scholarly journals The Effects of Air Pollution on COVID-19 Infection and Mortality—A Review on Recent Evidence

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurshad Ali ◽  
Farjana Islam

The outbreak of COVID-19 has created a serious public health concern worldwide. Although, most of the regions around the globe have been affected by COVID-19 infections; some regions are more badly affected in terms of infections and fatality rates than others. The exact reasons for such variations are not clear yet. This review discussed the possible effects of air pollution on COVID-19 infections and mortality based on some recent evidence. The findings of most studies reviewed here demonstrate that both short-term and long-term exposure to air pollution especially PM2.5 and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) may contribute significantly to higher rates of COVID-19 infections and mortalities with a lesser extent also PM10. A significant correlation has been found between air pollution and COVID-19 infections and mortality in some countries in the world. The available data also indicate that exposure to air pollution may influence COVID-19 transmission. Moreover, exposure to air pollution may increase vulnerability and have harmful effects on the prognosis of patients affected by COVID-19 infections. Further research should be conducted considering some potential confounders such as age and pre-existing medical conditions along with exposure to NO2, PM2.5 and other air pollutants to confirm their detrimental effects on mortalities from COVID-19.

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (12) ◽  
pp. 788-791
Author(s):  
Bethany Rose

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is any process that injures or removes part or all of the external female genital organs for non-medical reasons. FGM is a growing public health concern in the UK because of an increase in migration from countries where it is widely practised. Education on FGM for nurses is key to supporting women who have undergone the practice, as well as safeguarding girls and women who are at risk. Nurses must understand the history and culture of FGM as well as the long-term health complications to be able to support affected women both professionally and sensitively.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meenakshi Bansal ◽  
Charu Upadhyay ◽  
Poonam Singh ◽  
Sumit Kumar ◽  
Brijesh Rathi

Malaria remains as one of the most life-threatening diseases and thus major public health concern all around the world. The disease becomes devastating if not treated with proper medication on...


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 104-104
Author(s):  
Amy Noakes

Health visitors have a key role to play in helping families to reduce sugar in their diets, leading to long-term health benefits


2014 ◽  
Vol 113 (4) ◽  
pp. 343-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle L. North ◽  
Neil E. Alexis ◽  
Anne K. Ellis ◽  
Chris Carlsten

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maimoona Nadri ◽  
Ujala Zubair

In 2019, the world experienced a global public health concern when the novel coronavirus originated from China and affected around fifty-seven thousand people around the world by March 2020. The quick rise in the number of cases and the death toll overwhelmed the scientific and medical community. While all the focus was driven towards finding the epidemiology, the treatment and the management, the mental health aspect of the quarantine was being overlooked. The purpose of this review is to create awareness about the long-term consequences of quarantine, with the focus on the elderly community in Pakistan. 


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (10) ◽  
pp. 1515-1516
Author(s):  
Erkan İriz ◽  
Semih Yaylı ◽  
Serdar Kula

AbstractCystic echinococcosis caused by infection with the larvae form of Echinococcus granulosus remains highly endemic and constitutes a public health concern in some regions of the world. In this case report, we present a rare children case of interventricular hydatid cyst with a size of approximately 5 cm and its successful treatment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 189 (11) ◽  
pp. 1316-1323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaguang Wei ◽  
Yan Wang ◽  
Xiao Wu ◽  
Qian Di ◽  
Liuhua Shi ◽  
...  

Abstract Air pollution epidemiology studies have primarily investigated long- and short-term exposures separately, have used multiplicative models, and have been associational studies. Implementing a generalized propensity score adjustment approach with 3.8 billion person-days of follow-up, we simultaneously assessed causal associations of long-term (1-year moving average) and short-term (2-day moving average) exposure to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 2.5 μm (PM2.5), ozone, and nitrogen dioxide with all-cause mortality on an additive scale among Medicare beneficiaries in Massachusetts (2000–2012). We found that long- and short-term PM2.5, ozone, and nitrogen dioxide exposures were all associated with increased mortality risk. Specifically, per 10 million person-days, each 1-μg/m3 increase in long- and short-term PM2.5 exposure was associated with 35.4 (95% confidence interval (CI): 33.4, 37.6) and 3.04 (95% CI: 2.17, 3.94) excess deaths, respectively; each 1–part per billion (ppb) increase in long- and short-term ozone exposure was associated with 2.35 (95% CI: 1.08, 3.61) and 2.41 (95% CI: 1.81, 2.91) excess deaths, respectively; and each 1-ppb increase in long- and short-term nitrogen dioxide exposure was associated with 3.24 (95% CI: 2.75, 3.77) and 5.60 (95% CI: 5.24, 5.98) excess deaths, respectively. Mortality associated with long-term PM2.5 and ozone exposure increased substantially at low levels. The findings suggested that air pollution was causally associated with mortality, even at levels below national standards.


