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Yalçin SS, Gezgen Kesen G, Güçiz Doğan B, Yalçin S, Acar Vaizoğlu S. Mother's knowledge for environmental risks and self-awareness for the presence of pollutants in her living area in West and Central Anatolia: a cross-sectional survey. BMC Public Health 2023; 23:1780. [PMID: 37710255 PMCID: PMC10500730 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-16684-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/02/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Environmental risk awareness is a key concept to raise awareness and plan future programs for environmental protection. A cross-sectional household survey aimed to find out the presence of environmental hazards next to living area and the mother's knowledge levels about environmental risk factors with their related factors according to district development ranking, and Western and Central Anatolian regions with sampling from rural and urban residence. METHOD The study was designed with household sampling weighted according to population density in 2008. Data on the demography and health status, dwelling characteristics of the residents are also collected in 2009. In addition, open-ended questions "What does environmental risk/hazard mean?" and "Which environmental risks/hazards are present in your environment?" were asked. The data collected from the survey were analyzed using multivariate binary logistic regression. RESULTS The sample included 3489 mothers living either in urban or rural areas. Of the mothers, 19.3% did not know what an environmental risk is and 75.7% stated that there was at least one environmental pollutant in their environment. The most commonly perceived risk factor was air pollution (23.0%), which was reported to be present in their living areas by 12.4%. Regions, residence, settlement features of the house, and health status of family members were associated with the perception of environmental risk at a statistically significant level. CONCLUSION The neighborhood conditions and health status of family associated with the mother's awareness for environmental risk factors. Communication and cooperation between local governments, health institutions, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders should be strengthened to increase risk awareness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sıddika Songül Yalçin
- Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Türkiye.
| | - Gamze Gezgen Kesen
- Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Türkiye
| | - Bahar Güçiz Doğan
- Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Türkiye
| | - Suzan Yalçin
- Department of Food Hygiene and Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Selcuk University, Konya, Türkiye
| | - Songül Acar Vaizoğlu
- Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Near East University, Nicosia, Northern Cyprus
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Bustaffa E, Curzio O, Bianchi F, Minichilli F, Nuvolone D, Petri D, Stoppa G, Voller F, Cori L. Community Concern about the Health Effects of Pollutants: Risk Perception in an Italian Geothermal Area. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:14145. [PMID: 36361039 PMCID: PMC9655741 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192114145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2022] [Revised: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Geothermal fluids for electricity and heat production have long been exploited in the Mt. Amiata area (Tuscany, Italy). Public concern about the health impact of geothermal plants has been present from the outset. Several factors influence the way people perceive risk; therefore, the objective of the present research is to develop indicators of risk perception and assess indices differences in relation to some questionnaire variables. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in the Amiata area on 2029 subjects aged 18-77. From the questionnaire section about risk perception from environmental hazards, four indicators were developed and analysed. A total of 64% of the subjects considered the environmental situation to be acceptable or excellent, 32% serious but reversible, and 4% serious and irreversible; as the values of the various perception indicators increased, an upward trend was observed in the averages. Risk perception was higher among women and young people, and was associated with higher education. Those who smelled bad odours in their surroundings reported higher risk perception. Furthermore, risk perception was higher in four municipalities. The results represent the basis for further investigations to analyse the link among risk perception indicators, exposure parameters, and health status.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Bustaffa
- Unit of Environmental Epidemiology and Disease Registries, Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, Via Moruzzi 1, 56123 Pisa, Italy
| | - Olivia Curzio
- Unit of Environmental Epidemiology and Disease Registries, Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, Via Moruzzi 1, 56123 Pisa, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Bianchi
- Unit of Environmental Epidemiology and Disease Registries, Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, Via Moruzzi 1, 56123 Pisa, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Minichilli
- Unit of Environmental Epidemiology and Disease Registries, Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, Via Moruzzi 1, 56123 Pisa, Italy
| | - Daniela Nuvolone
- Unit of Epidemiology, Regional Health Agency of Tuscany, Via Pietro Dazzi 1, 50141 Florence, Italy
| | - Davide Petri
- Unit of Epidemiology, Regional Health Agency of Tuscany, Via Pietro Dazzi 1, 50141 Florence, Italy
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Via Roma 67, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Giorgia Stoppa
- Unit of Epidemiology, Regional Health Agency of Tuscany, Via Pietro Dazzi 1, 50141 Florence, Italy
- Unit of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Public Health, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, Via Loredan 18, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Fabio Voller
- Unit of Epidemiology, Regional Health Agency of Tuscany, Via Pietro Dazzi 1, 50141 Florence, Italy
| | - Liliana Cori
- Unit of Environmental Epidemiology and Disease Registries, Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, Via Moruzzi 1, 56123 Pisa, Italy
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Ruggieri S, Drago G, Panunzi S, Rizzo G, Tavormina EE, Maltese S, Cibella F. The Influence of Sociodemographic Factors, Lifestyle, and Risk Perception on Dietary Patterns in Pregnant Women Living in Highly Contaminated Areas: Data from the NEHO Birth Cohort. Nutrients 2022; 14:nu14173489. [PMID: 36079747 PMCID: PMC9458243 DOI: 10.3390/nu14173489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Revised: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 08/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
During pregnancy, maternal nutrition and lifestyle play a critical role in influencing fetal development and newborn health outcomes. The aim of this study is to investigate the factors influencing the adherence to dietary patterns in pregnant women living in highly contaminated areas, and whether women with higher environmental risk perception manifest different nutritional behaviors during pregnancy. Food consumption data on 816 pregnant women from the Neonatal Environment and Health Outcomes (NEHO) residential birth cohort were analyzed. Dietary patterns were computed by principal component analysis. A multinomial logistic regression was also applied to identify sociodemographic, lifestyle, and pregnancy-related determinants of adherence to dietary patterns during pregnancy. Three patterns of food consumption—explaining 24.9% of the total variance—were identified as “prudent”, “high energy”, and “vegetarian” patterns. Results suggest that food choices during pregnancy follow a social gradient and align with other health behaviors during pregnancy: older, better educated, and physically active women with higher risk perception are more likely to follow healthier dietary patterns. Knowledge about what is eaten can contribute to dietary choices. Interventions to improve the prenatal nutrition knowledge of pregnant women are needed, especially concerning younger mothers and those with lower educational levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Ruggieri
- Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation, National Research Council of Italy, 90146 Palermo, Italy
| | - Gaspare Drago
- Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation, National Research Council of Italy, 90146 Palermo, Italy
- Correspondence:
| | - Simona Panunzi
- Institute for System Analysis and Computer Science—BioMatLab, National Research Council of Italy, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Giulia Rizzo
- Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation, National Research Council of Italy, 90146 Palermo, Italy
| | - Elisa Eleonora Tavormina
- Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation, National Research Council of Italy, 90146 Palermo, Italy
| | - Sabina Maltese
- Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation, National Research Council of Italy, 90146 Palermo, Italy
| | - Fabio Cibella
- Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation, National Research Council of Italy, 90146 Palermo, Italy
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