Field Of Environmental Health Research Articles

Outdoor air pollution and respiratory health: a bibliometric analysis of publications in peer-reviewed journals (1900 – 2017)

Background: Outdoor air pollution is a major threat to global public health that needs responsible participation of researchers at all levels. Assessing research output is an important step in highlighting national and international contribution and collaboration in a certain field. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze globally-published literature in outdoor air pollution – related respiratory health.
 Method: Outdoor air pollution documents related to respiratory health were retrieved from Scopus database. The study period was up to 2017. Mapping of author keywords was carried out using VOSviewer 1.6.6.
 Results: Search query yielded 3635 documents with an h-index of 137. There was a dramatic increase in the number of publications in the last decade of the study period. The most frequently encountered author keywords were: air pollution (835 occurrences), asthma (502 occurrences), particulate matter (198 occurrences), and children (203 occurrences). The United States of America ranked first (1082; 29.8%) followed by the United Kingdom (279; 7. 7%) and Italy (198; 5.4%). Annual research productivity stratified by income and population size indicated that China ranked first (22.2) followed by the USA (18.8). Analysis of regional distribution of publications indicated that the Mediterranean, African, and South-East Asia regions had the least contribution. Harvard University (92; 2.5%) was the most active institution/organization followed the US Environmental Protection Agency (89; 2.4%). International collaboration was restricted to three regions: Northern America, Europe, and Asia. The top ten preferred journals were in the field of environmental health and respiratory health. Environmental Health Perspective was the most preferred journal for publishing documents in outdoor pollution in relation to respiratory health.
 Conclusion: Research on the impact of outdoor air pollution on respiratory health had accelerated lately and is receiving a lot of interest. Global research networks that include countries with high level of pollution and limited resources are highly needed to create public opinion in favor of minimizing outdoor air pollution and investing in green technologies.

Public Health and Environmental Protection Linkages in Law and Practice

The field of environmental health and protection and the entire field of public health have repeatedly found themselves isolated from one another, unable to articulate the definition, mission, and goals of public health and the essential role for environmental health and protection in the provision of a healthy ecological and human environment. Environmental agencies often forget that they, too, are public health agencies; public health agencies that have had environmental health functions have divided and abdicated their environmental responsibilities, considering these to be “regulatory” rather than public health. This article reviews the history of environmental health and protection, its involvement within the field of public health, its eventual separation from other public health programs with resulting benefits and consequences, and what the future may hold for environmental health and protection activities as well as for the broader scope of public health of which these activities are a part.

Environmental Challenges as Mental Health risks and oppotunities in the light of SDGs

Abstract Background Environmental risk factors such as air pollution, contaminated water, climate change, soil pollution, chemical exposures, ultraviolet radiation, noise pollution and others potentially contribute to diseases and mental disorders, such as depressive and anxiety disorders. Taken together mental, behavioral and neurological disorders accounted for 10% of the global disease burden in 2015 and is expected to increase to 15% by the year 2020. Methods We will identify health promoting factors on the background of the changing disorders spectrum. Based on a narrative review we identified as potentially environmental mental health promoting factors quality green areas, e urban planning, sanitation and public transportation, and decrease in noise pollution. Results Using the sustainable development goals (SDGs) as a benchmarking tool in national, regional and local development plans, citizens are empowered to improve their mental health through improved environment. Discussion: Mental health is an underresearched area in the field of environmental health. Intersectoral and interdsiciplinary collaboration can contribute to overcome boudnaries of specific disciplines and build bridges to support the overall goal of promoting and supporting mnetal health and reducing the burden of mental and neurological disorders.

