Higher Gross Domestic Product Research Articles

The effect of forced change and unforced variability in heat waves, temperature extremes, and associated population risk in a CO<sub>2</sub>-warmed world

Abstract. This study investigates the impact of global warming on heat and humidity extremes by analyzing 6 h output from 28 members of the Max Planck Institute Grand Ensemble driven by forcing from a 1 % yr−1 CO2 increase. We find that unforced variability drives large changes in regional exposure to extremes in different ensemble members, and these variations are mostly associated with El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability. However, while the unforced variability in the climate can alter the occurrence of extremes regionally, variability within the ensemble decreases significantly as one looks at larger regions or at a global population perspective. This means that, for metrics of extreme heat and humidity analyzed here, forced variability in the climate is more important than the unforced variability at global scales. Lastly, we found that most heat wave metrics will increase significantly between 1.5 and 2.0 ∘C, and that low gross domestic product (GDP) regions show significantly higher risks of facing extreme heat events compared to high GDP regions. Considering the limited economic adaptability of the population to heat extremes, this reinforces the idea that the most severe impacts of climate change may fall mostly on those least capable of adapting.

Eczema, facial erythema, and seborrheic dermatitis symptoms among young adults in China in relation to ambient air pollution, climate, and home environment.

A questionnaire survey on dermal symptoms and home environment was performed in eight Chinese cities (40279 participants). Data on city level temperature, precipitation, PM10 , NO2, and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita were collected. In total, 2.2% had eczema, 2.4% facial erythema (FE) and 2.6% seborrheic dermatitis symptoms (SD). Higher temperature was associated with eczema (OR=1.09). Higher GDP per capita was related to less SD. Higher PM10 was related to SD. Suburban living was protective for eczema (OR=0.77) (vs. urban). Living in old buildings (built before 1991) was related to eczema (OR=1.42). Living near heavily trafficked roads was related to FE (OR=1.33) and SD (OR=1.35). Having new furniture was related to all symptoms (OR=1.26-1.47). Burning mosquito coils (OR=1.37-1.57) and incense (OR=1.33-1.37) were associated with eczema, FE, or SD. Presence of cockroaches and rats/mice was associated with FE or SD (OR=1.31-1.40). Using air conditioner, daily cleaning and frequently exposing bedding to sunshine were protective (OR=0.60-0.83). In conclusion, higher temperature, higher PM10 , urban living, living near heavily trafficked roads, old buildings, new furniture, burning mosquito coils and incense, and presence of cockroaches/rats/mice increased the risk of eczema, FE, or SD. Higher GDP, air conditioner, daily cleaning, and exposing bedding to sunshine were protective.

Variation in the prices of oncology medicines across Europe and the implications for the future

Introduction/Objectives: Health authorities are facing increasing challenges to the sustainability of their healthcare systems because of the growing expenditures on medicines, including new, high-priced oncology medicines, and changes in disease prevalence in their ageing populations. Medicine prices in European countries are greatly affected by the ability to negotiate reasonable prices. Concerns have been expressed that prices of patented medicines do not fall sufficiently after the introduction of lower-cost generic oncology medicines. The objective of this study was to examine the associations over time in selected European countries between the prices of oral oncology medicines, population size, and gross domestic product (GDP) before and after the introduction of generic versions. Evidence of periodic reassessments of the price, value, and place in treatment of these medicines was also looked for. The goal of this review was to stimulate debate about possible improvements in approaches to reimbursement negotiations. Methodology: Analysis was performed of reimbursed prices of three oral oncology medicines (imatinib, erlotinib and fludarabine) between 2013 and 2017 across Europe. Correlations were explored between GDP, population size, and prices. Findings were compared with previous research regarding prices of generic oral oncology medicines. Results: The prices of imatinib, erlotinib and fludarabine varied among European countries, and there was limited price erosion over time in the absence of generics. There appeared to be no correlation between population size and price, but higher prices of on-patent oral cancer medicines were seen among countries with higher GDP per capita. Conclusion: Limited price erosion for patented medicines contributed to increases in oncology medicine budgets across the region. There was also a concerning lack of evidence re-assessments of the price, value, and place in treatment of patented oncology medicines following the loss of patent protection of standard medicines. The use of such proactive re-assessments in negotiating tactics might positively impact global expenditures for oncology medicines.

