Journal: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Abbreviation

Int J Environ Res Public Health

Publisher

MDPI

Journal Volumes

ISSN

1660-4601
1661-7827

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2011 - 201972020 - 202535
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Publications 1 - 10 of 42
  • Ground Water Chemistry Changes before Major Earthquakes and Possible Effects on Animals
    Item type: Conference Paper
    Grant, Rachel A.; Halliday, Tim; Balderer, Werner P.; et al. (2011)
    International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
    Prior to major earthquakes many changes in the environment have been documented. Though often subtle and fleeting, these changes are noticeable at the land surface, in water, in the air, and in the ionosphere. Key to understanding these diverse pre-earthquake phenomena has been the discovery that, when tectonic stresses build up in the Earth’s crust, highly mobile electronic charge carriers are activated. These charge carriers are defect electrons on the oxygen anion sublattice of silicate minerals, known as positive holes, chemically equivalent to O– in a matrix of O2–. They are remarkable inasmuch as they can flow out of the stressed rock volume and spread into the surrounding unstressed rocks. Travelling fast and far the positive holes cause a range of follow-on reactions when they arrive at the Earth’s surface, where they cause air ionization, injecting massive amounts of primarily positive air ions into the lower atmosphere. When they arrive at the rock-water interface, they act as •O radicals, oxidizing water to hydrogen peroxide. Other reactions at the rock-water interface include the oxidation or partial oxidation of dissolved organic compounds, leading to changes of their fluorescence spectra. Some compounds thus formed may be irritants or toxins to certain species of animals. Common toads, Bufo bufo, were observed to exhibit a highly unusual behavior prior to a M6.3 earthquake that hit L’Aquila, Italy, on April 06, 2009: a few days before the seismic event the toads suddenly disappeared from their breeding site in a small lake about 75 km from the epicenter and did not return until after the aftershock series. In this paper we discuss potential changes in groundwater chemistry prior to seismic events and their possible effects on animals.
  • Sustainability Assessment of Combined Animal Fodder and Fuel Production from Microalgal Biomass
    Item type: Journal Article
    Portner, Benjamin W.; Valente, Antonio; Guenther, Sandy (2021)
    International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
    We present a comparative environmental and social life cycle assessment (ELCA and SLCA) of algal fuel and fodder co-production (AF + fodder) versus algal fuel and energy co-production (AF + energy). Our ELCA results indicate that fodder co-production offers an advantage in the following categories: climate change (biogenic land use and land use change total), ecotoxicity, marine eutrophication, ionizing radiation, photochemical ozone creation, and land use. By contrast, the AF + energy system yields lower impacts in the other 11 out of 19 Environmental Footprint impact categories. Only AF + fodder offers greenhouse gas reduction compared to petroleum diesel (−25%). Our SLCA results indicate that AF + fodder yields lower impacts in the following categories: fair salaries, forced labor, gender wage gap, health expenditure, unemployment, and violation of employment laws and regulations. AF + energy performs favorably in the other three out of nine social indicators. We conclude that the choice of co-products has a strong influence on the sustainability of algal fuel production. Despite this, none of the compared systems are found to yield a consistent advantage in the environmental or social dimension. It is, therefore, not possible to recommend a co-production strategy without weighing environmental and social issues.
  • Rapid Review on COVID-19, Work-Related Aspects, and Age Differences
    Item type: Review Article
    Bellotti, Lara; Zaniboni, Sara; Balducci, Cristian; et al. (2021)
    International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
    The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the labor market and multiple aspects of work and workers’ life. The present rapid review analyzes this impact considering the effects that COVID-19 pandemic had on employment and work-related aspects across different age groups. A comprehensive literature search was performed on scientific contributions published between 2019 and March 2021, resulting in 36 papers pertinent to the scope of this review. Findings were grouped according to different topics, all linked to age: occupational risk, implications on the labor market (i.e., job loss and reemployment, job insecurity, turnover intentions and retirement, and healthcare workers’ return-to-work phase), remote work, and key individual and organizational resources and strategies. Overall, the review revealed variability across age groups in the impact this pandemic had on employment and several work-related aspects (i.e., occupational risk, remote work). Findings supported an age-differential effect of normative history-graded events such as the current pandemic, highlighting different responses and consequences depending on workers’ age.