Assessment of environmental exposure factors on child diarrhea and systemic inflammation in the Eastern Cape

Poor environmental technologies and gastrointestinal illnesses have been hypothesized to be a primary cause to the lack of impact of child health programs on child stunting rates (low height-for-age) in South Africa. This study assessed correlations between environmental exposures (water source, water treatment, sanitation, refuse), diarrheal occurrences, and systemic inflammation proxies among female and male children under five years of age in the Eastern Cape. A conceptual model was hypothesized using structural equation (SE) modeling and two sex-specific (female and male) datasets were subsequently generated from the data and applied to the hypothesized SE model. Results suggested that environmental exposure variables associated with diarrhea and systemic inflammation proxies were different between females and males. For diarrheal occurrences among females, an increase in local authority management of refuse (compared to household management) (0.161, p-value (p) = 0.007), sharing sanitation facilities (0.060, p = 0.023), and a decrease in the frequency of the treatment of drinking water (−0.043, p = 0.025) were correlated with an increase in diarrhea. For males, an increase in household use of flush toilets (as compared to ventilated pit latrines) was correlated with an increase in diarrhea (0.113, p = 0.027). For systemic inflammation among both sexes, an increase in household use of water pumped into the premises (as compared to a public water tap) and an increase in diarrheal occurrences were correlated with an increase in systemic inflammation. The data support an increased focus on sex and gender specific factors among field practitioners and policy makers working in the environmental health field in South Africa.

Biosensors in Monitoring Water Quality and Safety: An Example of a Miniaturizable Whole-Cell Based Sensor for Hg2+ Optical Detection in Water

Inorganic mercury (Hg2+) pollution of water reserves, especially drinking water, is an important issue in the environmental and public health field. Mercury is reported to be one of the most dangerous elements in nature since its accumulation and ingestion can lead to a series of permanent human diseases, affecting the kidneys and central nervous system. All the conventional approaches for assaying Hg2+ have some limitations in terms of bulky instruments and the cost and time required for the analysis. Here, we describe a miniaturizable and high-throughput bioluminescence sensor for Hg2+ detection in water, which combines the specificity of a living bacterial Hg2+ reporter cell, used as sensing element, with the performance of a silicon photomultiplier, used as optical detector. The proposed system paves the basis for portable analysis and low reactants consumption. The aim of the work is to propose a sensing strategy for total inorganic mercury evaluation in water. The proposed system can lay the basis for further studies and validations in order to develop rapid and portable technology that can be used in situ providing remote monitoring.

Sanitation for Low-Income Regions: A Cross-Disciplinary Review.

Sanitation research focuses primarily on containing human waste and preventing disease; thus, it has traditionally been dominated by the fields of environmental engineering and public health. Over the past 20 years, however, the field has grown broader in scope and deeper in complexity, spanning diverse disciplinary perspectives. In this article, we review the current literature in the range of disciplines engaged with sanitation research in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We find that perspectives on what sanitation is, and what sanitation policy should prioritize, vary widely. We show how these diverse perspectives augment the conventional sanitation service chain, a framework describing the flow of waste from capture to disposal. We review how these perspectives can inform progress toward equitable sanitation for all [i.e., Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6]. Our key message is that both material and nonmaterial flows-and both technological and social functions-make up a sanitation "system." The components of the sanitation service chain are embedded within the flows of finance, decision making, and labor that make material flows of waste possible. The functions of capture, storage, transport, treatment, reuse, and disposal are interlinked with those of ensuring equity and affordability. We find that a multilayered understanding of sanitation, with contributions from multiple disciplines, is necessary to facilitate inclusive and robust research toward the goal of sanitation for all.

A Web-Based, Real-Time Quality Control and Progress Monitoring Tool for Multicenter Environmental Health Surveys

Background: Large multicenter surveys are increasingly popular in the environmental health field. The quality of the data and management of surveys is crucial to the success of the project. However, none of the existing survey tools include remote, multirole, and real-time quality control of the survey. We have therefore developed an electronic investigation system (EIS), with multirole real-time quality control and progress monitoring modules. Methods and Results: Our investigation system has three levels of quality control officers. Questionnaires verified by the lower-level quality control officers can also be verified at a higher level. The strictly hierarchical verification roles improve quality control even more than retaining quality control officers at each study center. Project investigators can also monitor the progress of the project and each center daily and annually, for a real-time understanding of the performance of each investigator and quality control officer. Conclusion: Our EIS has met the requirements for multicenter studies in the environmental health field. Researchers may use our design to conduct multicenter surveys more efficiently in future.

