Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Hearing Loss, JAMA, Occupational Health / 22.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Harrison W. Lin, M.D. Assistant Professor Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery UC Irvine Medical Center Orange, CA 92868 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We reviewed the data from the Integrated Health Interview Series, which is a project funded by the National Institutes of Health to supplement the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a household-based, personal interview survey administered by the US Census Bureau and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since 1957. The NHIS serves as the largest source of health information in the civilian population of the United States. Analyzing the available data on tinnitus symptoms from this survey, we found that approximately 1 in 10 Americans have chronic tinnitus. Moreover, durations of occupational and leisure time noise exposures correlated with rates of tinnitus – people who reported higher rates of loud noise exposures at work and recreationally more frequently reported chronic tinnitus. Finally, health care providers provided advice and treatment plans to patients with chronic tinnitus that were infrequently in line with the clinical practice guidelines published by the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery Foundation. (more…)
Asthma, Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, JAMA / 18.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sara Rasmussen PhD Student Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Department of Environmental Health Sciences Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Baltimore, Maryland MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Residents of communities undergoing unconventional natural gas development (the “fracking” industry) and those nearby can be exposed to noise, light, vibration, heavy truck traffic, air pollution, social disruption, and anxiety related to rapid industrial development of one’s community. In Pennsylvania, development began in the mid-2000s and by 2012, 6,253 wells were drilled. In our study, we found increased odds of asthma hospitalizations, asthma emergency department visits, and asthma oral corticosteroid medication orders (a medication used for asthma exacerbations) among asthma patients residing near bigger or larger numbers of active unconventional natural gas wells compared to those residing farther away. (more…)
Asthma, Author Interviews, Environmental Risks / 11.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jamie T Mullins PhD Environmental Economics and Applied Microeconomic Department of Resource Economics University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, MA 01003 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Episodic triggers of asthma are widely known, but the root causes of the condition still aren’t well understood. There is also very limited evidence on the long-term impacts of exposure to air pollution. Speaking to both issues, we find evidence linking the development of asthma to exposure to a significant air pollution event early in life. The 1952 London Smog provides a natural experiment for studying the underlying cause of asthma and the long-term effects of air pollution exposure, while limiting threats from statistical confounding. The London Smog (also called the “Great Smog”) dramatically increased concentrations of air pollution across the city in December of 1952. We compare the incidence of asthma among those exposed to the Great Smog in utero or the first year of life to those in relevant comparison groups, including those conceived after the incident and those residing outside the affected area at the time of the Smog. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Heart Disease / 12.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Marko Mornar Jelavic, MD, PhD Department for Internal Medicine and Dialysis Health Center Zagreb Zagreb, Croatia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia which is placed in South-Eastern Europe. The wider Zagreb metropolitan area has the total population of up to 1.2 million (20% of the total Croatia’s population). The climate of Zagreb is classified as a humid continental. The average daily mean temperature in winter is around +1 °C (from December to February) and the average temperature in summer is 22.0 °C. For the first time, we wanted to investigate whether particles of dimensions ≤10 micrometers (PM10) nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3), as well as certain meteorological conditions (air temperature, humidity and pressure) have any impact on appearance of myocardial infarction (MI) in the region with a humid continental climate. (more…)
Anesthesiology, Author Interviews, Critical Care - Intensive Care - ICUs, Environmental Risks / 02.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Eveline Claes Jessa Ziekenhuis Hospital Hasselt, Belgium MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The background of this study was the presence of noise in our ICU, and patients complaining about it. We wanted to look into the problem. The main findings were that there is indeed too much noise in our ICU compared to the WHO recommendations, but the measured sound levels were comparable with other ICU's. (more…)
AHA Journals, Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, Environmental Risks / 01.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Tao Liu Ph.D Guangdong Provincial Institute of Public Health Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Hypertension is the most important cause of disability and the leading risk factor for death globally and causes approximately 16.5% of all deaths. Since the 1990s, many epidemiological studies have investigated the associations between air pollution exposure and hypertension, the two most common public health concerns. However, their results remain controversial. Some studies found an association between them, while other studies sowed either no association or an association only for selected pollutants. In order to quantitatively synthesize and interpret these inconsistent and controversial results, here we used a new analysis method (Meta-analysis) to combine results from different previous studies to estimate the overall effect of every air pollutant on hypertension. This is the first study to simultaneously estimate the effects of short-term and long-term exposure to air pollutants on hypertension by meta-analysis. These results could provide more explicit information for policy decisions and clinical use. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Endocrinology, Environmental Risks, Lipids / 27.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Maayan Yitshak Sade MPH Chief Scientific Officer Clinical Research Center, Soroka University Medical Center, Israel and   Victor Novack, MD, PhD Soroka University Medical Center and Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheva, Israel   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Numerous studies found association between exposure the air pollution and increased risk of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. In recent years links were found between air pollution and diabetes as well. The scientific evidence supports a causal association between air pollution and oxidative stress, possibly involving impaired metabolism of glucose and lipids. In a recent study performed by our group, we observed a significantly increased risk for ischemic stroke among young adults, associated with air pollution exposure. Following these findings, and as a part of the possible theory linking the association air pollution exposure and cardiovascular diseases, we sought to investigate if this association might be mediated through the well-established cardiovascular risk factors such as abnormal lipid and glucose metabolism. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Environmental Risks / 19.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kathryn Reid PhD Research associate Professor of Neurology Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Reid: There is increasing evidence that light and dark exposure patterns over time impact health outcomes such as body weight and food intake. This study found that bright light exposure increased insulin resistance compared to dim light exposure in both the morning and the evening. In the evening, bright light also caused higher peak glucose (blood sugar) levels. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Environmental Risks, OBGYNE, Pulmonary Disease / 22.10.2014

