ORCID Profile
0000-0003-4046-2405
Current Organisation
University of Sydney
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Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 30-08-2017
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 10-10-2017
Abstract: Exposure to traffic related nitrogen dioxide (NO
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 24-08-2005
Abstract: There are no reported studies on the effects of ambient air pollution on emergency department (ED) attendances in Sydney, Australia. This study aimed to determine associations between ambient air pollutants and ED attendances for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in those aged 65+ years. We constructed daily time series of hospital ED attendances, air pollutants and meteorological factors for the Sydney metropolitan area from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2001. We used generalised linear models to determine associations between daily air pollution and daily ED attendances and controlled for the effects of long-term trends, seasonality, weather and other potential confounders. Increased ED attendances for all CVD, cardiac disease and ischaemic heart disease were seen with 24-h particulate pollution, 1-h NO(2), 8-h CO and 24-h SO(2). Air pollutants were associated with decreased ED attendances for stroke. The effects of air pollutants on CVD, cardiac disease and stroke attendances were generally greater in the cool period compared to the warm period. The single-pollutant effects of CO, O(3), NO(2) and SO(2) were essentially unchanged in two-pollutant models. Although air pollution levels in Sydney are relatively low compared to similar cities, we have demonstrated associations between ambient air pollutants and ED attendances for CVD in people aged 65+ years. Our study adds to the growing evidence for the effects of ambient air pollution on CVD outcomes even at relatively low ambient concentrations.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-03-2020
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-08-2008
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2020
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 24-05-2022
Abstract: Flood events can be dramatic and traumatic. People exposed to floods are liable to suffer from a variety of adverse mental health outcomes. The adverse effects of stressors during the recovery process (secondary stressors) can sometimes be just as severe as the initial trauma. Six months after extensive flooding in rural Australia, a survey of 2530 locals was conducted focusing on their flood experiences and mental health status. This mixed methods study analysed (a) quantitative data from 521 respondents (21% of total survey respondents) who had insurance coverage and whose household was inundated, 96 (18%) of whom reported an insurance dispute or denial and (b) qualitative data on insurance-related topics in the survey’s open comments sections. The mental health outcomes were all significantly associated with the degree of flood inundation. The association was strong for probable PTSD and ongoing distress (Adjusted Odds Ratios (AORs) with 95% confidence intervals 2.67 (1.8–4.0) and 2.30 (1.6–3.3), respectively). The associations were less strong but still significant for anxiety and depression (AORs 1.79 (1.2–2.7) and 1.84 (1.2–2.9)). The secondary stressor of insurance dispute had stronger associations with ongoing distress and depression than the initial flood exposure (AORs 2.43 (1.5–3.9) and 2.34 (1.4–3.9), respectively). Insurance was frequently mentioned in the open comment sections of the survey. Most comments (78% of comments from all survey respondents) were negative, with common adverse trends including dispute/denial, large premium increases after a claim, inconsistencies in companies’ responses and delayed assessments preventing timely remediation.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-09-2012
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2022
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVRES.2018.01.046
Abstract: Assessing historical exposure to air pollution in epidemiological studies is often problematic because of limited spatial and temporal measurement coverage. Several methods for modelling historical exposures have been described, including land-use regression (LUR). Satellite-based LUR is a recent technique that seeks to improve predictive ability and spatial coverage of traditional LUR models by using satellite observations of pollutants as inputs to LUR. Few studies have explored its validity for assessing historical exposures, reflecting the absence of historical observations from popular satellite platforms like Aura (launched mid-2004). We investigated whether contemporary satellite-based LUR models for Australia, developed longitudinally for 2006-2011, could capture nitrogen dioxide (NO
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-07-2020
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-2014
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVINT.2018.01.028
