Global attributed burden of death for air pollution: Demographic decomposition and birth cohort effect

Climate change, ambient air pollution, and students' mental health

The impact of global climate change and air pollution on mental health has become a crucial public health issue. Increased public awareness of health, advancements in medical diagnosis and treatment, the way media outlets report environmental changes and the variation in social resources affect psychological responses and adaptation methods to climate change and air pollution. In the context of climate change, extreme weather events seriously disrupt people's living environments, and unstable educational environments lead to an increase in mental health issues for students. Air pollution affects students' mental health by increasing the incidence of diseases while decreasing contact with nature, leading to problems such as anxiety, depression, and decreased cognitive function. We call for joint efforts to reduce pollutant emissions at the source, improve energy structures, strengthen environmental monitoring and gover-nance, increase attention to the mental health issues of students, and help student groups build resilience; by establishing public policies, enhancing social support and adjusting lifestyles and habits, we can help students cope with the constantly changing environment and maintain a good level of mental health. Through these comprehensive measures, we can more effectively address the challenges of global climate change and air pollution and promote the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Cardiovascular diseases burden attributable to ambient PM2.5 pollution from 1990 to 2019: A systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2019

BACKGROUND

Ambient PM2.5 pollution (APMP2.5) was the leading environmental risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) worldwide. An up-to-date comprehensive study is needed to provide global epidemiological patterns.

METHODS

Detailed data on CVDs burden attributable to APMP2.5 were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2019. We calculated the estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) to assess temporal trends in age-standardized rates of deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) over 30 years.

RESULTS

Globally, CVDs attributable to APMP2.5 resulted in 2.48 million deaths and 60.91 million DALYs, with an increase of 122%, respectively from 1990 to 2019. In general, men suffered markedly higher burden than women, but the gap will likely turn narrow. As for age distribution, CVDs deaths and DALYs attributable to APMP2.5 mainly occurred in the elder group (>70 years). Low- and middle-income regions endured the higher CVDs burden due to the higher exposure to APMP2.5, and the gap may potentially expand further compared with high-income regions. For regions, the highest age-standardized rates of APMP2.5-related CVDs deaths and DALYs were observed mainly in Central Asia, while the lowest was observed in Australasia. At the national level, countries with the largest ASDR decline were clustered in western Europe, while Equatorial Guinea, Timor-Leste and Bhutan exhibited relatively rapid increases over this period.

CONCLUSIONS

The global CVDs burden attributable to APMP2.5 has contributed to the heterogeneity of spatial and temporal distribution. APMP2.5-related CVDs deaths have largely shifted from higher SDI regions to those with a lower SDI. Globally, APMP2.5-attributable CVDs pose a significant threat to public health and diseases burden has increased over time, particularly in male, old-aged populations. The governments and health systems should take measures to reduce air pollution to impede this rising trend.

Short-term effects of air pollution and weather changes on the occurrence of acute aortic dissection in a cold region

Background

Air pollution and severe weather conditions can adversely affect cardiovascular disease emergencies. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether air pollutants and low ambient temperature can trigger the occurrence of acute aortic dissection (AAD) in cold regions.

Methods

We applied a retrospective analysis to assess the short-term effects of air pollution and ambient temperature on the occurrence of AAD in Harbin, China. A total of 564 AAD patients were enrolled from a major hospital in Harbin between January 1, 2017, and February 5, 2021. Weather condition data and air pollutant concentrations, including fine particulate matter smaller than 10 μm (PM10) and 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and ozone (O3), were collected every day. Conditional logistic regressions and correlation analysis were applied to analyze the relationship of environmental and atmospheric parameters with AAD occurrence at lags of 0 to 7 days. Specifically, we appraised the air quality index, CO, NO2, SO2, O3, PM10, PM2.5, temperature, dew point temperature, atmospheric pressure, and cloud amount.

Results

A total of 1,496 days at risk were assessed, of which 564 patients developed AAD. Specifically, AAD did not occur on 1,043 (69.72%) days, while 1 or more cases occurred on 453 (30.28%) days. Several pollution and weather predictors for AAD were confirmed by multilevel modeling. The air quality index (p = 0.0012), cloud amount (p = 0.0001), and concentrations of PM2.5 (p = 0.0004), PM10 (p = 0.0013), NO2 (p = 0.0007) and O3 (p = 0.0001) predicted AAD as early as 7 days before the incident (lag of 7 days) in the study period. However, only concentrations of the air pollutants NO2 (p = 0.0468) and O3 (p = 0.011) predicted the occurrence of AAD after the COVID-19 outbreak. Similar predictive effects were observed for temperature, dew point temperature, and atmospheric pressure (all p < 0.05) on all days.

Conclusion

The risk of AAD is closely related to air pollution and weather characteristics in Harbin. While causation was not determined, the impact of air pollutants on the risk of AAD was reduced after the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Effect of Maternal Exposure to Air Pollutants and Heavy Metals during Pregnancy on the Risk of Neurological Disorders Using the National Health Insurance Claims Data of South Korea

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of high levels of maternal exposure to ambient air pollution and heavy metals on risks of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and epilepsy using the National Health Insurance claims data of South Korea. The data of mothers and their newborns from 2016 to 2018 provided by the National Health Insurance Service were used (n = 843,134). Data on exposure to ambient air pollutants (PM2.5, CO, SO₂, NO₂, and O₃) and heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Fe, Ni, and As) during pregnancy were matched based on the mother's National Health Insurance registration area. SO₂ (OR: 2.723, 95% CI: 1.971-3.761) and Pb (OR: 1.063, 95% CI: 1.019-1.11) were more closely associated with the incidence of ASD when infants were exposed to them in the third trimester of pregnancy. Pb (OR: 1.109, 95% CI: 1.043-1.179) in the first trimester of pregnancy and Cd (OR: 2.193, 95% CI: 1.074-4.477) in the third trimester of pregnancy were associated with the incidence of epilepsy. Thus, exposure to SO₂, NO₂, and Pb during pregnancy could affect the development of a neurologic disorder based on the timing of exposure, suggesting a relationship with fetal development. However, further research is needed.