DOP37 Large differences in IBD care and education across Europe, first results of the pan-European VIPER survey

Abstract Background More than 2.5 million people in Europe suffer from inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). IBD affects the quality of life, but also has important consequences for health systems. As IBD care and education might differ and might be linked to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), we conducted this European Variation In ibd PracticE suRvey (VIPER) to study potential differences. Methods This trainee-initiated survey, run through SurveyMonkey®, consisted of 47 questions inquiring basic demographics, IBD training and clinical care. The survey was distributed through social media and national GI societies from December 2020 - January 2021. Results were compared according to GDP per capita, for which countries were divided into 2 groups (low/high income, according to the World Bank). Differences between groups were calculated using the chi2 statistic. Results The online survey was completed by 1268 participants from 39 European countries (Figure 1). Most of the participants are specialists (65.3 %), followed by fellows in training (>/< 3 years, 19.1%, 15.6 %). Majority of the responders are working in academic institutions (50.4 %), others in public/district hospitals (33.3 %) or private practices (16.3 %). Despite significant differences in access to IBD-specific training between high (56.4%) and low (38.5%) GDP countries (p<0.001), majority of clinicians feels comfortable in treating IBD (77.2% vs 72.0%, p=0.04). Interestingly, a difference in availability of dedicated IBD units could be observed (58.5% vs 39.7%, p<0.001), as well as an inequality in multidisciplinary meetings (72.6% vs 40.2%, p<0.001), which often take place on a weekly basis (53.0%) (Figure 2). In high GDP countries, IBD nurses are more common (86.2%) than in low GDP countries (36.0%, p<0.001), which is mirrored by differences in nurse-led IBD clinics (40.6% vs 13.8%, p<0.001). IBD dieticians (32.4% vs 16.6%) and psychologists (16.7% vs 7.5%) are mainly present in high GDP countries (p<0.001). In the current COVID era, telemedicine is available in 58.4% vs 21.4% of the high/low GDP countries respectively (p<0.001), as well as urgent flare clinics (58.6% vs 38.7%, p<0.001) and endoscopy within 24 hours if needed (83.0% vs 86.7% p=0.1). Treat-to-target approaches are implemented everywhere (85.0%), though access to biologicals and small molecules differs significantly (Figure 3). Almost all (94.7%) use faecal calprotectin for routine monitoring, whereas half also use intestinal ultrasound (47.9%). Conclusion A lot of variability in IBD practice exists across Europe, with marked differences between high vs low GDP countries. Further work is required to help address some of these inequalities, aiming to improve and standardise IBD care across Europe.

Language Policy, Medium of Instruction and Economic Development of Countries in Kachru’s Concentric Circles of Asian Englishes

Language and culture are indispensable elements to the economic growth of the individual and society. They represent an important indicator of the individual’s satisfaction and quality of life. This paper is an attempt to answer Grin and Arcand’s (2013) observation that the part that language might play in economic development has long intrigued scholars from various disciplines, and up to the present decade no clear story has emerged from the investigations published and the empirical evidence remains inconclusive. Thus, in an attempt to come up with empirical evidence to establish the link between language policy and language in education to economic growth, this paper reviews the language policies and medium of instruction (MOI)in six countries, two countries each from each circle in Kachru’s concentric circles of Asian Englishes. Each circle was represented by a country with high and low gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. To determine the effect of language policy and MOI to countries’ GDP per capita, analysis of the similarities on the language policy and MOI of countries with higher GDP and those with lower GDP was done.

