The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
Dengue is the most important mosquito-borne, human viral disease in many tropical and sub-tropical areas. In India the disease has been essentially described in the form of case series. We reviewed the epidemiology of dengue in India to improve understanding of its evolution in the last 50 years and support …
Environmental exposure to arsenic has been linked to hypertension in persons living in arsenic-endemic areas. The researchers summarized published epidemiologic studies concerning arsenic exposure and hypertension or blood pressure (BP) measurements to evaluate the potential relationship.
Epidemiological studies emphasize the possible role of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in obesity and the metabolic syndrome. These pollutants are stored in adipose tissue (AT). The aim of the paper was to study the effects of POPs on human adipose cells and rodent AT.
Animal and cross-sectional epidemiological studies suggest a link between air pollution and diabetes, whereas the limited prospective data show mixed results. We studied the association between long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution and incidence of diabetes.
Cell phones have become an integral part of many people’s lives. But could our constant contact with these devices be affecting our health? That question has been the subject of international debate and intense study in recent years. In this podcast, David Savitz of Brown University discusses evidence from epidemiologic …
In the past 15 years, mobile telephone use has evolved from an uncommon activity to one with > 4.6 billion subscriptions worldwide. However, there is public concern about the possibility that mobile phones might cause cancer, especially brain tumors. We reviewed the evidence on whether mobile phone use raises the …
For years the World Health Organization (WHO) maintained that radiation from cell phones is generally safe. But on May 31, it changed its stand and announced that cell phones pose a possible cancer risk. A panel of 31 scientists at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a part …
Even as the damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station continue to leak radiation, researchers have begun laying the groundwork for studies that will look for any long-term effects on public health.
In October, 2009, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) completed a review of the more than 100 agents classified as “carcinogenic to humans” (Group 1). These assessments will be published in six parts as Volume 100 of the IARC Monographs (Volumes 100A—F).
Researchers are adopting the tools of bioinformatics and pharmaceuticals to study and interpret the ever-growing body of data on the interplay between diet and genes.
The objective of this study was to review and evaluate the recent literature on the health effects of exposure to mobile phone base station (MPBS) radiation.
What is exposome? Exposome is the record of every interaction an individual has with his or her environment since conception. These interactions could be external, such as exposure to air and water pollution and diet, or internal such as the body’s response to infection or psychological stress. Unlike genetic factors …
Traditionally, epidemiologists have considered electrification to be a positive factor. In fact, electrification and plumbing are typical initiatives that represent the integration of an isolated population into modern society, ensuring the control of pathogens and promoting public health. Nonetheless, electrification is always accompanied by night lighting that attracts insect vectors …
Epidemiological transition is a process whereby the predominant causes of death shift from communicable/parasitic diseases to non-communicable diseases. A study of the Medical Certification of Cause of Death in Maharashtra shows that the share of communicable diseases has gone down only slightly while diseases of the circulatory system, neoplasm and …
How does artificial light affect insects? The strong illumination of artificial light attracts insects. We reviewed the epidemiological information on three insect-borne diseases, chagas, kala azar and malaria, and found artificial lighting changed the behaviour of insect vectors and thereby the modes of disease transmission. For example, the chagas parasite …
The corporate sector has joined hands with the BMC in its war against malaria. As part of their corporate social responsibility, a number of organisations funded the initial lot of the Mosquito Larvicidal (ML) oil that the BMC procured on Saturday from the Indian Oil Corporation. It is believed that …
Gram-negative Enterobacteriaceae with resistance to carbapenem conferred by New Delhi metallo-?-lactamase 1 (NDM-1) are potentially a major global health problem. The researchers investigated the prevalence of NDM-1, in multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in India, Pakistan, and the UK.Note: This research paper is available free online after registration to the journal Lancet Infectious …
Epidemiologic evidence suggests that chronic stress may alter susceptibility to air pollution, but spatial confounding between these factors limits the utility of epidemiologic methods to disentangle these effects and investigate physiologic mechanisms. Clougherty et al. (p. 769) compared respiratory responses to concentrated ambient particles (CAPs) and examined biological markers of …