Environmental Health Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of French Prenatal Professionals Working with a Socially Underprivileged Population: A Qualitative Study.

Introduction: As environmental health knowledge of population is associated with social economic status, the objective of this study was to determine environmental health knowledge, attitudes, and practices of French prenatal professionals working with a socially underprivileged population. Material and methods: A focus group with eleven prenatal professionals working with socially underprivileged population was carried out in France in 2015. Content analysis of verbatim explanation was conducted with choice-of-subject categories carried out according to the triangulation principle, and topic trees were generated and applied. Results: The professionals have non-specialized experimental knowledge of emergent risks and were essentially preoccupied by infectious biological risks. In practice, however, they became increasingly cognizant of emergent risks. Their educational practices take cultural context into account but educational tools with imagination and affectivity have to be developed in order to reach socially underprivileged population. Discussion: Professionals are often sensitized to the field of environmental health in their apprehension of polluted biological environments, which they associate with social contexts and behavioral factors. In this study, we recommend adapted training programs and updated professional guidelines in view of reducing prenatal emergent risk exposures and social inequalities of health.

The role of environmental exposures and the epigenome in health and disease.

The genetic material of every organism exists within the context of regulatory networks that govern gene expression, collectively called the epigenome. Epigenetics has taken center stage in the study of diseases such as cancer and diabetes, but its integration into the field of environmental health is still emerging. As the Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society (EMGS) celebrates its 50th Anniversary this year, we have come together to review and summarize the seminal advances in the field of environmental epigenomics. Specifically, we focus on the role epigenetics may play in multigenerational and transgenerational transmission of environmentally induced health effects. We also summarize state of the art techniques for evaluating the epigenome, environmental epigenetic analysis, and the emerging field of epigenome editing. Finally, we evaluate transposon epigenetics as they relate to environmental exposures and explore the role of noncoding RNA as biomarkers of environmental exposures. Although the field has advanced over the past several decades, including being recognized by EMGS with its own Special Interest Group, recently renamed Epigenomics, we are excited about the opportunities for environmental epigenetic science in the next 50 years. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 61:176-192, 2020. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A Systematic Review of the Epidemiologic Literature Assessing Health Outcomes in Populations Living near Oil and Natural Gas Operations: Study Quality and Future Recommendations.

A systematic method was used to review the existing epidemiologic literature and determine the state of the scientific evidence for potential adverse health outcomes in populations living near oil and natural gas (ONG) operations in the United States. The review utilized adapted systematic review frameworks from the medical and environmental health fields, such as Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE), the Navigation Guide, and guidance from the National Toxicology Program’s Office of Health Assessment and Translation (OHAT). The review included 20 epidemiologic studies, with 32 different health outcomes. Studies of populations living near ONG operations provide limited evidence (modest scientific findings that support the outcome, but with significant limitations) of harmful health effects including asthma exacerbations and various self-reported symptoms. Study quality has improved over time and the highest rated studies within this assessment have primarily focused on birth outcomes. Additional high-quality studies are needed to confirm or dispute these correlations.

Viral haemorrhagic fevers in the Middle East.