Complexity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahsan Nawaz ◽  
Xing Su ◽  
Shahid Iqbal ◽  
Hafiz Zahoor ◽  
Ali Asad ◽  
...  

During the outbreak of an epidemic, it becomes significantly essential to monitor the effects of containment measures and forecast the outbreak, including the epidemic peak. Many countries have either implemented strict lockdown to counter the spread of coronavirus disease or taken necessary preventive measures across the world to reduce the outbreak of this epidemic war. Several epidemic models have been presented across the world to examine the effects of public health-related strategies on mitigating the spread of current infectious disease, yet no reputable model has been presented for Pakistan as well as other South-Asian developing countries as per the authors’ knowledge. In this research, an actual coronavirus prediction in Pakistan is presented, which may guide the decision-makers as to how this pandemic has spread across the country and how it can be controlled. Furthermore, in the absence of targeted medicines, the analysis helps to develop a precise plan for the eradication of the outbreak by adopting the calculated steps at the right time. The mathematical phenomenological models have been adopted in this study to predict, project, and simulate the overall affected cases reflected due to the recent outbreak in Pakistan. These models predict the expected growth, and the estimated results are almost well matched with the real cases. Through the calibration of parameters and analyzing the current situation, forecast for the appearance of new cases in Pakistan is reported till the end of this year. The constant level of number of patients and time to reach specific levels are also reported through the simulations. The drastic conditions are also discussed which may occur if all the preventive restraints are removed. This research quantitatively describes the significant characteristics of the spread of corona cases. It acknowledges and provides an understanding of a short-term and long-term transmission of coronavirus outbreak in the country as three evolutionary phases. Therefore, this research provides a pathway to cope with the emerging threat of a severe outbreak in developing and nondeveloping countries.


Circulation ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 131 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Singh ◽  
Courtney Pilkerton ◽  
Adam Christian ◽  
Thomas K Bias ◽  
Stephanie J Frisbee

BACKGROUND: Although the link between air pollution and cardiovascular disease has been controversial in recent decades, it remains a top global health concern. Most studies have assessed only the relationship between pollutant concentrations and morbidity or mortality in populous cities. In this study, we investigated the association of long term exposure to major air pollutants with current cardiovascular health. This outcome was a measure of health rather than disease, as measured by the Cardiovascular Health Index (CVHI) developed by the American Heart Association. METHODS: We analyzed 2011 data from 3007 counties across the US using Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and Area Health Resources File. Air Quality Index (AQI) for five major pollutants from 2001-2011; Ozone, Sulfur dioxide and Carbon monoxide and Fine particulate matter (aerodynamic diameter of 10 and ≤2.5 μm) were obtained from the EPA Air Quality System database. Categories were based on the 11-year average pollutant AQI level and using Jenks optimization method; persistently good, variant and persistently bad. Associations between categories and the mean CVHI were evaluated using Poisson regression models adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status at the individual and population level. RESULTS: PM2.5 was most frequently measured (938 counties) and carbon monoxide least frequently (224 counties). Correlations between pollutants were moderate and significant (p<0.0001), ranging from r=0.30 between CO and Oz to r=0.52 between SD and PM2.5. Four pollutants had 11-year average AQI levels significantly associated with increased mean CVHI score of individuals. Living in a county categorized as ‘persistently good’ or ‘variant’ AQI levels for ozone is significantly associated with an estimated 3% increase in CVHI (95% CI 0.1% - 5.0%) as compared to living in a county of ‘persistently bad’ AQI levels. In addition, living in a county of only ‘persistently good’ AQI levels for PM2.5 is significantly associated with an estimated 5% increase in CVHI (95% CI 3% - 9%) as compared to living in a county of ‘persistently bad’ AQI levels. Inverse relationships existed for both PM10 and carbon monoxide. CONCLUSIONS: It is difficult to tease apart the independent effects of individual air pollutants on health as humans are exposed to a mixture of gases. However we have shown that at the individual level, there is an association between long term exposure to air pollution and its effects on current cardiovascular health. Further research is needed to determine whether these effects exist at varying levels of subject characteristics.


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