Economic development, attitudes towards migration and the (lack of) willingness to help refugees: insights from the Aurora Humanitarian Index

ABSTRACT In this paper Jacobs examines the connection between attitudes on migration, perceived threats linked to migration and the (lack of) willingness to help refugees using a data set of twelve countries from a survey project called the Aurora Humanitarian Index. The higher the perceived ethnic threat (economic, cultural or religious), the less willing individuals are to mobilize for refugees. In addition to patterns on the individual level, we examine the impact of country characteristics (gross domestic product (GDP), number of migrants and so on) through correlational and multilevel analysis. While neither the proportion of migrants nor the proportion of refugees impacts on the willingness to mobilize in favour of refugees, the economic situation does have an effect. In richer countries there is less willingness to help. Furthermore, we can observe that the effect of both opposition to migration and the perception of refugees as posing an economic threat is exacerbated in richer countries (countries with a higher GDP).

Grandchild's IQ is associated with grandparental environments prior to the birth of the parents.

Background. Despite convincing animal experiments demonstrating the potential for environmental exposures in one generation to have demonstrable effects generations later, there have been few relevant human studies. Those that have been undertaken have demonstrated associations, for example, between exposures such as nutrition and cigarette smoking in the grandparental generation and outcomes in grandchildren. We hypothesised that such transgenerational associations might be associated with the IQ of the grandchild, and that it would be likely that there would be differences in results between the sexes of the grandparents, parents, and children. Method. We used three-generational data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). We incorporated environmental factors concerning grandparents (F0) and focussed on three exposures that we hypothesised may have independent transgenerational associations with the IQ of the grandchildren (F2): (i) UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at grandparental birth year; (ii) whether grandfather smoked; and (iii) whether the grandmother smoked in the relevant pregnancy. Potential confounders were ages of grandparents when the relevant parent was born, ethnic background, education level and social class of each grandparent. Results. After adjustment, all three target exposures had specific associations with measures of IQ in the grandchild. Paternal grandfather smoking was associated with reduced total IQ at 15 years; maternal grandfather smoking with reduced performance IQ at 8 years and reduced total IQ at 15. Paternal grandmother smoking in pregnancy was associated with reduced performance IQ at 8, especially in grandsons. GDP at grandparents' birth produced independent associations of reduced IQ with higher GDP; this was particularly true of paternal grandmothers. Conclusions. These results are complex and need to be tested in other datasets. They highlight the need to consider possible transgenerational associations in studying developmental variation in populations.

COVID-19 Early Vaccination Rates and Gross Domestic Product Per Capita

Coronavirus disease – 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination is a crucial part of a multi-faceted public health response, and possibly, the best hope for ending the pandemic. In this ecological study, we examined the relationship between Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and early vaccination rates across the world. Spearman’s correlation analysis was utilized to assess the strength and direction of the relationship between countries’ COVID-19 vaccination rates and GDP per capita. We observed that countries with high vaccination rates had higher GDP per capita (Spearman’s ƍ=0.35, p-value=0.01). Our study provides valuable insight into the association of GDP per capita and the early distribution of the COVID-19 vaccination. Copyright © 2021 Dongarwar et al. Published by Global Health and Education Projects, Inc. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0.

Assessing Impacts of Indicators of Child Wealth Index in Africa: A Study of Four Regions in Sub-Saharan Africa

Recently, the well-being of children in developing countries has attracted much research attention. However, literature is sparse on the effects of family well-being on the child. This study assesses indicators of the Child Wealth Index in Africa, in four out of five regions of the continent of Africa, based on countries with the highest and lowest Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The regions include Central, Eastern, Southern, and Western Africa. Data were obtained from the latest Demographic and Health Survey of each country, where each respondent family was categorised into either “poor,” “middle” or “rich.” Multinomial logistic regression was utilised to study the effects of the indicators used in this study, on child well-being. Results show that the majority of countries have more children in the poor category, especially in rural areas. Furthermore, there are negative correlations between Child Wealth Index and residence, and positive correlations between Child Wealth Index and housing conditions with access to electricity. Indicators of the Child Wealth Index include highest education, place of residence, housing conditions, toilet facility, and access to electricity and appliances. It is inferred that many countries in Africa have a low Wealth Index despite their high GDP. Therefore, African governments need to improve the living standards of their people.