  • Mental Illness and Work-Related Limitations in Healthcare Workers: A Preliminary Retrospective Study
    Item type: Journal Article
    Gostoli, Sara; Nicolucci, Laura; Malaguti, Carlotta; et al. (2022)
    International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
    This retrospective observational study investigated hospital staff requests for job fitness visits, addressed to occupational medicine. Specific objectives were to analyze: (1) health workers' requests, sociodemographic characteristics, psychiatric diagnoses, assigned doctor's fit notes, and (orthopedic, psychiatric) limitations; (2) associations between psychiatric diagnoses, sociodemographic (sex, age), and work-related (job, department) characteristics; (3) associations between the same psychiatric diagnoses/orthopedic limitations, fit notes, and/or psychiatric limitations. Data of St. Orsola-Malpighi Polyclinic health workers (N = 149; F = 73.8%; mean age = 48 ± 9.6 years), visited by both the occupational medicine physician and psychiatrist (January 2016-May 2019), were analyzed. 83.2% of the sample presented with at least one psychiatric diagnosis, including mood (47%), anxiety (13.4%), and anxious-depressive (10.7%) disorders. Significant differences between psychiatric diagnoses according to sex and fit notes (both p < 0.01) have been found, whereas no significant associations based on age and work-related characteristics have been observed. Analysis of frequencies of participants with the same psychiatric diagnosis (orthopedic limitation being equal), according to doctor's fit notes and psychiatric work limitations, showed a high heterogeneity of assignments. The current occupational medicine procedure for fit notes/job limitations assignments does not allow taking into consideration clinical factors possibly associated with more specific assignments. To standardize the procedure and translate the psychiatrist's clinical judgment into practice, further studies to test the usefulness of clinimetrics, which might represent a reliable approach in considering different fit notes and job limitations, are needed.
  • The Association of Attending Physicians' Publications and Patients' Readmission Rates: Evidence from Tertiary Hospitals in China Using a Retrospective Data Analysis
    Item type: Journal Article
    Shen, Menghan; Liang, Xiaoxia; Li, Linyan; et al. (2022)
    International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
    Background: Physicians play a unique role in scientific and clinical research, which is the cornerstone of evidence-based medical practice. In China, tertiary public hospitals link promotions and bonuses with publications. However, the weight placed on research in the clinician's evaluation process and its potential impact on clinical practice have come under controversy. Despite the heated debate about physicians' role in research, there is little empirical evidence about the relationship between physicians' publications and their clinical outcomes. Method: This paper examines the association of the quantity and quality of tertiary hospitals' attending physicians' publications and inpatient readmission rates in China. We analyzed a 20% random sample of inpatient data from the Urban Employee Basic Medical Health Insurance scheme in one of the largest cities in China from January 2018 through October 2019. We assessed the relationship between the quantity and impact factor of physicians' publications and 30-day inpatient readmission rates using logistic regression. There were 111,965 hospitalizations treated by 5794 physicians in our sample. Results: Having any first-author publications was not associated with the rate of readmission. Among internists, having clinical studies published in journals with an average impact factor of 3 or above was associated with lower readmission rates (OR = 0.849; 95% CI (0.740, 0.975)), but having basic science studies published in journals with an average impact factor of 3 or above was not associated with the rate of readmission. Among surgeons, having clinical studies published in journals with an average impact factor of 3 or above was likewise associated with lower readmission rates (OR = 0.708 (0.531, 0.946)), but having basic science studies published in journals with an average impact factor of 3 or above was associated with higher readmission rates (OR = 1.230 (1.051, 1.439)).
  • Towards the Validation of an Observational Tool to Detect Impaired Drivers-An Online Video Study
    Item type: Journal Article
    Baertsch, Tanja; Menozzi, Marino; Ghelfi, Signe M. (2022)
    International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