Viral haemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) are a group of infectious, devastating and severe diseases caused by enveloped single-stranded RNA viruses. The endemicity, emergence or re-emergence of different VHF viruses and lack of vaccines and antiviral therapy for most VHFs result in a significant global threat. Most VHF viruses are restricted to specific parts of the world, and the dramatic expansion of their geographical distribution beyond their original habitats would greatly affect global public health. In the past few decades alone, several outbreaks have affected the Middle East, a part of the world containing arid to semi-arid, hot and water-scarce countries. Political instability, natural and humanitarian crises, direct contact with domesticated animals and climate change are the main factors in the dissemination of different zoonotic diseases, including vector-borne diseases. Some VHF viruses have been introduced into the Middle East (e.g. Alkhurma haemorrhagic fever) and others have been re-introduced and have become endemic in the region. Dengue fever, Crimean Congo haemorrhagic fever, Rift Valley fever and hantavirus haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome are examples of re-emerging or endemic viruses in the region. The temporal and spatial extension of VHF distribution mandates a particular engagement from all the actors in the fields of animal, human and environmental health. The One Health concept is a multidisciplinary and multisectoral approach for promoting collaboration, coordination and communication among different nations, sectors and disciplines, which is highly relevant to the fight against endemic, emerging and re-emerging infectious agents at the human-animal-environment interface. The adoption of the One Health approach is a promising solution to addressing public health threats in the Middle East.

PARTNERSHIP OF THE NORTHWEST PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER IN THE INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS IN THE FIELD OF ARCTIC ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

The article presents the main results of scientific investigations of the Northwest Public Health Research Center, obtained in 2000-2016 during the implementation of the international projects in the field of environmental health in the Arctic, local food-and-water security and diseases associated with food and water transmission routes, ecotoxicology of persistent toxic substances (PTS), evaluation of exposure of various Arctic populations (including the indigenous people) to PTS, assessment of PTS effects on the body and health risks for the population.

A Collaborative Research Exploration of Pollutant Mixtures and Adverse Birth Outcomes by Using Innovative Spatial Data Mining Methods: The DoMiNO Project

Environmental health research is gaining interest due to the global concern of environmental factors impacting health. This research is often multifaceted and becomes complex when trying to understand the participation of multiple environmental variables. It requires the combination of innovative research methods, as well as the collaboration of diverse disciplines in the research process. The application of collaborative approaches is often challenging for interdisciplinary teams, and much can be learned from in-depth observation of such processes. We share here a case report describing initial observations and reflections on the collaborative research process of the Data Mining and Neonatal Outcomes (DoMiNO) project (2013–2018), which aimed to explore associations between mixtures of air pollutants and other environmental variables with adverse birth outcomes by using an innovative data mining approach. The project was built on interdisciplinary and user knowledge participation with embedded evaluation framework of its collaborative process. We describe the collaborative process, the benefits and challenges encountered, and provide insights from our experience. We identified that interdisciplinary research requires time and investment in building relationships, continuous learning, and engagement to build bridges between disciplines towards co-production, discovery, and knowledge translation. Learning from interdisciplinary collaborative research experiences can facilitate future research in the challenging field of environmental health.

A century of the Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health

With this issue, the Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health celebrates 100 years of continuous publication since its foundation as the Journal of Industrial Hygiene in 1919. During its first century, the Archives established an extraordinary legacy in the development of no less than three fields of research and practice: (1) occupational medicine, (2) industrial hygiene, and (3) air pollution studies and regulation. Its contribution to American environmental protection standards in air quality was particularly important, as the journal served as a major outlet for crucial air pollution research during the early years of the new United States Environmental Protection Agency. Its pages also chart the development of occupational health as an independent field, as well as the later emergence of modern environmental health as a related co-discipline. As the Archives moves into its second century of continuous publication, the journal will continue shaping the fields of environmental and occupational health; building on the solid foundation of evidence-based research from which humankind continues to benefit.

Dispersion preparation, characterization, and dosimetric analysis of cellulose nano-fibrils and nano-crystals: Implications for cellular toxicological studies

