Air Pollution and Mortality in the Medicare Population

Abstract

Background-Studies have shown that long-term exposure to air pollution increases mortality. However, evidence is limited for air-pollution levels below the most recent National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Previous studies involved predominantly urban populations and did not have the statistical power to estimate the health effects in underrepresented groups.

Health Effects of Overweight and Obesity in 195 Countries

“…[1][2][3] In this assessment, the prevalence was 19.9% in boys and 23.6% in girls between the ages of 5 and 17 years in 2015. 4 These estimates are much higher than the GBD estimates of 10.6% in boys and 15.1% in girls between the ages of 2 and 19 years in 2015. The authors of the GBD study acknowledge a number of limitations they faced in deriving their estimates, including missing or heterogeneous data in many countries, factors that underlie their use of complex statistical models.…”

“…[1][2][3] Approximately half of all adults with excess body fat are defined as nonobese on the basis of BMI, 1 and bias is even greater in some populations (e.g., East Asians and South Asians). 4 The GBD study used the most conservative of the available options to define obesity in children and adolescents. 2 BMI is a practical measure and is highly specific for excess fatness, 1-3 but its inherently low sensitivity should be more widely appreciated and should be noted when estimates of obesity prevalence are provided.…”

“…North Carolina recently repealed existing restrictions, despite the reduction in deaths from respiratory illnesses in that state after passage of the Clean Smokestacks Act. 3,4 Given the lack of a threshold for PM 2.5 in the mortality association reported by Di et al, prudence favors the institution of diesel idling restrictions in states that currently have none. Their air quality would surely benefit.…”

“…In general, ozone concentrations over the United States are usually higher in the summer than in the spring, since the chemical reactions that form ozone are temperature-dependent. [2][3][4] In addition, the long warm season reported could lead to ambiguity in the mortality results, since ozone has a dominant effect on mortality during particular times of the year, rather than during a longer period of 6 months. 4 To strengthen future arguments for establishing seasonal standards, there should be a clear distinction in meteorologic data between one season and another.…”

Clinical characteristics and quality of life in seborrheic dermatitis patients: a cross-sectional study in China

“…Over a decade ago, dermatologist Jean Krutmann began postulating how pollutants in the environment affect the skin. Evidence has shown that airborne pollutants harm the skin, and may even be deadly [ 13 , 25 , 26 ]. A recent epidemiological study has reported that indoor and outdoor air pollution also increase the risk of asthma, wheezing, rhinitis and eczema among pre-school children in China [ 27 ].…”