International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Volume 12, Issue 1

Despite the rise in childhood obesity, there remains a paucity of evidence for effective interventions that engage children and parents sufficiently to make and sustain lifestyle behaviour change. The Healthy Lifestyles Programme (HeLP) is a school-l...

Objective. A novel avian influenza A virus (AIV) H7N9 subtype which emerged in China in 2013 caused worldwide concern. Deletion of amino-acids 69 to 73 in the neuraminidase stalk was its most notable characteristic. This study is aimed to discuss the...

The effect of different sources of nitrogen as well as their concentrations on the bioconversion of carbon monoxide to metabolic products such as acetic acid and ethanol by Clostridium autoethanogenum was studied. In a first set of assays, under batc...

Within the member states of the United Nations 190 of 193 have regulated Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) which is a systematic process to prevent and mitigate the potential environmental impacts of industry development projects before these oc...

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health started to institute an annual award in 2013 to recognize outstanding papers related to environmental health sciences and public health that meet the aims, scope and high standards of...

Background: Smoking has resulted in numerous deaths in China. Data indicate that 21% of college students in China are smokers. Objective: This study aimed to examine the smoking-related behaviors of undergraduates, as influenced by knowledge, attitud...

The effect of horizontal acceleration on human visual acuity and stereopsis is demonstrated in this study. Twenty participants (mean age 22.6 years) were enrolled in the experiment. Acceleration from two different directions was performed at the Taiw...

This study employed rapid evaluation methods to investigate how the leading industries of mining and tourism impact sustainability as manifest through social, economic and environmental dimensions in Yunnan, China. Within the social context, we also...

In this study, the concentration levels of the probable carcinogenic PAH fractions, benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) and benzo[k]fluoranthrene (BkF) in fillets of some processed fish species were investigated. Fish species comprising Merluccius poli (hake), Tyrs...

Cement production is a major source of metals and metalloids in the environment, while exposures to metals and metalloids may impact human health in the surrounding communities. We recruited 185 participants living in the vicinity of a cement plant i...

Cattle is a reservoir of potentially pathogenic E. coli, bacteria that can represent a significant threat to public health, hence it is crucial to monitor the prevalence of the genetic determinants of virulence and antimicrobial resistance among the...

This study’s aim was to assess the perceptions of welding apprentices concerning welding fumes being associated with respiratory and cardiovascular disorders and assess the implementation of risk communication as a primary prevention tool in the wel...

Background: Commercial sex plays an increasingly important role in China’s growing HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) epidemics. In China, street-based sex workers (SSWs) are a subgroup of female sex workers with a particularly high risk of...

Exposure to cement dust has been associated with deleterious health effects in humans. This study investigated whether residing near a cement factory increases the risk of irritations to the mucous membranes of the eyes and respiratory system. A cros...

To estimate the tritium doses of the residents living in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant, urine samples of 34 adults were collected from residents living near the Qinshan nuclear power plant. The tritium-in-urine (HTO plus OBT) was measured by...

Objectives: This study aims to describe the spatial and temporal characteristics of human infections with H7N9 virus in China using data from February 2013 to March 2014 from the websites of every province’s Population and Family Planning Commission....

This study examines the gender differences in the enjoyment of recreational sports participation among Taiwanese adults. Data were obtained using the 2007 Taiwan Social Change Survey. The questionnaire included a topical module of the International S...

This study aimed to measure the percent agreement between Exhaled Breath Carbon Monoxide (eBCO) measure using a piCO⁺ smokerlyzer^® and self-reported cigarette smoking status and to determine the optimal thresholds for definite identification of cigar...

A mathematical model for the simulation of the removal of hydrophilic compounds using biotrickling filtration was developed. The model takes into account that biotrickling filters operate by using an intermittent spraying pattern. During spraying per...

Climate change is a significant and emerging threat to human health, especially where infectious diseases are involved. Because of the complex interactions between climate variables and infectious disease components (i.e., pathogen, host and transmis...

Neighborhood characteristics are important correlates for a variety of health outcomes. Among several health risk behaviors, smoking and alcohol use have significant consequences. Perceptions of neighborhood problems are associated with depressive sy...

Pentachlorophenol (PCP) is a persistent and ubiquitous environmental contaminant. No published data exist on the temporal variability or important predictors of urinary PCP concentrations in young children. In this further analysis of study data, we...

Pathogenic Escherichia coli can be released with the wastes coming from slaughterhouses into the environment, where they can persist. We investigated the presence of diarrheagenic E. coli in specimens taken at an abattoir located in the Zaria region,...

Objectives: To assess counseling to caregivers and classroom health education interventions to reduce environmental tobacco smoke exposure of children aged 5–6 years in China. Methods: In a randomized controlled trial in two preschools in Changsha, C...

