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Latinos Post |
'Too Clean' Environment May Lead to Childhood Asthma, Study Suggests
Latinos Post According to the study published at the Science Translational Medicine, the risk of developing asthma is greater for 3-month-old infants who have lower levels of the four identified types of gut bacteria – bacteria that do not thrive in overly cleaned … |
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AIR POLLUTION: EPA foes turned asthma study into weapon for ozone fight
Environment & Energy Publishing When a Johns Hopkins University researcher published a study showing race and income as risk factors for asthma, she started getting phone calls from industry groups opposing U.S. EPA's bid to tighten the national ozone standard. Dr. Corinne Keet said … |
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U.S. News & World Report |
COPD, Asthma and the Environment
U.S. News & World Report While smoking remains the major cause of COPD – the combined term for emphysema, bronchitis and some forms of asthma – about one-quarter of people affected are nonsmokers. Some have a genetic form of COPD. And for others, environmental factors … |
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Related Articles |
Effect of indoor nitrogen dioxide on lung function in urban environment.
Environ Res. 2015 Feb 12;138C:8-16
Authors: Cibella F, Cuttitta G, Della Maggiore R, Ruggieri S, Panunzi S, De Gaetano A, Bucchieri S, Drago G, Melis MR, La Grutta S, Viegi G
Abstract
BACKGROUND: High levels of indoor NO2 are associated with increased asthma symptoms and decreased expiratory peak flows in children. We investigated the association of exposure to domestic indoor NO2, objectively measured in winter and spring, with respiratory symptoms and lung function in a sample of adolescents from a southern Mediterranean area.
METHODS: From a large school population sample (n=2150) participating in an epidemiological survey in the urban area of the City of Palermo (southern Italy), a sub-sample of 303 adolescents was selected which furnished an enriched sample for cases of current asthma. All subjects were evaluated by a health questionnaire, skin prick tests and spirometry. One-week indoor NO2 monitoring of their homes was performed by diffusive sampling during spring and again during winter.
RESULTS: We found that about 25% of subjects were exposed to indoor NO2 levels higher than the 40µg/m(3) World Health Organization limit, during both spring and winter. Moreover, subjects exposed to the highest indoor NO2 concentrations had increased frequency of current asthma (p=0.005), wheeze episodes in the last 12 months (p<0.001), chronic phlegm (p=0.013), and rhinoconjunctivitis (p=0.008). Finally, subjects with a personal history of wheeze ever had poorer respiratory function (FEF25-75%, p=0.01) when exposed to higher indoor NO2 concentrations.
CONCLUSIONS: Home exposure to high indoor NO2 levels frequently occurs in adolescents living in a southern Mediterranean urban area and is significantly associated with the risks for increased frequency of both respiratory symptoms and reduced lung function.
PMID: 25682253 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]
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Medical Daily |
Asthma In Children Isn't As Hereditary A Scientists Thought; Environment Plays …
Medical Daily The risk of your child developing asthma just because it's hiding somewhere in your family tree isn't as threatening as scientists once thought it was. In one of the largest genetic asthma studies to date, researchers from the University of Chicago … Genetic mutations can't explain asthma |
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Asthma Agents Currently Face a Suboptimal Coverage Environment in Brazil …
MarketWatch BURLINGTON, Mass., Aug. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Decision Resources Group finds that the asthma market in Brazil and Mexico currently faces severe coverage restrictions. The uptake of several newly approved agents, the anticipated label extension of … Asthma agents currently face a suboptimal coverage environment in Brazil and … |
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Condition: Asthma
Interventions: Other: First home intervention with advice; Other: First home intervention without any advice; Other: Final home visit
Sponsors: Rennes University Hospital; EHESP – Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Santé Publique; IRDES – Institut de Recherche et Documentation en Economie de la Santé; INSERM 0203 – Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale
Not yet recruiting – verified August 2014
View full post on ClinicalTrials.gov: asthma | received in the last 14 days
| Related Articles |
Comparison of clinical features in patients with eosinophilic esophagitis living in an urban and rural environment.
