Physiological equivalent temperature (PET) and non-accidental, cardiovascular and respiratory disease mortality in Ahvaz, Iran

Investigating the impact of air pollution and temperature changes on emergency admissions (cardiovascular + respiratory) disease in the city of Bojnord, northeastern Iran

Cardiovascular (CVD) + Respiratory diseases are recognized as the main cause of death worldwide. Fluctuations in temperature and air pollution have been reported as one of the most important causes of cardiovascular & respiratory diseases. Therefore, in the current study, we assessed the relationship between ambient air temperature and pollution on the number of total emergency hospital admission due to cardiovascular and respiratory conditions in the City of Bojnord, northeastern Iran. The meteorological data, including daily temperature, relative humidity and concentrations of five air pollutants CO, NO2, NOX SO2, and PM10 were obtained from online electronic sensors at the Bojnurd meteorological station from 21th March 2018 to 20th March 2020. Statistical analysis, penalized distributed lag non-linear method was applied using R Software. Also, sensitivity analysis test was calculated by using appropriate application. The results of the study revealed that the effect of higher and lower temperatures was observed immediately from the first day and the second week, respectively. Also result showed with increase and decrease temperature, significantly increased the risk of hospitalization by 36% (RR, 1.36; 95% CI (1), 0.95 to 1.95) and 17% (RR, 1.17; 95% CI (1), 0.88 to 1.55) until the lag 25th day, respectively. Based on the results, increasing temperature significantly increased the hospitalization rate of cardiopulmonary patients, but the effect of cold was not significant on the population as well as age and gender subgroups. Study have also proved that there is no significance correlation between air pollutant and Cardiovascular & respiratory diseases.

Effects of climate and environment on migratory old people with allergic diseases in China: Protocol for a Sanya cohort study

Background

Several studies have reported that the mountain climate can alleviate asthma, however, the effect of tropical climate on migratory elderly, especially in people with respiratory or allergic diseases is unknown.

Objectives

This cohort study aims to explore impact of climate and environmental changes on allergic diseases in migratory old people.

Methods

In this prospective cohort study, we recruited 750 older migratory people, the majority of whom were homeowners to minimize the risk of loss to follow up. The study's inclusion criteria were elderly individuals had moved from northern China to Sanya and suffered from either asthma or allergic diseases. Prior to participation, these individuals provided informed consent and underwent baseline assessment. Subsequently, they will be followed for three years. A face-to-face interview was conducted to gather information regarding their living environment and habits. Trained investigators administered the questionnaires and performed physical examinations including height, weight, and blood pressure, while a professional respiratory doctor conducted pulmonary function tests. Blood samples were promptly tested routine blood test, liver function, kidney function, glucose, triglyceride, allergens, and inflammatory factors. Climate and environmental data were obtained from Sanya Meteorological Bureau and Ecological Environment Bureau, respectively. We primarily compared the differences of participants with asthma or allergic diseases between northern China and Sanya in southern China by Chi-square test, t-test or Wilcoxon rank-sum test.

Findings

A total of 750 participants were recruited in this cohort from fourteen communities. All participants were surveyed questionnaires about health and family environment, underwent physical examinations, and collected biological samples for laboratory examinations.

Novelty

This is the first study to evaluate the effects of tropical climate and environment on elderly migrants from cold regions. This study has important implication for the health tourism and aging health, especially for the elderly migrants who suffered the respiratory and allergic diseases. Furthermore, this cohort study establishes a solid foundation for investigating the influence of environmental changes on elderly migrants with allergic diseases.

Evaluation of the effect of particulate matter on construction accidents using relative probability

PM10 is known to have a great adverse effect on the human body. However, there is a lack of research analyzing the impact of PM10 on the occurrence of accidents. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to analyze the correlation between PM10 and accidents in the construction industry and to present a new concentration group to manage accidents caused by PM10 in the construction industry. This study was conducted in the following four stages. (i) collection of data, (ii) classification of data, (iii) relative probability analysis, and (iv) modified PM10 group classification. The main results of this study are as follows. When the frequency analysis of the traditional method was conducted, 3,721 accidents occurred at a PM10 concentration of 32 μg/m3. However, as a result of the relative probability analysis presented in this study, it was confirmed that the relative accident probability increased as the PM10 concentration increased. In addition, the current PM10 concentration is presented by the WHO in six groups from a health perspective. However, in this study, the newly proposed PM10 group was classified into three groups from the perspective of the probability of construction accidents. The group proposed in this study is not from a health perspective but a group for managing construction site accidents. The contribution of this study was to confirm that PM10 also affects accidents occurring at construction sites, and the impact of PM10 on accidents was quantitatively analyzed through the relative probability analysis presented in this study.

Government is expected to lead the payment of heat-resilient infrastructure

Urban heat is severe in numerous cities, but the urgency of heat action and support for the development of heat-resilient infrastructure is unclear. To address these research gaps, this study investigated the perceived urgency of developing heat-resilient infrastructure and associated payment issues in eight megacities, in China using a questionnaire survey of 3758 respondents in August 2020. Overall, the respondents thought it was moderately urgent to take actions to address heat-related challenges. The development of mitigation and adaptation infrastructure is urgent. About 86.4% of the 3758 respondents expected the government to be involved in paying for heat-resilient infrastructure, but 41.2% supported cost-sharing among the government, developers, and owners. There were 1299 respondents willing to pay, resulting in an average annual payment of 44.06 RMB in a conservative scenario. This study is important for decision-makers to formulate plans on heat-resilient infrastructure and to release financial strategies for collecting investments and funds.