Socioeconomic inequalities in physical and cognitive functioning: cross-sectional evidence from 37 cohorts across 28 countries in the ATHLOS project

BackgroundPhysical and cognitive functioning in older age follows a socioeconomic gradient but it is unclear whether the strength of the association differs between populations. Using harmonised data from an international...

Applying optimisation programming and research generator methods to measure subjective well-being within country

Survey data collected from eight countries (Japan, Switzerland, Singapore, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Bhutan, and Indonesia) are used to extract social resources through optimisation programming technique as well as resource generator method. These resources are used to propose an aggregated subjective well-being (SWB) indicator in each country. Relationship between this indicator and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is also examined to consider economy impact on SWB. The results indicate that a high GDP per capita is a necessary factor to improve well-being, but non-economic pillar is also essential. Non-economic domains of SWB are more influential in Bhutan, and Indonesia (developing countries). In contrast, the results show a positive relation between the economic domain and SWB in the rest of countries (developed countries). The Safety and Relief, Life Satisfaction, and Expertise and skills factors are significant domains for SWB in developed countries. While, Health and welfare, safety and Relief, and Economic Stability are influential factors in Bhutan, and Indonesia.

A Bibliometric Analysis of Childhood Malnutrition Research Productivity in Africa over a Twenty-Year Period (1999-2019)

Background: Africa remains the epicenter of the global burden of malnutrition and the only region the number of stunted children is on the rise. A major cause of morbidity and mortality amongst children, it has been associated with factors such as poverty, food insecurity, maternal education and socio-economic inequalities. The role of research publication has been noted in providing an important connection between knowledge creation and translation of evidence to practice. Therefore, to determine the trend and the efforts put in place to eliminate malnutrition in the African region, bibliometric analysis was used to cumulatively present research productivity. The aim of this study was to assess childhood malnutrition research productivity in Africa, quantifying gaps, the most significant factors associated with the citations and future bibliometrics study path. Methods: A search of the PubMed database was conducted in December 2020 in order to obtain the childhood malnutrition research volume of each African country over a twenty-year period. The search was conducted and metadata of publications and articles gathered from the PubMed database using the PubMedR package. A comparative weighting for population and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was done by calculating the ratio of the number of articles from each country to their respective populations and GDP. Poisson regression models were used to examine the publication productivity time trends over the twenty-year period. The association between research productivity, population size and GDP were examined using the Pearson correlation analysis. Results: A total of 11,758 articles on childhood malnutrition indexed on PubMed were returned and described in this study. Six countries—South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya and Malawi account for about half of total publications. However, when controlled for population and GDP, much smaller countries Cape Verde, Swaziland, Gambia were most productive. Africa’s relative share of the world’s total childhood malnutrition publication rose from 6.2% in 1999 to a record high of 12.3% in 2019. Across the top 10 most productive countries by volume of research publication, there was a statistically significant average annual percent change. There was a strong positive and statistically significant correlation between total publications on childhood malnutrition and countries’ population (r= 0.65, P < 0.01). We also observed a strong positive and statistically significant correlation between total publications on childhood malnutrition and countries’ GDP (r = 0.60, P < 0.01). Conclusion: Africa’s percentage share of the world’s childhood malnutrition research output has experienced a steady improvement. There remains an under-representation of the continent in research productivity. Populous countries with relatively higher GDP had the most indexed articles, and much smaller countries were more efficient in terms of research productivity relative to population size and GDP.