Dis Esophagus. 2014 Jan 2;
Authors: Lee YJ, Redd M, Bayman L, Frederickson N, Valestin J, Schey R
Abstract
Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) has been associated with exposure to aeroallergens. Living in different locations (urban vs. rural) could potentially expose individuals to different environmental factors. Currently, there is limited data on the matter, and all was based on small population studies that did not exclude proton pump inhibitor (PPI)-responsive esophageal eosinophilia in their cohort. The primary aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of EoE in an urban versus rural population and compare demographic and clinical characteristics in patients that had been treated with high-dose PPI prior to diagnosis. Esophageal biopsies were obtained from a cohort of patients who presented with symptoms of dysphagia, odynophagia, globus sensation, and heartburn during a 10-year period. Only patients who had biopsies from the mid and distal esophagus with ?20 eosinophils per high-power field while on high-dose PPI treatment during endoscopy were included. Urban population was defined as >1000 people/square mile, and rural population was defined as ?1000 people/square mile (U.S. Census Bureau). Demographic data from each group was analyzed for age, sex, body mass index, duration of symptoms, and tobacco use. Chi-square analysis was used for frequencies with statistical significance defined as P???0.05. A total of 20?718 patients were identified and their records evaluated. From this cohort, 57 (0.28%) symptomatic patients (male/female: 39/18, mean age = 29.5 years) had biopsy-proven EoE (?20 eosinophils/hpf) while on PPI treatment. Of those EoE patients, 29 (50.9%) reported living in rural area versus 28 (49.1%) living in the urban area. The most common medical history components included asthma (12.3%), and the most common presenting symptoms included dysphagia (50.9%), heartburn (26.3%), and nausea/vomiting (22.8%). The average duration of symptoms, body mass index, and smoking habits did not differ between the groups. Dysphagia was significantly more prevalent in the urban population (37.9% vs. 64.3% P = 0.047), while heartburn and reflux were more prevalent in the rural population (37.9% vs. 14.3 P = 0.043). Asthma was prevalent in both populations without a significant difference (P = not significant). There is no residential variation in the incidence of EoE among patients with non-PPI-responsive esophageal eosinophilia. Dysphagia was more prevalent in the urban population, while heartburn and reflux symptoms were more prevalent in the rural environment. Further exploration of environmental factors and specific allergens may help explain the varying symptoms and causes of EoE.
PMID: 24382218 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]
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 Environment News Service |
Low-Income, Minority Californians Suffer Worst Asthma
Environment News Service SACRAMENTO, California, March 21, 2013 (ENS) – Low-income populations, racial and ethnic minorities in California are exposed to greater levels of some air pollutants than higher-income, Caucasian populations. New research shows that as a result they … |
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OBSTRUCTIVE LUNG DISEASE AND EXPOSURE TO BURNING BIOMASS FUEL IN THE INDOOR ENVIRONMENT.
Glob Heart. 2012 Sep 1;7(3):265-270
Authors: Diette GB, Accinelli RA, Balmes JR, Buist AS, Checkley W, Garbe P, Hansel NN, Kapil V, Gordon S, Lagat DK, Yip F, Mortimer K, Perez-Padilla R, Roth C, Schwaninger JM, Punturieri A, Kiley J
Abstract
It is estimated that up to half of the world’s population burns biomass fuel (wood, crop residues, animal dung and coal) for indoor uses such as cooking, lighting and heating. As a result, a large proportion of women and children are exposed to high levels of household air pollution (HAP). The short and long term effects of these exposures on the respiratory health of this population are not clearly understood. On May 9-11, 2011 NIH held an international workshop on the “Health Burden of Indoor Air Pollution on Women and Children,” in Arlington, VA. To gather information on the knowledge base on this topic and identify research gaps, ahead of the meeting we conducted a literature search using PubMed to identify publications that related to HAP, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Abstracts were all analyzed and we report on those considered by the respiratory sub study group at the meeting to be most relevant to the field. Many of the studies published are symptom-based studies (as opposed to objective measures of lung function or clinical examination etc.) and measurement of HAP was not done. Many found some association between indoor exposures to biomass smoke as assessed by stove type (e.g., open fire vs. liquid propane gas) and respiratory symptoms such as wheeze and cough. Among the studies that examined objective measures (e.g. spirometry) as a health outcome, the data supporting an association between biomass smoke exposure and COPD in adult women are fairly robust, but the findings for asthma are mixed. If an association was observed between the exposures and lung function, most data seemed to demonstrate mild to moderate reductions in lung function, the pathophysiological mechanisms of which need to be investigated. In the end, the group identified a series of scientific gaps and opportunities for research that need to be addressed to better understand the respiratory effects of exposure to indoor burning of the different forms of biomass fuels.
PMID: 23139916 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]
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