Severe volcanic SO2 exposure and respiratory morbidity in the Icelandic population - a register study

Effects of sulfur dioxide inhalation on human health: a review

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is one of the most important gaseous air pollutants and the chemical index of sulfur oxides (SOx). SO2 is one of the six criteria pollutants in the air quality index (AQI). SO2 can be emitted by natural and anthropogenic sources. Although efforts have been made to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions worldwide, this pollutant and its adverse effects remain a major concern, especially in developing countries. The aim of this study was the investigated the effects of sulfur dioxide inhalation on human health. This narrative review was done based on the literature published from 2000 to 2022 through PubMed, Springer, Web of Science, Science Direct, and Google Scholar databases. In this study, was done screened first based on the abstract and Final assessment done based on the full text of the article. Finally, 38 articles were selected for inclusion in the study. The results of this study showed that sulfur dioxide has adverse health effects on the human respiratory, cardiovascular, and nervous systems and causes type 2 diabetes and non-accidental deaths. Although some evidence suggests that sulfur dioxide in given concentrations has no adverse health effect, its synergistic effects in combination with other air pollutants may be significant. Among the most important practical results of this study can be mentioned to increase the health awareness of the general public, help the politicians of the health sector in making decisions in the health field, creating awareness among polluting producing units and industries and efforts to reduce the emission of Sulfur dioxide.

Bifunctional near-infrared fluorescent probe for the selective detection of bisulfite and hypochlorous acid in food, water samples and in vivo

We report the development of a bifunctional near-infrared fluorescent probe (QZB) for selective sensing of bisulfite (HSO3-) and hypochlorous acid (HOCl). The synergistic detection of HSO3- and HOCl was achieved via a C=C bond recognition site. In comparison with the red-fluorescence QZB, two different products with non-fluorescence and paleturquoise fluorescence were produced by the recognition of QZB towards HSO3- and HOCl respectively, which can realize effectively the dual-functional detection of HSO3- and HOCl. QZB features prominent preponderances of dual-function response, near-infrared emission, reliability at physiological pH, low cytotoxicity and high sensitivity to HSO3- and HOCl. The detection of HSO3- in actual food samples has been successfully achieved using QZB. Utilization of QZB-based test strip to semi-quantitatively detect HSO3- and HOCl in real-world water samples by the "naked-eye" colorimetry are then demonstrated. Simultaneously, the determination of HSO3- and HOCl in real-world water sample has been achieved by smartphone-based standard curves. Additionally, the applications of QZB for imaging HSO3- and HOCl in vivo are successfully demonstrated. Consequently, the successful development of QZB could be promising as an efficient tool for researching the role of HSO3-/HOCl in the regulation of redox homeostasis regulation in vivo and complex signal transduction and for future food safety evaluation.

Ambient air pollution and emergency department visits and hospitalisation for cardiac arrest: a population-based case-crossover study in Reykjavik, Iceland

OBJECTIVES

To assess the association between traffic-related ambient air pollution and emergency hospital visits for cardiac arrest.

DESIGN

Case-crossover design was used with a lag time to 4 days.

SETTING

The Reykjavik capital area and the study population was the inhabitants 18 years and older identified by encrypted personal identification numbers and zip codes.

PARTICIPANTS AND EXPOSURE

Cases were those with emergency visits to Landspitali University Hospital during the period 2006-2017 and who were given the primary discharge diagnosis of cardiac arrest according to the International Classification of Diseases 10th edition (ICD-10) code I46. The pollutants were nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 10 µm (PM₁₀), particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 µm (PM_2.5) and sulfur dioxide (SO₂) with adjustment for hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), temperature and relative humidity.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

OR and 95% CIs per 10 µg/m³ increase in concentration of pollutants.

RESULTS

The 24-hour mean NO₂ was 20.7 µg/m³, mean PM₁₀ was 20.5 µg/m³, mean PM_2.5 was 12.5 µg/m³ and mean SO₂ was 2.5 µg/m³. PM₁₀ level was positively associated with the number of emergency hospital visits (n=453) for cardiac arrest. Each 10 µg/m³ increase in PM₁₀ was associated with increased risk of cardiac arrest (ICD-10: I46), OR 1.096 (95% CI 1.033 to 1.162) on lag 2, OR 1.118 (95% CI 1.031 to 1.212) on lag 0-2, OR 1.150 (95% CI 1.050 to 1.261) on lag 0-3 and OR 1.168 (95% CI 1.054 to 1.295) on lag 0-4. Significant associations were shown between exposure to PM₁₀ on lag 2 and lag 0-2 and increased risk of cardiac arrest in the age, gender and season strata.