Grandchild’s IQ is associated with grandparental environments prior to the birth of the parents

Background. Despite convincing animal experiments demonstrating the potential for environmental exposures in one generation to have demonstrable effects generations later, there have been few relevant human studies. Those that have been undertaken have demonstrated associations, for example, between exposures such as nutrition and cigarette smoking in the grandparental generation and outcomes in grandchildren. We hypothesised that such transgenerational associations might be associated with the IQ of the grandchild, and that it would be likely that there would be differences in results between the sexes of the grandparents, parents, and children. Method. We used three-generational data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). We incorporated environmental factors concerning grandparents (F0) and focussed on three exposures that we hypothesised may have independent transgenerational associations with the IQ of the grandchildren (F2): (i) UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at grandparental birth year; (ii) whether grandfather smoked; and (iii) whether the grandmother smoked in the relevant pregnancy. Potential confounders were ages of grandparents when the relevant parent was born, ethnic background, education level and social class of each grandparent. Results. After adjustment, all three target exposures had specific associations with measures of IQ in the grandchild. Paternal grandfather smoking was associated with reduced total IQ at 15 years; maternal grandfather smoking with reduced performance IQ at 8 years and reduced total IQ at 15. Paternal grandmother smoking in pregnancy was associated with reduced performance IQ at 8, especially in grandsons. GDP at grandparents’ birth produced independent associations of reduced IQ with higher GDP; this was particularly true of paternal grandmothers. Conclusions. These results are complex and need to be tested in other datasets. They highlight the need to consider possible transgenerational associations in studying developmental variation in populations.

Influence of socio-economic, demographic and climate factors on the regional distribution of dengue in the United States and Mexico

BackgroundThis study examines the impact of climate, socio-economic and demographic factors on the incidence of dengue in regions of the United States and Mexico. We select factors shown to predict dengue at a local level and test whether the association can be generalized to the regional or state level. In addition, we assess how different indicators perform compared to per capita gross domestic product (GDP), an indicator that is commonly used to predict the future distribution of dengue.MethodsA unique spatial-temporal dataset was created by collating information from a variety of data sources to perform empirical analyses at the regional level. Relevant regions for the analysis were selected based on their receptivity and vulnerability to dengue. A conceptual framework was elaborated to guide variable selection. The relationship between the incidence of dengue and the climate, socio-economic and demographic factors was modelled via a Generalized Additive Model (GAM), which also accounted for the spatial and temporal auto-correlation.ResultsThe socio-economic indicator (representing household income, education of the labour force, life expectancy at birth, and housing overcrowding), as well as more extensive access to broadband are associated with a drop in the incidence of dengue; by contrast, population growth and inter-regional migration are associated with higher incidence, after taking climate into account. An ageing population is also a predictor of higher incidence, but the relationship is concave and flattens at high rates. The rate of active physicians is associated with higher incidence, most likely because of more accurate reporting. If focusing on Mexico only, results remain broadly similar, however, workforce education was a better predictor of a drop in the incidence of dengue than household income.ConclusionsTwo lessons can be drawn from this study: first, while higher GDP is generally associated with a drop in the incidence of dengue, a more granular analysis reveals that the crucial factors are a rise in education (with fewer jobs in the primary sector) and better access to information or technological infrastructure. Secondly, factors that were shown to have an impact of dengue at the local level are also good predictors at the regional level. These indices may help us better understand factors responsible for the global distribution of dengue and also, given a warming climate, may help us to better predict vulnerable populations on a larger scale.

Disparities in Dental Service Utilization among Adults in Chinese Megacities: Do Health Insurance and City of Residence Matter?

The aims of the study were to present the prevalence of dental service utilization among adults (age between 18 and 65) in Chinese megacities and to examine the associations of health insurance and city of residence with dental visits. This study was a cross-sectional analysis of the 2019 New Era and Living Conditions in Megacities Survey data with a sample of 4835 participants aged 18–65 from 10 different megacities in China. The data including gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of each megacity obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics of China as a city-level characteristic. After adjusting sampling weights, approximately 24.28% of the participants had at least one dental visit per year. Findings from multilevel mixed-effects linear models showed that participants residing in megacities with higher GDP per capita (β = 0.07, p < 0.001) who had Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (β = 0.25, p < 0.001) or Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance (β = 0.19, p < 0.01) had more frequent dental visits after adjusting demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, health status, health behavior and attitude, and oral health indicators. Margins post-estimation model results demonstrated disparities in the predicted probability of having never visited a dentist by types of health insurance and city of residence. In conclusion, the prevalence of dental visits in China was found to be low. This study highlights socioeconomic inequalities in dental service utilization. There is a great need to develop more dental care programs and services and expand health insurance to cover dental care in China.