Medical Research Interview with: Eva Morales, MD, PhD, MPH Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) Barcelona Biomedical Research Park Barcelona, Spain Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Morales: We aimed to assess the consequences of exposure to outdoor air pollution during specific trimesters of pregnancy and postnatal lifetime periods on lung function in preschool children. We conducted a longitudinal study by using data from 620 mother-child pairs participating in the INfancia y Medio Ambiente (INMA) Project – a population-based cohort study set up in several geographic areas in Spain. We found that exposure to outdoor air pollution during the second trimester of pregnancy in particular raises the risk of harm to a child’s lung function at preschool age. (more…)
Allergies, Author Interviews, BMJ, Environmental Risks / 05.06.2014

Elaine Fuertes Institute of Epidemiology I, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Centre for Environmental Health Neuherberg, Germany and School of Population and Public Health University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Elaine Fuertes Institute of Epidemiology I, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Centre for Environmental Health Neuherberg, Germany and School of Population and Public Health University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: The main finding of our study was that despite the use of identical study designs and statistical methods, the level of greenness (measured using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) around a child's home address was differentially associated with the development of allergic health outcomes among children living in two areas in Germany. In our urban study centre, which includes the city of Munich, we found that higher greenness levels around a child's home increased their risk of developing allergic rhinitis and experiencing eyes and nose symptoms. In contrast, greenness around the home appeared to be protective for allergic rhinitis, nose and eye symptoms and sensitization to inhalant allergens in the second more rural study centre investigated. These observations emphasize that the effects of greenness around the home on respiratory health is complex and multifaceted, and are based on 5,803 German children followed from birth to 10 years as part of the GINIplus and LISAplus birth cohorts. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks / 16.10.2013

Kesava Reddy, PhD, MHA University Cancer and Diagnostic Centers, Houston, TexMedicalResearch.com  interview with: Kesava Reddy, PhD, MHA University Cancer and Diagnostic Centers, Houston, Tex     MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Reddy: Crude oil spills affect the human health through their exposure to the inherent hazardous chemicals such as para-phenols and volatile benzene. Evidence show that oil spill exposure is associated with multiple adverse health effects and increased cancer risk. In this study, we assessed the adverse health effects of the Gulf oil spill exposure in subjects participating in the clean-up operation along the coast of Louisiana. The findings were compared with those not exposed to the oil spill. We found that platelet counts were notably decreased in the oil spill exposed group. In addition, creatinine and blood urea nitrogen levels were substantially lower in the exposed group, while hemoglobin and hematocrit levels were increased compared to the unexposed subjects. Furthermore, considered indicators of hepatic damage, the serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), levels in the exposed subjects were also elevated. Participants  in the oil spill cleanup activity also reported somatic symptoms, with headache reported most frequently, followed by shortness of breath, skin rash, cough, dizzy spells, fatigue, painful joints, night sweats, and chest pain. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Heart Disease / 22.09.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Anoop Shah MBChB Cardiology Research fellow Centre of Cardiovascular sciences Chancellors Building University Of Edinburgh Little France Edinburgh MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Many studies have shown the effect of air pollution on cardiac mortality and myocardial infarction. Less studies have shown a similar effect on patients with heart failure. We therefore systemically reviewed and pooled data across 12 countries involving over 4 million patients with heart failure. We showed that air pollution has a close temporal association with either being hospitalized or dying from heart failure. Most of the effects of air pollution on patients with heart failure were acute. Most of the data that we analyzed came from developed countries across Europe and the USA. There was a  significant paucity of data from rapidly urbanizing nations such as India and China. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Lancet, Lung Cancer / 30.07.2013

Ole Raaschou-Nielsen, MSc, PhD Head of Research Group for Work, Environment & Cancer Danish Cancer Society Research Center Strandboulevarden 49 2100 Copenhagen ØMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ole Raaschou-Nielsen, MSc, PhD Head of Research Group for Work, Environment & Cancer Danish Cancer Society Research Center Strandboulevarden 49 2100 Copenhagen Ø MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: The study shows that people who live at locations with higher levels of particles in the air are at higher risk for development of lung cancer. It seems that there is no threshold for air pollution with particles below which there is no risk; the results show that it is more like “the more air pollution the worse and the less pollution the better”. The strongest association was seen for adenocarcinoma of the lung. (more…)