    Abuse of alcohol and other drugs is a major risk factor at work. To reduce this risk, workplace drug testing is performed in transportation and other industries. VERIFY, an observational method, is one of the key elements in a procedure adopted by the police of the canton of Zurich, Switzerland, for detecting impaired drivers. The observational method has been successfully applied by adequately trained police officers since 2014. The aim of this study is to examine the interrater reliability of the observational method, the effect of training in use of the method, and the role of having experience in the police force and traffic police force on the outcome when rating a driver's impairment. For this purpose, driver impairment in staged road traffic controls presented in videos was rated by laypeople (n = 81), and police officers without (n = 146) and with training (n = 172) in the VERIFY procedure. In general, the results recorded for police officers with training revealed a moderate to very good interrater reliability of the observational method. Among the three groups, impaired drivers were best identified by officers with training (ranging between 82.6% and 89.5% correct identification). Trained officers reported a higher impairment severity of the impaired drivers than the other two groups, indicating that training increases sensitivity to signs of impairment. Our findings also suggest that online video technology could be helpful in identifying impaired drivers. Trained police officers could be connected to a road traffic control to make observations via live video. By this method efficiency and reliability in detecting abuse of alcohol and other drugs could be improved. Our findings also apply to workplace drug testing in general.
  • High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) in Hypoxia Improves Maximal Aerobic Capacity More Than HIIT in Normoxia: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Meta-Regression
    Item type: Review Article
    Westmacott, Ailsa; Sanal-Hayes, Nilihan E.M.; McLaughlin, Marie; et al. (2022)
    International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
    The present study aimed to determine the effect of high intensity interval training (HIIT) in hypoxia on maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) compared with HIIT in normoxia with a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA)-accordant meta-analysis and meta-regression. Studies which measured VO2max following a minimum of 2 weeks intervention featuring HIIT in hypoxia versus HIIT in normoxia were included. From 119 originally identified titles, nine studies were included (n = 194 participants). Meta-analysis was conducted on change in (∆) VO2max using standardised mean difference (SMD) and a random effects model. Meta-regression examined the relationship between the extent of environmental hypoxia (fractional inspired oxygen [FiO2]) and ∆VO2max and intervention duration and ∆VO2max. The overall SMD for ∆VO2max following HIIT in hypoxia was 1.14 (95% CI = 0.56–1.72; p < 0.001). Meta-regressions identified no significant relationship between FiO2 (coefficient estimate = 0.074, p = 0.852) or intervention duration (coefficient estimate = 0.071, p = 0.423) and ∆VO2max. In conclusion, HIIT in hypoxia improved VO2max compared to HIIT in normoxia. Neither extent of hypoxia, nor training duration modified this effect, however the range in FiO2 was small, which limits interpretation of this meta-regression. Moreover, training duration is not the only training variable known to influence ∆VO2max, and does not appropriately capture total training stress or load. This meta-analysis provides pooled evidence that HIIT in hypoxia may be more efficacious at improving VO2max than HIIT in normoxia. The application of these data suggest adding a hypoxic stimuli to a period of HIIT may be more effective at improving VO2max than HIIT alone. Therefore, coaches and athletes with access to altitude (either natural or simulated) should consider implementing HIIT in hypoxia, rather than HIIT in normoxia where possible, assuming no negative side effects.
  • Effects of Non-Essential “Toxic” Trace Elements on Pregnancy Outcomes: A Narrative Overview of Recent Literature Syntheses
    Item type: Review Article
    Dettwiler, Maria; Flynn, Angela C.; Rigutto-Farebrother, Jessica (2023)
    International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
    Adverse pregnancy outcomes and their complications cause increased maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality and contribute considerably to the global burden of disease. In the last two decades, numerous narrative and systematic reviews have emerged assessing non-essential, potentially harmful, trace element exposure as a potential risk factor. This narrative review summarizes the recent literature covering associations between exposure to cadmium, lead, arsenic, and mercury and pregnancy outcomes and highlights common limitations of existing evidence that may hinder decision-making within public health. Several initial scoping searches informed our review, and we searched PubMed (latest date July 2022) for the literature published within the last five years reporting on cadmium, lead, arsenic, or mercury and pre-eclampsia, preterm birth, or prenatal growth. Pre-eclampsia may be associated with cadmium and strongly associated with lead exposure, and exposure to these metals may increase risk of preterm birth. Many reviews have observed cadmium to be negatively associated with birth weight. Additionally, lead and arsenic exposure may be negatively associated with birth weight, with arsenic exposure also adversely affecting birth length and head circumference. These findings should be interpreted with caution due to the limitations of the reviews summarized in this paper, including high heterogeneity due to different exposure assessment methods, study designs, and timing of sampling. Other common limitations were the low quality of the included studies, differences in confounding variables, the low number of studies, and small sample sizes.