Global Socioeconomic Risk of Precipitation Extremes Under Climate Change.

Precipitation extremes are among the most serious consequences of climate change around the world. The observed and projected frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation in some regions will greatly influence the social economy. The frequency of extreme precipitation and the population and economic exposure were quantified for a base period (1986–2005) and future periods (2016–2035 and 2046–2065) based on bias corrected projections of daily precipitation from five global climatic models forced with three representative concentration pathways (RCPs) and projections of population and gross domestic product (GDP) in the shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs). The RCP8.5‐SSP3 scenario produces the highest global population exposure for 2046–2065, with nearly 30% of the global population (2.97 × 109 persons) exposed to precipitation extremes >10 days/a. The RCP2.6‐SSP1 scenario produces the highest global GDP exposure for 2046–2065, with a 5.56‐fold increase relative to the base period, of up to (2.29 ± 0.20) × 1015 purchasing power parity $‐days. Socioeconomic effects are the primary contributor to the exposure changes at the global and continental scales. Population and GDP effects account for 64–77% and 78–91% of the total exposure change, respectively. The inequality of exposure indicates that more attention should be given to Asia and Africa due to their rapid increases in population and GDP. However, due to their dense populations and high GDPs, European countries, that is, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands, should also commit to effective adaptation measures.

Grandchild’s IQ is associated with grandparental environments prior to the birth of the parents

Background: In spite of convincing animal experiments demonstrating the potential for environmental exposures in one generation to have demonstrable effects generations later, there have been few relevant human studies. Those that have been undertaken have demonstrated associations, for example, between exposures such as nutrition and cigarette smoking in the grandparental generation and outcomes in grandchildren. We hypothesised that such transgenerational associations might be associated with the IQ of the grandchild, and that it would be likely that there would be differences in results between the sexes of the grandparents, parents and children. Methods: We used three-generational data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). We incorporated environmental factors concerning grandparents (F0) and focussed on three exposures that we hypothesised may have independent transgenerational associations with the IQ of the grandchildren (F2): (i) UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at grandparental birth year; (ii) whether the grandfather smoked; and (iii) whether the grandmother smoked in the relevant pregnancy. Potential confounders were ages of grandparents when the relevant parent was born, ethnic background, education level and social class of each grandparent. Results: After adjustment, all three target exposures had specific associations with measures of IQ in the grandchild. Paternal grandfather smoking was associated with reduced total IQ at 15 years; maternal grandfather smoking with reduced performance IQ at 8 years and reduced total IQ at 15. Paternal grandmother smoking in pregnancy was associated with reduced performance IQ at 8, especially in grandsons. GDP at grandparents' birth produced independent associations of reduced IQ with higher GDP; this was particularly true of paternal grandmothers. Conclusions: These results are complex and need to be tested in other datasets. They highlight the need to consider possible transgenerational associations in studying developmental variation in populations.

Winners and losers of the Sino–US trade war from economic and environmental perspectives

The ongoing trade war between the United States and China is having profound impacts on the global economy. As recent studies have found substantial amounts of carbon dioxide and air pollution embedded in the global supply chains, the Sino–US trade war may also affect emissions and health burdens worldwide, which remains poorly understood. Here, we estimate the potential changes in gross domestic product (GDP), anthropogenic emissions and particulate matter (PM2.5) related premature deaths worldwide under two Sino–US trade war scenarios. We find that for the US and China, the trade war would reduce their GDP and, less significantly, emissions and mortality, suggesting that the trade war is not an effective means of environmental protection. The trade war would increase both GDP and mortality in many developing regions, because of their increased production of goods targeted in the Sino–US trade war. Surprisingly, Western Europe and Latin America and Caribbean would have higher GDP but lower emissions and mortality, an economic and environmental win-win outcome as a net result of the complex changes in the global supply chains. Neighbour regions of the US and China such as Canada, Japan and Korea would also have higher GDP but lower mortality, because of reduced atmospheric transboundary transport from the US and China overcompensating for increased local emissions of these neighbours. The complex consequences of the Sino–US trade war highlight the strong inter-regional and economic-environmental linkage in support of a global collaborative strategy to foster economic growth and environmental protection.