The characterization of cellulose-based nanomaterial (CNM) suspensions in environmental and biological media is impaired because of their high carbon content and anisotropic shape, thus making it difficult to derive structure activity relationships (SAR) from toxicological studies. Here, a standardized method for the dispersion preparation and characterization of cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) and nanocrystals (CNC) in biological and environmental media was developed. Specifically, electron microscopy was utilized to specify optimum practices for efficiently suspending CNF and CNC in water and cell culture medium. Furthermore, a technique for measuring the in vitro particle kinetics of CNF and CNC suspended in cell culture medium utilizing fluorescently tagged materials was developed to assess the delivery rate of such CNM at the bottom of the well. Interestingly, CNF were shown to settle and create a loosely packed layer at the bottom of cell culture wells within a few hours. On the contrary, CNC settled gradually at a significantly slower rate, highlighting the discordance between administered and delivered mass dose. This work is both novel and urgent in the field of environmental health and safety as it introduces well-defined techniques for the dispersion and characterization of emerging, cellulose-based engineered nanomaterials. It also provides useful insights to the in vitro behavior of suspended anisotropic nanomaterials in general, which should enable dosimetry and comparison of toxicological data across laboratories as well as promote the safe and sustainable use of nanotechnology.

The status of international collaborations in compilation of Iranian scientific articles on environmental health engineering

BackgroundScientific cooperation is one of the effective methods to access current knowledge and technologies and also to use successful experiences of researchers in developed countries by academicians living in developing countries. This study aimed to determine the level of international contribution in compilation of scientific articles in Iranian journals published in the field of environmental health engineering.MethodsThis descriptive and retrospective study was conducted within a 10-year period (2008–2017), in which all articles published in five specialized Iranian journals of environmental health engineering were reviewed using a researcher-made checklist. The information collected in the checklist included: the year of publication, number of issues and articles, information about the status of authors’ participation in terms of number of authors, sex, institutional affiliation, country, continents, and research centers. Descriptive and inferential statistics such as index of dispersion, measures of central tendency, and Chi-square and t tests were used to statistically analyze the data. Besides, VOSviewer software was used to visualize the data.ResultsThe review of 1276 articles published in 102 issues of the five journals of environmental health engineering in Iran showed that 184 articles were written with the participation of researchers from other countries. Most articles with the participation of international authors during the last decade were published in 2014. Chi-square test indicated a significant difference in the publication of these articles within 2014–2015 than other years (P = 0.001). Among the five journals, the best participation of international researchers was observed in J Environ Health Sci Engineer (168 articles, 91.3%). Considering the number of joint articles with Iran, the top continents were Asia, Europe, and Africa each with 117, 52, and 32 articles, respectively. India, Turkey, and Malaysia had the highest level of cooperation with Iranian researchers with 53, 16, and 14 articles, respectively. 637 authors contributed in 184 articles, of whom 469 (73.6%) were male and 121 (18.9%) were female. T test was used to compare the mean number of male and female authors in the articles with or without the participation of international researchers, which showed no significant difference.ConclusionInternational contribution of researchers in compilation of specialized environmental health articles was good. Given the low level of cooperation between researchers from developed European and American countries and their Iranian counterparts, it seems necessary to adopt different methods to attract more collaboration from researchers working in developed countries considering their significant role in health-related areas.

Professional realization of specialists in medical sanitary physics and sanitary engineering

In Bulgarian legislation there are basically two medical specialties for physicists and engineers: – medical radiological physics – medical sanitary physics In addition, for engineers, architects, environmentalists, the main medical specialty is: – Sanitary engineering. Here, we focused only on the specialties medical sanitary physicsandsanitary engineering that are important for the prophylactic medicine. These training courses last for 3 years, and trainees receive the highest degree of competence in the field of measurement and exposure assessment of physical factors, risk evaluation and management, possible health effects of ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, methods for prevention.Simultaneously, they are trained in the field of occupational and environmental health concerning human exposure to physical factors.Such, they are the best specialists for medical units dealing with imaging and medical treating using non-ionizing radiations (NMR, ultrasound, UV and IR radiation), for the health control bodies of the working and living environment, for ecological expertizes, for occupational health services. Unfortunately, most of them are re-qualified as medical radiological physicists and other professions or they are leaving the country because of better incomes and respect. The BSMPE made big efforts to endorse these specialists in appropriate medical units but without any success: most of the medical units hire incompetent persons without the necessary qualification. Our opinion is that BSMPE should put the question for the professional realization of such specialists in the right places, and to propose changes in the legislation providing in this direction. The first step should be changes in the definition of medical physicistaccording to the broader definition of IOMP. Next, the legislation should include requirements for qualification of medical sanitary physicists and engineers for working in hospitals, medical/cosmetics/SPA centres, physiotherapy, NMR, occupational health services, control bodies of health, environment, labour ministries, accredited laboratories, occupational safety bodies, administration (ecological evaluation). This requirement is set, also in EU Directives 2013/35/EC and 2010/25/EC for protection of workers exposed to electromagnetic fields and optical radiation.