  • Motility in frail older adults: Operationalization of a new framework and first insights into its relationship with physical activity and life-space mobility: An exploratory study
    Item type: Journal Article
    Seinsche, Julia; Zijlstra, Wiebren; Giannouli, Eleftheria (2020)
    International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
    In order to design effective interventions to prevent age-related mobility loss, it is important to identify influencing factors. The concept of “motility” by Kaufmann et al. subdivides such factors into three categories: “access”, “skills”, and “appropriation”. The aim of this study was to assemble appropriate quantitative assessment tools for the assessment of these factors in frail older adults and to get first insights into their relative contribution for life-space and physical activity-related mobility. This is an exploratory cross-sectional study conducted with twenty-eight at least prefrail, retired participants aged 61–94. Life-space mobility was assessed using the “University of Alabama at Birmingham Life-space Assessment” (LSA) and physical activity using the “German Physical Activity Questionnaire” (PAQ50+). Factors from the category “appropriation”, followed by factors from the category “skills” showed the strongest associations with the LSA. Factors from the category “access” best explained the variance for PAQ50+. This study’s findings indicate the importance of accounting for and examining comprehensive models of mobility. The proposed assessment tools need to be explored in more depth in longitudinal studies with larger sample sizes in order to yield more conclusive results about the appropriateness of the motility concept for such purposes.
  • Development of Policy Relevant Human Biomonitoring Indicators for Chemical Exposure in the European Population
    Item type: Journal Article
    Buekers, Jurgen; David, Madlen; Koppen, Gudrun; et al. (2018)
    International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
    The European Union’s 7th Environmental Action Programme (EAP) aims to assess and minimize environmental health risks from the use of hazardous chemicals by 2020. From this angle, policy questions like whether an implemented policy to reduce chemical exposure has had an effect over time, whether the health of people in specific regions or subpopulations is at risk, or whether the body burden of chemical substances (the internal exposure) varies with, for example, time, country, sex, age, or socio-economic status, need to be answered. Indicators can help to synthesize complex scientific information into a few key descriptors with the purpose of providing an answer to a non-expert audience. Human biomonitoring (HBM) indicators at the European Union (EU) level are unfortunately lacking. Within the Horizon2020 European Human Biomonitoring project HBM4EU, an approach to develop European HBM indicators was worked out. To learn from and ensure interoperability with other European indicators, 15 experts from the HBM4EU project (German Umweltbundesamt (UBA), Flemish research institute VITO, University of Antwerp, European Environment Agency (EEA)), and the World Health Organization (WHO), European Core Health Indicator initiative (ECHI), Eurostat, Swiss ETH Zurich and the Czech environmental institute CENIA, and contributed to a workshop, held in June 2017 at the EEA in Copenhagen. First, selection criteria were defined to evaluate when and if results of internal chemical exposure measured by HBM, need to be translated into a European HBM-based indicator. Two main aspects are the HBM indicator’s relevance for policy, society, health, and the quality of the biomarker data (availability, comparability, ease of interpretation). Secondly, an approach for the calculation of the indicators was designed. Two types of indicators were proposed: ‘sum indicators of internal exposure’ derived directly from HBM biomarker concentrations and ‘indicators for health risk’, comparing HBM concentrations to HBM health-based guidance values (HBM HBGVs). In the latter case, both the percentage of the studied population exceeding the HBM HBGVs (PE) and the extent of exceedance (EE), calculated as the population’s exposure level divided by the HBM HBGV, can be calculated. These indicators were applied to two examples of hazardous chemicals: bisphenol A (BPA) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), which both have high policy and societal relevance and for which high quality published data were available (DEMOCOPHES, Swedish monitoring campaign). European HBM indicators help to summarize internal exposure to chemical substances among the European population and communicate to what degree environmental policies are successful in keeping internal exposures sufficiently low. The main aim of HBM indicators is to allow follow-up of chemical safety in Europe.
Publications 1 - 10 of 42