International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Volume 11, Issue 2

In this study, a deconvolution procedure was used to create a variogram of oral cancer (OC) rates. Based on the variogram, area-to-point (ATP) Poisson kriging and p-field simulation were used to downscale and simulate, respectively, the OC rate data...

Global climate change (GCC) has led to increased focus on the occurrence of, and preparation for, climate-related extremes and hazards. Population exposure, the relative likelihood that a person in a given location was exposed to a given hazard even...

Few researchers have examined the effects of multiple risk factors of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality simultaneously. This study was to determine the associations of combined lifestyle and other factors with CVD mortality among the elderly (n...

Triclosan is a broad-spectrum antibacterial commonly used in cosmetics, dentifrices, and other consumer products. The compound’s widespread use in consumer products and its detection in breast milk, urine, and serum have raised concerns regarding its...

A wide range of infectious diseases may change their geographic range, seasonality and incidence due to climate change, but there is limited research exploring health vulnerabilities to climate change. In order to address this gap, pan-European vulne...

The pupillary responses to light in patients with depression and normal controls were evaluated among Chinese females. Four parameters related to the pupil were assessed using a video-based pupillometer. The results showed that there were significant...

Power wheelchairs (PWCs) can have a positive impact on user well-being, self-esteem, pain, activity and participation. Newly developed intelligent power wheelchairs (IPWs), allowing autonomous or collaboratively-controlled navigation, could enhance...

This study established a set of indicators for and evaluated the effects of health care system reform in Hubei Province (China) from 2009 to 2011 with the purpose of providing guidance to policy-makers regarding health care system reform. The resulti...

Schistosomiasis japonica, caused by Schistosoma japonicum infection, remains a major public health concern in China, and the geographical distribution of this neglected tropical disease is limited to regions where Oncomelania hupensis, the intermedia...

Hair testing was used to investigate the prevalence of unsuspected exposure to drugs of abuse in a group of children presenting to an urban paediatric emergency department without suggestive signs or symptoms. Hair samples were obtained from 114 chil...

Arsenic exposure from drinking water is associated with adverse respiratory outcomes, but it is unknown whether arsenic affects pulmonary microbiota. This exploratory study assessed the effect of exposure to arsenic in drinking water on bacterial div...

The relation between responses to survey questions on noise annoyance and self-reported sleep disturbance has been analysed to gain insight in its dependency on noise source or noise type and on individual characteristics. The results show a high cor...

Bitter Melon (Momordica charantia) is a widely used traditional remedy for hyperglycemia. While the medicinal properties of this plant have been studied extensively using in vitro and animal models, the clinical efficacy and safety in humans is large...

Patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) require prompt treatment, best done by primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). However, for patients unable to receive PPCI, immediate pre-hospital thrombolysis (PHT) is the best al...

The current chronic kidney disease epidemic, the major health issue in the rice paddy farming areas in Sri Lanka has been the subject of many scientific and political debates over the last decade. Although there is no agreement among scientists about...

The present study aimed to identify the profile of diseases and injuries that affect casual dock workers and identify casual dock workers’ perceptions of positive and negative work influences on their health. This study consisted of two phases. The f...

Obesity is reaching epidemic proportions and is a strong risk factor for a number of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, atherosclerosis, and also certain types of cancers. Despite the constant...

Estimation of population exposure is a main component of human health risk assessment for environmental contaminants. Population-level exposure assessments require time-activity pattern distributions in relation to microenvironments where people spen...

Output water from dental unit waterlines (DUWLs) may be a potential source of infection for both dental healthcare staff and patients. This study compared the efficacy of different disinfection methods with regard to the water quality and the presenc...

Most studies of alcohol consumption in pregnancy have looked at one time point only, often relying on recall. The aim of this longitudinal study was to determine whether alcohol consumption changes in early and late pregnancy and whether this affects...

Vaccination against AH1N1pdm09 infection (human swine infection, HSI) is an effective measure of preventing pandemic infection, especially for high-risk groups like children between the ages of 6 months and 6 years. This study used a cross-sectional...

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify patient preferences for different components of a local diabetes prevention program that would improve reach. A secondary purpose was to determine if patient characteristics were related to program...

As a result of climate change, extreme precipitation events are expected to increase in frequency and intensity. Runoff from these extreme events poses threats to water quality and human health. We investigated the impact of extreme precipitation and...

The biosand filter (BSF) is widely applied in developing counties as an appropriate technology-based product for supplying “safe” water. Biosand filters exhibit relatively high purifying efficiency because of the schmutzdecke (biofilm) embedded in th...

Hospitalisations are associated with ambient temperature, but little is known about responses in population sub-groups. In this study, heat responses for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in two age groups were examined for two categories of cardi...

Extreme heat events (EHEs) are becoming more intense, more frequent and longer lasting in the 21st century. These events can disproportionately impact the health of low-income, minority, and urban populations. To better understand heat-related interv...

