HAP & WASH abstracts from the 2015 Conference of the International Society of Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE)
Dan Campbell
Below are excerpts of 6 HAP and 3 WASH abstracts from Addressing Environmental Health Inequalities, the 27th annual meeting of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology
(ISEE), held 30 August–3 September 2015 in São Paulo, Brazil. Links are included to the complete abstract. A complete listing of abstracts is at:
http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/isee/isee2015/
Abstracts of the 2015 Conference of the International Society of Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE)
HAP ABSTRACTS
Effectiveness of Ethanol Cookstoves Interventions to Achieve Health Protective Air Quality Standards. Authors: Amanda L Northcross - George Washington University; Matt Shupler - George Washington University; Donee Alexander - Global
Alliance For Clean Cookstove; et al.
Abstract: http://goo.gl/ZVHrtp
Household air pollution (HAP) from solid fuel use is causes more than 4 million premature deaths yearly and ambient air pollution causes an additional 100 million premature deaths making air pollution the largest environmental risk factor for ill health. Urban centers in lower and middle income countries (LMICs) face high levels of ambient pollution and HAP. Results and Conclusions: The intervention group was exposed to lower concentrations of PM2.5 compared to the control group 158 (118) g/m3 vs 107 (48) g/m3 respectively. The ethanol stove replaced 92% of the cooking tasks in the intervention group; an almost complete disuse of the kerosene stove. Ambient PM2.5 exposures accounted for 45% of personal exposures in the control group. Key predictors of personal exposures to PM2.5 included stove-type and time spent at home. This urban cookstove intervention study resulted in reduced exposures; however the high ambient concentrations complicate efforts to achieve exposures less than WHO standards guidelines.
Impact of Improved Stove Use on Fuelwood Consumption And Household Air Pollution Exposure In Odisha, India. Authors: Jessica Lewis - Duke University; Subhrendu K. Pattanayak - Duke University; et al.
Abstract: http://goo.gl/EyN7ZU
Improved cookstoves (ICS) such as biogas have the potential to improve health, local environment, climate, and livelihoods. We provide a novel examination of the impacts of biogas stove use in a cohort of 105 households in Odisha, India. Unlike the only previous study to measure PM and PAH exposure in households using ICS, we also analyze how household characteristics moderate environmental health impacts, fuelwood consumption, and personal and household air pollution exposure (PM2.5 and PAH). In addition, we analyze how household use of multiple stoves (in 75% of households) impacts exposure. We find that households using a biogas stove use less firewood.
Metabolomics Using Dried Blood Spot Samples: A Household Air Pollution Study In Honduras. Authors: Maggie L Clark - Colorado State University; Corey D Broeckling - Colorado State University; et al.
Abstract: http://goo.gl/17By6f
Metabolomics has the potential to advance our understanding of personal exposure and health effects resulting from HAP. Although further validation of these applications is necessary, the use of dried blood spot sampling (e.g., minimal post-sampling processing, relative ease of sample storage and transport) in metabolomics research could have far-reaching impacts on the HAP field as well as environmental epidemiology, in general, by including populations previously inaccessible.
Household Air Pollution From Burning Wood Is Associated With Altered Cardiac Hemodynamics And Function Among Women In Western Kenya: Results From The Kenya Hap Echo Study. Authors: Kipruto Kirwa - Brown University School Of Public Health; Anubha Agarwal - Duke University; et al.
Abstract: http://goo.gl/rzanVH
Household air pollution (HAP) from incomplete combustion of solid fuels is responsible for >4 million deaths annually, mostly due to cardiopulmonary disease. Limited data describe the associations between HAP and echocardiographic markers of cardiac structure and function. Thus, we assessed the cross-sectional association of median 24hour home indoor measures of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and carbon monoxide (CO) with echocardiographic characteristics among women.