This study compares the health conditions of domestic Caribbeans with those living in the United States to explore how national context and migration experiences might influence substance use (i.e., alcohol or drug) and other mental and physical heal...

Background: Asian sand dust (ASD) that originates in the Mongolian Desert in the spring induces serious respiratory health problems throughout East Asia (China, Korea, Japan). PM₁₀ (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <10 μm) is a majo...

The health risk resulting from benzene exposure in petroleum refineries was calculated using data from the scientific literature from various countries throughout the world. The exposure data was collated into four scenarios from petroleum refinery e...

Background: Livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) such as the MRSA ST398 strain has spread all over the World and the most worrying aspect of this fact appears to be its capacity to easily spread to humans. The exce...

Climate change poses numerous risks to the health of Canadians. Extreme weather events, poor air quality, and food insecurity in northern regions are likely to increase along with the increasing incidence and range of infectious diseases. In this stu...

Gaps in research focusing on work related stress, burnout, job satisfaction and general health of nurses is evident within developing contexts like South Africa. This study identified the relationship between work related stress, burnout, job satisfa...

Objective: To describe the primary care actions performed by oral health teams (OHTs) that participated in a large national survey led by the Ministry of Health in 2012. Methods: A total of 12,403 dentists from OHTs completed a set of survey question...

Background: Existing evidence has shown that most smoking uptake and escalation occurs while smokers are teenagers or young adults. Effective policies that reduce smoking uptake and escalation will play an important role in curbing cigarette smoking....

Malaria is one of the major public health problems in Malawi, contributing to the majority of morbidity and mortality among children under five. Ignorance of malaria symptoms results in delayed treatment, which often degenerates into fatal emergencie...

Online surveys are increasingly used due to their speed and efficiency. The aim of this study was to analyze factors that may have contributed to the quality and speed of response of an online survey on influenza vaccination in primary healthcare wor...

Objective: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) in a Kazakh population aged ≥18 years living in the YiLi District of Xinjiang, China and to evaluate the associated risk factors of di...

Background and Aims: The metabolic risks associated with obesity are greater for South Asian populations compared with White or other ethnic groups, and levels of obesity in childhood are known to track into adulthood. Tackling obesity in South Asian...

The editors of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2014:[...]

The MPOWER policy package enables countries to implement effective, evidence-based strategies to address the threat posed to their population by tobacco. All countries have challenges to overcome when implementing tobacco control policy. Some are ge...

Background: Assessment of sleep only by sleep duration is not sufficient. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the potential association of self-reported global sleep status, which contained both qualitative and quantitative aspects, with...

Background: Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS)-associated particulate matter (PM) constitutes a considerable health risk for passive smokers. It ought to be assessed separately from the other known toxic compounds of tobacco smoke. Brand-specific diff...

The current study examined the association between temperature change and clinical visits for childhood respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in Guangzhou, China. Outpatient records of clinical visits for pediatric RTIs, which occurred from 1 January 2...

A large body of research has revealed that nutrition and physical activity influence brain functioning at various stages of the life course. Nevertheless, very few studies have explored whether diet and exercise influence verbal intelligence as youth...

The disabling pathophysiologic effects of lipid and neuroprotective effects of statins have recently been demonstrated for acute spinal cord injuries in animal models. This large scale population-based study aimed to investigate the effect hyperlipi...

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a 4-week intervention in which an online personal activity monitor (Gruve-Technologies^™) was used to reduce sedentary behavior among sedentary adults. Method: Eighteen, sedentary...

The biodegradation kinetics of tetrahydrofuran, benzene (B), toluene (T), and ethylbenzene (E) were systematically investigated individually and as mixtures by a series of aerobic batch degradation experiments initiated by Pseudomonas oleovorans DT4....

The aim of the present study was determine the prevalence and factors associated with dental caries and periodontal disease in Brazilian children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP). This is a cross-sectional study conducted with 80 patients ran...

Satellites contribute significantly to environmental quality and public health. Environmental factors are important indicators for the prediction of disease outbreaks. This study reveals the environmental factors associated with cholera in Zhejiang,...

Health impact assessments (HIA) promote the consideration of health in a wide range of public decisions. Although each HIA is different, common pathways, evidence bases, and strategies for community engagement tend to emerge in certain sectors, such...

This study reports the concentrations of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in human blood sera samples (n = 650) obtained at autopsy from individuals who died of drug abuse, alcohol toxicity, homicide, suicide and other unknown causes. The anal...

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze how mood and anxiety level are related to the functional genetic polymorphism in the promoter region of SLC6A4 (5-HTTLPR) and the 30-bp VNTR polymorphism in the MAO A promoter region. Methods: The stud...