in the journal Foods discovered high levels of microplastics in popular Mediterranean fish species, despite low levels of cadmium and antibiotics, highlighting ongoing environmental concerns.

19 Apr 2024

Urgent action needed to tackle social determinants of health for a healthier future

We must act on the social determinants of health (the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age) and place sustainability at the core of the NHS's future to ensure a healthy, prosperous and more resilient society, argue experts in two new reports from The BMJ Commission on the Future of the NHS.

16 Apr 2024