CONCLUSIONS

A new endpoint was used for the first time in this study: cardiac arrest (ICD-10 code: I46) according to hospital discharge registry. Short-term increase in PM₁₀ concentrations was associated with cardiac arrest. Future ecological studies of this type and their related discussions should perhaps concentrate more on precisely defined endpoints.

Medication use in populations exposed to the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption: an interrupted time series analysis

OBJECTIVES

To assess the trends in medication use indicative of physical and psychological morbidity following the 2010 volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajökull immediately after and during a 3-year period following the eruption.

DESIGN

Population-based register study.

SETTING

Eyjafjallajökull eruption in Iceland, 2007-2013.

PARTICIPANTS

All residents in Iceland who received at least one medication dispensing were identified. Residents of exposed areas were classified into exposure groups (individual-level data) and residents in other parts of Iceland were included as a non-exposed group (aggregated data).

INTERVENTION/EXPOSURE

Eyjafjallajökull erupted on 14 April 2010 and continued for 39 days, producing heavy ash fall in South Iceland.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Using interrupted time series analysis, we examined annual and quarterly changes in medicine use, measured as number of dispensed defined daily dose (DDD) per 1000 individuals. We calculated the level shift (immediate change) and change in slope from pre-eruption to post-eruption (long-term change) in medication dispensing.

RESULTS

Among exposed residents, there was a 6% decrease (95% CI -7% to -4%) in the annual number of dispensed DDDs 1-year post-eruption in the overall medication class, including analgesics (-5%, 95% CI -6% to -3%), hypnotics and sedatives (-9%, 95% CI -11% to -7%) and respiratory medications (-7%, 95% CI -9% to -5%; -8%, 95% CI -11% to -4%). Simultaneously, there was a 9% decrease (95% CI -14% to -4%) in the overall medication class among non-exposed residents. Moreover, among exposed residents, we observed change in slope of -4% (95% CI -7% to -1%) in the overall medication class, including for analgesics (-6%, 95% CI -8% to -3%) and other respiratory drugs (-10%, 95% CI -16% to -4%).

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicate that the eruption did not lead to increases in medication dispensing among residents of exposed areas, rather decreases for some medicine classes. The results should be interpreted with caution since the content of each eruption differs.

Role of air pollutants in airway epithelial barrier dysfunction in asthma and COPD

Chronic exposure to environmental pollutants is a major contributor to the development and progression of obstructive airway diseases, including asthma and COPD. Understanding the mechanisms underlying the development of obstructive lung diseases upon exposure to inhaled pollutants will lead to novel insights into the pathogenesis, prevention and treatment of these diseases. The respiratory epithelial lining forms a robust physicochemical barrier protecting the body from inhaled toxic particles and pathogens. Inhalation of airborne particles and gases may impair airway epithelial barrier function and subsequently lead to exaggerated inflammatory responses and airway remodelling, which are key features of asthma and COPD. In addition, air pollutant-induced airway epithelial barrier dysfunction may increase susceptibility to respiratory infections, thereby increasing the risk of exacerbations and thus triggering further inflammation. In this review, we discuss the molecular and immunological mechanisms involved in physical barrier disruption induced by major airborne pollutants and outline their implications in the pathogenesis of asthma and COPD. We further discuss the link between these pollutants and changes in the lung microbiome as a potential factor for aggravating airway diseases. Understanding these mechanisms may lead to identification of novel targets for therapeutic intervention to restore airway epithelial integrity in asthma and COPD.

Exposure to air pollution induces airway epithelial barrier dysfunction through several mechanisms including increased oxidative stress, exaggerated cytokine responses and impaired host defence, which contributes to development of asthma and COPD. https://bit.ly/3DHL1CA

Ambient nitrogen dioxide is associated with emergency hospital visits for atrial fibrillation: a population-based case-crossover study in Reykjavik, Iceland

BACKGROUND

In Iceland air quality is generally good; however, previous studies indicate that there is an association between air pollution in Reykjavik and adverse health effects as measured by dispensing of medications, mortality, and increase in health care utilisation. The aim was to study the association between traffic-related ambient air pollution in the Reykjavik capital area and emergency hospital visits for heart diseases and particularly atrial fibrillation and flutter (AF).