Household Air Pollution Exposure and Blood Pressure among Pregnant Women In Rural Ghana. Authors: Ashlinn Ko Quinn - Columbia University; Kenneth Ayuurebobi Ae-Ngibise - Kintampo Health Research Centre, Ghana; et al.
Abstract: http://goo.gl/u8QfqM
In 2010 Household Air Pollution (HAP) was ranked the fourth contributing risk factor to the burden of disease worldwide, and is ranked the #1 risk factor for the country of Ghana specifically. These calculations attribute a large portion of the HAP-related burden of disease to cardiovascular disease (CVD), but research to date on the health effects of HAP has largely focused on respiratory, and not cardiovascular, outcomes. Blood Pressure (BP) is a known risk factor for CVD, and has been shown to respond to changes in air pollution. A significant positive association was found between CO exposure and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (increase of 0.71 mmHg DBP with each log-unit increase in exposure to CO). An increase in systolic blood pressure was also observed with increasing CO exposure, but the results were not statistically significant. This cross-sectional analysis supports the conclusion that household air pollution from wood-burning fires is associated with increased blood pressure, particularly DBP, in pregnant women at early to mid-gestation. As the observed increase is small, its clinical significance remains uncertain.
WASH ABSTRACTS
Waste Water- An Asset or Liability? A Study on The Use of Waste Water For Irrigation In Lusaka’s Kaunda Square Compound. Authors: Nosiku Sipilanyambe Munyinda, et al.
Abstract: http://goo.gl/eutqAD
The study revealed that in almost all the criteria given, the practice falls short of the WHO guidelines. In Crop Restriction, all manner of crops were grown including those that are eaten raw and do not require cooking like cabbage and lettuce. Further, when it came to Wastewater Application Techniques, the farmers revealed that they sprinkled the water which means that they are exposed to harmful chemicals and organisms in the water. This perhaps correlates with their admission of having suffered from a myriad of illnesses in the last 6 months. The vegetables are sold as soon as they are harvested despite the high levels of e-coli and other pathogens present as evidenced by the results from the water and vegetable samples collected from the area.
The Impacts of Climate Change on Cholera Cases In Malaysia: A Case Study Of Sabah.
Abstract: http://goo.gl/JL4qP3
This study is an attempt to quantify climate-induced increases in morbidity rates associated with cholera. Methods: Monthly cases of cholera between 2004 and 2013 were obtained from the Communicable Disease Control Division of the Malaysian Ministry of Health. Climate data, including average monthly temperature and precipitation were obtained from the Malaysian Meteorological Department. A linear regression model was developed to quantify the relationship between climatic parameters and the number of cholera cases in Sabah. Results: The total number of cholera cases in Sabah during the 10 years study period was 2758 cases with 25 deaths. The mean age of the patients was 21±19 years old. Among them, 61.4% were Malaysians and 50.9% were males. The regression model revealed statistically significant relationship between both increasing temperature and cholera cases.
Related Diseases with Water Distribution And Sewage Collection In Brazilian Population, 2008 – 2012.
Abstract: http://goo.gl/sEi6tK
Access to efficient system of distribution of drinking water and sewage collection/treatment still represents, in the modern world, a public health problem. Diseases related to consumption of water, such as enteric diarrhea, affects regions with low investment
in these systems, and children are considered the most vulnerable. The main objective of this work was to investigate the relationship between, water supply, sewage, and hospitalizations due to enteric diseases in different regions of Brazil. When the analyzes
were performed according to the Brazilian states, we observed that hospitalization rates for enteric diseases were lower in São Paulo and comparing these rates with those of Pará, it was observed that this was about 12 times higher in children and the hospitalization
rate for enteric diseases is even greater. The Pará state's population has the lowest rate of attendance by sewer, with only 2.5% of residents with access to this service and has the third worst HDI (0,646). These data can be understood as an indicator of
health resulting from inadequate situation of water supply and sewage, since the origin of the condition is widely related to socio-economic factors such as hygiene conditions and the handling of water resources.