Cross-country evidence on Environmental Kuznets Curve in Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment for 174 Countries

Waste electrical and electronic equipment, or e-waste, is rapidly growing worldwide, but the determinants of growth in different countries are not well understood. This paper examines the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis at the world and continents levels using e-waste generation as the indicator of environmental degradation. The EKC hypothesis assumes an inverted-U-shaped relationship between economic development and environmental degradation. While frequently used in environmental economics, it has not previously been applied to e-waste worldwide. We have tested the EKC hypothesis for e-waste with an analysis of 174 countries for 2016, using ordinary least squares regression, under inclusion of the control variables population, urbanization, industrialization and access to electricity. The results provide strong support for the hypothesized inverted-U relationship between Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and e-waste per capita at the world level. The EKC was also evidenced at the continent level, except for Asia. In addition, the inverted-U relationship was also found between total GDP and total e-waste generation, in both the world sample of 174 countries and the sub-samples per continent (except Asia). By including the control variables, the fit of the models was improved. All control variables were found to have a statistically significant influence on e-waste generation. In explaining e-waste generation per capita, access to electricity is a particularly strong factor. Regarding total e-waste generation, urbanization is strongly and positively correlated. Population has a positive impact on total e-waste generation, while it has a negative impact on e-waste generation per capita. The EKC was very robustly evidenced across all models studied. E-waste generation initially increases with a growing GDP, but when GDP reaches a certain level (turning point), the generated e-waste quantities do no longer rise despite further economic growth. However, the calculated turning points are at very high GDP levels, and thus most countries worldwide are expected to witness dramatic further e-waste growth if the existing patterns are not radically transformed through effective e-waste prevention measures.

Asthma and allergic rhinitis among young parents in China in relation to outdoor air pollution, climate and home environment

We estimated associations between ambient air pollution, home environment and asthma as well as rhinitis among adults across China.A total of 40,279 young adults from eight Chinese cities participated in a questionnaire survey (participation rate 75%). There were questions on health and home environment. Information on city level gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, ambient temperature and PM10 and NO2 were collected from registers. Two-level logistic regression models were used to study health associations.Totally 1.6% reported asthma and 6.6% reported allergic rhinitis (AR). Higher temperature was associated with more asthma but less AR. Higher GDP was associated with less asthma but more AR. Higher degree of urbanization, higher level of NO2 and living near heavily trafficked road were risk factors for asthma and AR. Participants in older buildings reported more asthma. Redecoration and buying new furniture were related to more asthma and AR (OR = 1.15–1.91). Using natural gas (OR = 1.34) and biomass (OR = 1.35) for cooking were risk factors for AR. Burning mosquito coils and incense increased the risk of asthma and AR. Cat keeping (OR = 2.88), dog keeping (OR = 2.04), cockroaches (OR = 1.54) and rats or mice (OR = 1.46) were associated with asthma. Cockroaches increased the risk of AR (OR = 1.22). Air humidifier and air cleaner were linked to asthma and AR. Frequent cleaning and exposing bedding to sunshine were protective.In conclusion, urbanization, NO2 and traffic exhaust can increase the risk of adult asthma and AR. Higher ambient temperature was related to more asthma but less AR. Indoor animals such as cats, dogs, rats/mice and presence of cockroaches were associated with asthma or AR. Indoor chemical sources such as redecoration and new furniture were other risk factors. Cooking with natural gas or biomass and burning mosquito coils and incense were associated with asthma or AR. Frequent cleaning and exposing bedding to sunshine were protective.