METHODS

A multivariate time-stratified case-crossover design was used to study the association. Cases were those patients aged 18 years or older living in the Reykjavik capital area during the study period, 2006-2017, who made emergency visits to Landspitali University Hospital for heart diseases. In this population-based study, the primary discharge diagnoses were registered according to International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition (ICD-10). The pollutants studied were NO₂, PM₁₀, PM_2.5, and SO_2, with adjustment for H₂S, temperature, and relative humidity. The 24-h mean of pollutants was used with lag 0 to lag 4.

RESULTS

During the study period 9536 cases of AF were identified. The 24-h mean NO₂ was 20.7 μg/m³. Each 10 μg/m³ increase in NO₂ was associated with increased risk of heart diseases (ICD-10: I20-I25, I44-I50), odds ratio (OR) 1.023 (95% CI 1.012-1.034) at lag 0. Each 10 μg/m³ increase in NO₂ was associated with an increased risk of AF (ICD-10: I48) on the same day, OR 1.030 (95% CI: 1.011-1.049). Females were at higher risk for AF, OR 1.051 (95% CI 1.019-1.083) at lag 0, and OR 1.050 (95% CI 1.019-1.083) at lag 1. Females aged younger than 71 years had even higher risk for AF, OR 1.077 (95% CI: 1.025-1.131) at lag 0. Significant associations were found for other pollutants and emergency hospital visits, but they were weaker and did not show a discernable pattern.

CONCLUSIONS

Short-term increase in NO₂ concentrations was associated with heart diseases, more precisely with AF. The associations were stronger among females, and among females at younger age. This is the first study in Iceland that finds an association between air pollution and cardiac arrhythmias, so the results should be interpreted with caution.

Spatio-Temporal Characteristics of SO2 across Weifang from 2008 to 2020

China has achieved good results in SO₂ pollution control, but SO₂ pollution still exists in some areas. Analyzing the spatio-temporal distribution of SO₂ is critical for regional SO₂ pollution prevention and control. Compared with existing air pollution studies that paid more attention to PM₂.₅, NO₂ and O₃, and focused on the macro scale, this study took the small-scale Weifang city as the research area, analyzed the temporal and spatial changes in SO₂, discussed the migration trajectory of SO₂ pollution and explored the impact of wind on SO₂ pollution. The results show that the average annual concentration of SO₂ in Weifang has exhibited a downward trend in the past 13 years, showing the basic characteristics of “highest in winter, lowest in summer and slightly higher in spring and autumn”, “highest on Sunday, lowest on Thursday and gradually decreasing from Monday to Thursday” and “highest at 9 a.m., lowest at 4 p.m. and gradually increasing from midnight to 9 a.m.”. SO₂ concentration showed obvious spatial heterogeneity: higher in the north and lower in the south. In addition, Shouguang, Changyi and Gaomi were seriously polluted. The SO₂ pollution shifted from south to northeast. The clean wind direction (southeast wind and northeast wind) of Weifang city accounted for about 41%, and the pollution wind direction (northwest wind and west wind) accounted for about 7%. Drawing from the multi-scale analysis, vegetation, precipitation, temperature, transport situation and human activity were the most relevant factors. Limited to data collection, more quantitative research is needed to gain insight into the influence mechanism in the future.

Increased respiratory morbidity associated with exposure to a mature volcanic plume from a large Icelandic fissure eruption

The 2014-15 Holuhraun eruption in Iceland was the largest fissure eruption in over 200 years, emitting prodigious amounts of gas and particulate matter into the troposphere. Reykjavík, the capital area of Iceland (250 km from eruption site) was exposed to air pollution events from advection of (i) a relatively young and chemically primitive volcanic plume with a high sulphur dioxide gas (SO2) to sulphate PM (SO42-) ratio, and (ii) an older and chemically mature volcanic plume with a low SO2/SO42- ratio. Whereas the advection and air pollution caused by the primitive plume were successfully forecast and forewarned in public advisories, the mature plume was not. Here, we show that exposure to the mature plume is associated with an increase in register-measured health care utilisation for respiratory disease by 23% (95% CI 19.7-27.4%) and for asthma medication dispensing by 19.3% (95% CI 9.6-29.1%). Absence of public advisories is associated with increases in visits to primary care medical doctors and to the hospital emergency department. We recommend that operational response to volcanic air pollution considers both primitive and mature types of plumes.