Causal Modeling in Environmental Health.

The field of environmental health has been dominated by modeling associations, especially by regressing an observed outcome on a linear or nonlinear function of observed covariates. Readers interested in advances in policies for improving environmental health are, however, expecting to be informed about health effects resulting from, or more explicitly caused by, environmental exposures. The quantification of health impacts resulting from the removal of environmental exposures involves causal statements. Therefore, when possible, causal inference frameworks should be considered for analyzing the effects of environmental exposures on health outcomes.

Empowerment of coastal communities Through Systems Approach in the Field of Environmental Health in Kendari city, Southeast Sulawesi Province, indonesia

One of the health problems faced by coastal communities is community behavior in the management and utilization of environmental resources. Coastal area has problems like the limitations of environmental health facilities that cause the health status low. The study aimed to know the Coastal Community Empowerment with a environmental health systems approach of Kendari. The type of study was qualitative. The informants was 12 people. Data collection uses in-depth interviews and Focus Group Discussion. Results of the implementation program appeared in three dimensions: a) Development of local communities through cross training sectors: agriculture and food, fisheries, private institutions, finance lending institutions and academics; and empowering youth groups through social activities. Empowerment through health village was carried out with: environmental cleanliness, family education, clean and healthy behavior, increasing family income, hydroponic planting methods, and utilizing plastic waste. b) Judging from the aspect of social policy, there was already the KOTAKU program (city without slums). c) Social action: Initiation of Movement 1 house 1 hand-washing, family medicinal plants, mobilizing to cleanliness the house yard, waste transportation services, coordinating with the Government to provide environmental health education, made a healthy smoke-free village. Conclusion: Community empowerment in order to improve environmental health behaviors can be more effective if using all potential stakeholders, education and training, local community development, social action and social policy. Recommendation: needin for socialization, education and training for the community, advocacy and collaboration across sectors of government agencies, and continuous supervision.

A picture tells a thousand…exposures: Opportunities and challenges of deep learning image analyses in exposure science and environmental epidemiology

BackgroundArtificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing our world, with applications ranging from medicine to engineering. ObjectivesHere we discuss the promise, challenges, and probable data sources needed to apply AI in the fields of exposure science and environmental health. In particular, we focus on the use of deep convolutional neural networks to estimate environmental exposures using images and other complementary data sources such as cell phone mobility and social media information. DiscussionCharacterizing the health impacts of multiple spatially-correlated exposures remains a challenge in environmental epidemiology. A shift toward integrated measures that simultaneously capture multiple aspects of the urban built environment could improve efficiency and provide important insights into how our collective environments influence population health. The widespread adoption of AI in exposure science is on the frontier. This will likely result in new ways of understanding environmental impacts on health and may allow for analyses to be efficiently scaled for broad coverage. Image-based convolutional neural networks may also offer a cost-effective means of estimating local environmental exposures in low and middle-income countries where monitoring and surveillance infrastructure is limited. However, suitable databases must first be assembled to train and evaluate these models and these novel approaches should be complemented with traditional exposure metrics. ConclusionsThe promise of deep learning in environmental health is great and will complement existing measurements for data-rich settings and could enhance the resolution and accuracy of estimates in data poor scenarios. Interdisciplinary partnerships will be needed to fully realize this potential.