Children's Environmental Health in South and Southeast Asia: Networking for Better Child Health Outcomes

Environmental Impacts on Infectious Disease: A Literature View of Epidemiological Evidence

Background

This article summarises a session from the recent Pacific Basin Consortium for Environment and Health Focus meeting on Environmental Impacts on Infectious Disease.

Objective

To provide an overview of the literature underpinning the presentations from this session.

Methods

References used in developing the presentations were obtained from the presenters. Additional references were obtained from PubMed using key words from the presentations.

Findings and Conclusions

The Hokkaido longitudinal children's study has found that exposure to chemicals in early life, such as persistent organic pollutants and per/polyfluorinated compounds, is associated with a range of immunological outcomes such as decreased cord blood IgE, otitis media, wheeze, increased risk of infections and higher risk of food allergy.Epidemiological evidence links exposure to poor air quality to increased severity and mortality of Covid-19 in many parts of the world. Most studies suggest that long-term exposure has a more marked effect than acute exposure.Components of air pollution, such as a newly described combustion product known as environmentally persistent free radicals, induce oxidative stress in exposed individuals. Individuals with genetic variations predisposing them to oxidative stress are at increased risk of adverse health effects from poor air quality.

Internal Migration as a Social Determinant of Occupational Health and WASH Access in Myanmar

Background:

Migration is at an all-time high worldwide, and despite increased focus on international migrants, there is little evidence about internal migrants’ exposures to socioeconomic, occupational, and environmental risk factors in low-and middle-income countries.

Objective:

The aim of this study was to examine differences in occupational health and access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) between internal migrants and non-migrants.

Methods:

A face-to-face survey (n = 937) was conducted in Mandalay, Myanmar. Bivariate and multivariate analysis included traditional social determinants such as education, income, occupation, gender, age, and location in addition to internal migration status.

Findings:

The majority of internal migrants (23% of the total sample) were labor migrants (67.3%), and while common social determinants (e.g., household income, education, and gender) were not statistically different between migrants and non-migrants, these groups reported different occupational profiles (p < 0.001). Migrants had higher odds of being street vendors (AOR = 2.26; 95% CI 1.33–3.85; p = 0.003) and were less likely to work labor jobs such as in factories or construction (AOR = 0.44; 95% CI 0.19–1.00; p = 0.051) when controlling for age, gender, education, and location. Internal migrants had significantly greater probabilities of experiencing some injuries and illness symptoms, such as cuts, vomiting, coughing, heatstroke, and diarrhea at work (p < 0.001). Compared to non-migrants, migrants’ households were approximately three times more likely (AOR = 3.45; 95% CI 2.17–5.62; p < 0.001) to have an unimproved source of drinking water and twice as likely (AOR = 1.98; 95% CI 1.10–3.58; p < 0.05) to have unimproved sanitation facilities in their homes.

Conclusions:

The results underscore the importance of considering internal migration as an aspect of social determinants analyses, and the need for targeting appropriate WASH interventions to address inequities.

Risk Analysis Approaches to Evaluating Health Impacts from Land-Based Pollution in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Risk analysis offers a useful framework for evaluating and managing environmental health risks across different settings. In this Perspective, we question whether the principles and practice of risk analysis could be beneficial in the context of land-based pollution in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to better support risk-based decision making. Specifically, potential health and economic impacts from land-based pollution in LMICs has become an increasing issue of concern due to widespread environmental contamination from active and legacy operations, particularly informal activities that are becoming increasingly dispersed throughout communities, such as used lead acid battery recycling, artisanal and small-scale gold mining, and small-scale tanneries. However, the overall magnitude and scale of the public health problem arising from these sources remains highly uncertain and poorly characterized and cannot be compared to land-based pollution in high-income countries due to unique factors. This lack of knowledge has negatively affected the political priority and level of funding for risk mitigation actions targeting land-based pollution in these countries. Our primary objective is to raise further awareness of this emerging issue among risk analysts and decisionmakers and to advocate for more robust and focused research. Here, we highlight the types of industries and activities contributing to land-based pollution in LMICs and describe key findings and knowledge and data gaps that have hindered a fuller understanding of this issue. We also discuss how several risk assessment and risk management approaches might be useful in this resource-constrained context. We conclude that a combination of risk analysis approaches may be worthwhile, but more work is needed to determine which methods or tools will be most informative, technically feasible, and cost-effective for identifying, prioritizing, and mitigating land-based pollution in LMICs. Affected researchers, funding agencies, and local or national governments will need to work together to develop improved study designs and risk mitigation strategies.

India: country report on children's environmental health

Children contribute substantially to the burden of disease in India. Most common are problems with outdoor and household air pollution, with solutions not immediately apparent or implementable. Children are also often exposed to heavy metals, industrial chemicals and pesticides. Despite advances in some regions, many children still do not have adequate access to clean water and improved sanitation. Infectious diseases remain a problem, especially for children living in poverty. The children of these regions are now facing the dual problems of undernutrition and stunting on the one hand, and overnutrition and obesity on the other.

Molecular mechanisms linking environmental toxicants to cancer development: Significance for protective interventions with polyphenols

Human exposure to environmental toxicants with diverse mechanisms of action is a growing concern. In addition to well-recognized carcinogens, various chemicals in environmental and occupational settings have been suggested to impact health, increasing susceptibility to cancer by inducing genetic and epigenetic changes. Accordingly, in this review, we have discussed recent insights into the pathological mechanisms of these chemicals, namely their effects on cell redox and calcium homeostasis, mitochondria and inflammatory signaling, with a focus on the possible implications for multi-stage carcinogenesis and its reversal by polyphenols. Plant-derived polyphenols, such as epigallocatechin-gallate, resveratrol, curcumin and anthocyanins reduce the incidence of cancer and can be useful nutraceuticals for alleviating the detrimental outcomes of harmful pollutants. However, development of therapies based on polyphenol administration requires further studies to validate the biological efficacy, identifying effective doses, mode of action and new delivery forms. Innovative microphysiological testing models are presented and specific proposals for future trials are given. Merging the current knowledge of multifactorial actions of specific polyphenols and chief environmental toxicants, this work aims to potentiate the delivery of phytochemical-based protective treatments to individuals at high-risk due to environmental exposure.