Background: Infectious disease epidemiology and planetary health literature often cite solid waste and plastic pollution as risk factors for vector-borne diseases and urban zoonoses; however, no rigorous reviews of the risks to human health have been published since 1994. This paper aims to identify research gaps and outline potential solutions to interrupt the vicious cycle of solid wastes; disease vectors and reservoirs; infection and disease; and poverty. Methods: We searched peer-reviewed publications from PubMed, Google Scholar, and Stanford Searchworks, and references from relevant articles using the search terms ("disease" OR "epidemiology") AND ("plastic pollution," "garbage," and "trash," "rubbish," "refuse," OR "solid waste"). Abstracts and reports from meetings were included only when they related directly to previously published work. Only articles published in English, Spanish, or Portuguese through 2018 were included, with a focus on post-1994, after the last comprehensive review was published. Cancer, diabetes, and food chain-specific articles were outside the scope and excluded. After completing the literature review, we further limited the literature to "urban zoonotic and biological vector-borne diseases" or to "zoonotic and biological vector-borne diseases of the urban environment." Results: Urban biological vector-borne diseases, especially Aedes-borne diseases, are associated with solid waste accumulation but vector preferences vary over season and region. Urban zoonosis, especially rodent and canine disease reservoirs, are associated with solid waste in urban settings, especially when garbage accumulates over time, creating burrowing sites and food for reservoirs. Although evidence suggests the link between plastic pollution/solid waste and human disease, measurements are not standardized, confounders are not rigorously controlled, and the quality of evidence varies. Here we propose a framework for solutions-based research in three areas: innovation, education, and policy. Krystosik et al. Solid Wastes and Disease Vectors and Reservoirs Conclusions: Disease epidemics are increasing in scope and scale with urban populations growing, climate change providing newly suitable vector climates, and immunologically naïve populations becoming newly exposed. Sustainable solid waste management is crucial to prevention, specifically in urban environments that favor urban vectors such as Aedes species. We propose that next steps should include more robust epidemiological measurements and propose a framework for solutions-based research.

Findings from studies that examined the association between health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and smoking status among COPD patients have been mixed. Moreover, factors associated with current smoking in COPD patients and differences by sex have not been fully elucidated. Data from the 2011 and 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System was used in this study. Four HRQOL indicators were examined in this study: general health, physical health, mental health, and activity limitations. General health was dichotomized into two groups: “excellent/very good/good” and “fair/poor”, and the other three HRQOL indicators were dichotomized into <14 (infrequent) and ≥14 (frequent) unhealthy days in the past 30 days. To examine HRQOL indicators in association with current versus former smoking and identify factors associated with current smoking, logistic regression models were used. Sex differences were explored. In COPD patients, current smokers compared to former smokers had significantly poor HRQOL on all subdomains: “fair/poor” general health (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.2 [95% confidence interval {CI}: 1.1–1.5]); poor physical health (AOR: 1.3 [CI: 1.1–1.5]); poor mental health (AOR: 1.8 [CI: 1.4–2.2]); and poor activity limitations (AOR: 1.5 [CI: 1.3–1.9]). HRQOL subdomains affected by current smoking differed by sex except activity limitations. General health (AOR: 1.5 [CI: 1.1–2.0]) and activity limitations (AOR: 1.6 [95% CI: 1.2–2.2]) in males and physical health (AOR: 1.3 [CI: 1.0–1.6]), mental health (AOR: 2.1 [CI: 1.7–2.6]), and activity limitations (AOR: 1.5 [CI: 1.2–1.9]) in females were significantly impaired due to current smoking. Factors associated with current smoking differed by sex except being unmarried and having less than a college degree, which were associated with current smoking in both males and females. These findings have important implications for health care providers in designing more effective interventions which tailor to and target specific subgroups for smoking cessation.

Informal settlements pose a continuing health concern. While spatial methodologies have proven to be valuable tools to support health interventions, several factors limit their widespread use in these challenging environments. One such technology, spatial video, has been used for fine-scale contextualized mapping. In this paper, we address one of the limitations of the technique: the global positioning system (GPS) coordinate error. More specifically, we show how spatial video coordinate streams can be corrected and synced back to the original video to facilitate risk mapping. Past spatial video collections for the Mathare informal settlement of Kenya are used as an illustration as these data had been previously discarded because of excessive GPS error. This paper will describe the bespoke software that makes these corrections possible, and then will go on to investigate patterns in the coordinate error.

PURPOSE There are significant disparities in care and outcomes for patients with leukemias and multiple myeloma (MM). To evaluate the extent to which clinical trials (CTs) match the demographic and geographic diversity of populations affected by leukemias and MM. METHODS CTs leading to drug approval were identified from the US Food and Drug Administration databases. Demographic and geographic data were collected from ClinicalTrials.gov and primary manuscripts. Standard descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data in frequencies and proportions, including 95% CIs, by race, ethnicity, sex, and malignancy subtypes. RESULTS A total of 41 (67.2%) trials leading to drug approval reported data on race and 20 (48.8%) on ethnicity. These trials included 13,731 patients, of whom 11,209 (81.6%) were White. Among minorities, Asian-Pacific Islanders and Blacks had the highest representation in chronic myeloid leukemia, 147 (12.7%) and 61 (5.3%), and lowest in chronic lymphocytic leukemia, 55 (3%) and 20 (1.1%), respectively. Proportions for Blacks, Native Americans, and Hispanics were significantly low, reflecting under-representation in trials compared with the proportion in the general population. Females were also under-represented in acute myeloid leukemia (44.7% v 60.5%, P < .0001), and males in MM (55.3% v 60.2%, P < .0001) and chronic myeloid leukemia (55.2% v 62.9%, P < .0001). The geographic distribution of trials showed inadequate regional and state participation compared with mortality for all malignancies except MM. CONCLUSION There are significant demographic and geographic under-representation and imbalances in pivotal CTs leading to drug approvals for leukemias and MM compared with the population affected. These disparities need to be addressed to make results applicable to all relevant populations.

Purpose To examine whether sociodemographic characteristics, access to care, risk behavior factors, and chronic health conditions were associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) screening utilization among breast, cervical, prostate, skin, and lung cancer survivors. Methods We analyzed the 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data on 9780 eligible cancer survivors. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression models were applied to assess the association between guideline-concordant CRC screening and the mentioned characteristics. Results Overall, 81.9%, 65%, 88%,78.1%, and 80.1% of breast, cervical, prostate, skin, and lung cancer survivors received CRC screening, respectively ( p -value < 0.001). In multivariable analysis, breast, cervical, and skin cancer survivors aged 60 years or older were associated with higher odds of receiving CRC screening. Respondents that had their recency of routine checkup two or more years before had lower odds of having CRC screening among cervical (OR = 0.06; 95% CI, 0.02–0.22), prostate (OR = 0.26; 95% CI, 0.14–0.49), and skin cancer (OR = 0.50; 95% CI, 0.36–0.70) survivors. The presence of chronic diseases was also associated with guideline-concordant CRC screening among breast, prostate, and skin cancer survivors. Conclusions Our findings provide important evidence on potential factors that are associated with guideline-concordant CRC screening utilization across different cancer survivors, which include older age, recency of routine checkup, and multiple chronic diseases. Moreover, variation in CRC screening utilization across cancer survivors may highlight missed opportunities for secondary cancer prevention. Implications for Cancer Survivors Establishing clear CRC screening guidelines and including patient-provider communication on recommendation in cancer survivorship care may increase adherence to CRC screening. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11764-022-01258-0.