Although prior research has shown that Community Health Workers/Promotores de Salud (CHW/PS) can facilitate access to care, little is known about how CHW/PS are perceived in their community. The current study reports the findings of a randomized tele...

The public health impact of health behaviour interventions is highly dependent on large-scale implementation. Intermediaries—intervention providers—determine to a large extent whether an intervention reaches the target population, and hence its impac...

Aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁), which causes hepatocellular carcinoma and immune-suppression, is commonly found in feedstuffs. To evaluate the ability of selenium (Se) to counteract the deleterious effects of AFB₁, two hundred 1-day-old male avian broilers, div...

Global trade has increased nearly 100-fold since 1950, according to the World Trade Organization. Today, major changes in trade are occurring with the advent of mega-ships that can transport thousands more containers than cargo ships now in use. Bec...

Conditions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo provide an ideal environment for leptospirosis and plague, both of which can cause severe pulmonary manifestations. In December 2004, an outbreak of lethal pneumonia occurred in a local mining camp,...

Background: The current “epidemic” of childhood obesity is described as being driven by modern lifestyles with associated socioeconomic and environmental changes that modify dietary habits, discourage physical activity and encourage sedentary behavio...

Acinetobacter baumannii is a multidrug resistant pathogen capable of causing a wide spectrum of clinical conditions in humans. Acinetobacter spp. is ubiquitously found in different water sources. Chlorine being the most commonly used disinfectant in...

Food safety organizations indicate the likelihood of constant human and animal exposure to mycotoxin mixtures as a possible negative public health impact. Risk assessment demonstrates that certain mycotoxins of Aspergillus and Penicillium spp. are to...

Objective: Childhood exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) increases a child’s burden of respiratory conditions, but parental smoking bans may reduce such morbidity. This study evaluated household smoking bans and their relationship to respirato...

Leptospirosis is an important occupational disease in New Zealand. The objectives of this study were to determine risk factors for sero-prevalence of leptospiral antibodies in abattoir workers. Sera were collected from 567 abattoir workers and tested...

The World is undergoing rapid urbanization, with 70% of the World population expected to live in urban areas by 2050. Nevertheless, nationally representative analysis of the health differences in the leading causes of avoidable mortality disaggregate...

The childcare environment represents an appropriate avenue to support physical activity among preschoolers. The aim of this study was two-fold: (1) to measure the physical activity levels of a sample of preschoolers during childcare hours; and (2) to...

Animal studies and epidemiological evidence suggest an association between prenatal exposure to drinking water with elevated nitrate (NO₃-N) concentrations and incidence of congenital anomalies. This study used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to...

Platinum-based cytostatics, such as cisplatin, carboplatin or oxaliplatin are widely used agents in the treatment of various types of tumors. Large amounts of these drugs are excreted through the urine of patients into wastewaters in unmetabolised fo...

Linking environmental, socioeconomic and health datasets provides new insights into the potential associations between climate change and human health and wellbeing, and underpins the development of decision support tools that will promote resilience...

Climate change adaptation in the health sector requires decisions across sectors, levels of government, and organisations. The networks that link these different institutions, and the relationships among people within these networks, are therefore cr...

A cross-sectional study investigated risk factors associated with choices to drink bottled water and tap water in rural Saskatchewan. Of 7,500 anonymous postal questionnaires mailed out, 2,065 responses were analyzed using generalized linear mixed mo...

Retinol, α-tocopherol, and γ-tocopherol are fat-soluble vitamins acting as antioxidants via the prevention of lipid oxidation. Little is known about circulatory levels in healthy individuals. The present cross-sectional study aimed at elucidating the...

This paper reports a 17-year seroepidemiological surveillance study of Borrelia burgdorferi infection, performed with the aim of improving our knowledge of the epidemiology of this pathogen. Serum samples (1,179) from patients (623, stratified with...

Since the twentieth century, China has been facing various kinds of environmental problems. It is necessary to evaluate and analyze the ecological status of the environment over China, which is of great importance for environmental protection measur...

To develop satisfactorily, adolescents require good health-related quality of life (QOL, including physical health, psychological health, social relationships and living environment). However, for poorly understood reasons, it is often lacking, esp...

Wheezing is often treated as a crucial indicator in the diagnosis of obstructive pulmonary diseases. A rapid wheezing detection system may help physicians to monitor patients over the long-term. In this study, a portable wheezing detection system bas...

The purpose of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the Sense of Contribution Scale (SCS), a newly developed, 7-item questionnaire used to measure sense of contribution in the workplace. Workers at 272 organizations answered quest...

In this study, phenotypic and genotypic methods were used to detect metallo-β-lactamases, cephalosporinases and oxacillinases and to assess genetic diversity among 64 multiresistant Acinetobacter baumannii strains recovered from blood cultures in fi...