Abstract: Traffic Related Air Pollution (TRAP) exposure is known to exacerbate existing respiratory diseases. We investigated longer term effects of TRAP exposure for in iduals with or without existing asthma, and with or without lower lung function. Associations between TRAP exposure and asthma (n = 689) and lung function (n = 599) were investigated in the prospective Tasmanian Longitudinal Health Study (TAHS). TRAP exposure at age 45 years was measured using two methods based on residential address: mean annual NO For those who never had asthma by 45, living <200 m from a major road was associated with increased odds of new asthma that persisted from 50 to 53 years (adjusted Odds Ratio [aOR] 5.20 95% CI 1.07, 25.4). Asthmatic participants at 45 had an increased risk of persistent asthma up to 53 years if they were living 200 m from a major road (aOR = 5.21 95% CI 1.54, 17.6). For middle aged adults, living <200 m for a major road (a marker of TRAP exposure) influences both the development and persistence of asthma. These findings have public health implications for asthma prevention strategies in primary and secondary settings.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-11-2019
DOI: 10.5694/MJA2.50405
Abstract: The MJA-Lancet Countdown on health and climate change was established in 2017 and produced its first Australian national assessment in 2018. It examined 41 indicators across five broad domains: climate change impacts, exposures and vulnerability adaptation, planning and resilience for health mitigation actions and health co-benefits economics and finance and public and political engagement. It found that, overall, Australia is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change on health, and that policy inaction in this regard threatens Australian lives. In this report we present the 2019 update. We track progress on health and climate change in Australia across the same five broad domains and many of the same indicators as in 2018. A number of new indicators are introduced this year, including one focused on wildfire exposure, and another on engagement in health and climate change in the corporate sector. Several of the previously reported indicators are not included this year, either due to their discontinuation by the parent project, the Lancet Countdown, or because insufficient new data were available for us to meaningfully provide an update to the indicator. In a year marked by an Australian federal election in which climate change featured prominently, we find mixed progress on health and climate change in this country. There has been progress in renewable energy generation, including substantial employment increases in this sector. There has also been some progress at state and local government level. However, there continues to be no engagement on health and climate change in the Australian federal Parliament, and Australia performs poorly across many of the indicators in comparison to other developed countries for ex le, it is one of the world's largest net exporters of coal and its electricity generation from low carbon sources is low. We also find significantly increasing exposure of Australians to heatwaves and, in most states and territories, continuing elevated suicide rates at higher temperatures. We conclude that Australia remains at significant risk of declines in health due to climate change, and that substantial and sustained national action is urgently required in order to prevent this.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2006
DOI: 10.1016/J.PUHE.2006.05.015
Abstract: To describe the seasonal pattern of hospital admissions for childhood asthma in Sydney, Australia and investigate the relationship between these admissions and time of return to school. Time-series analysis of daily hospital admissions for childhood asthma in Sydney from 1994 to 2000. We defined the time series of all asthma-related hospital admissions in Sydney between 1994 and 2000 for age groups 1-4 and 5-14 years. We analysed the time series for each age group using a generalized additive model with a log-link function, an offset term and quasi-likelihood estimation. Daily admissions were modelled using penalised regression splines adjusting for long term trends, school terms and holidays, weekday and influenza epidemics. After adjusting for potential confounding, the risk of asthma admission increased to a peak between 2 and 4 weeks after the first day of school in each term and varied between 1.5 and 3 times the risk prior to return to school for both age groups. The largest increase in asthma risk occurring in term one after the long summer holiday. The increase in admission risk began soon after the first day of school of each term for school age children 5-14 years, but not in pre-school age children 1-4 years. Returning to school after term holidays is strongly associated with increased risk of hospital admissions for asthma in children, especially following the long summer holiday. Preventive measures focused on return to school have the potential to substantially decrease admissions for asthma in children.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2020
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVPOL.2019.113638
Abstract: The proportion of asthma patients with mild to moderate exacerbations is far greater than the number who experience episodes that are severe enough to require emergency room visits or hospital admission. However the routinely collected data from hospitals is absent in the past. To evaluate associations between short-term exposures to air pollutants and hospital outpatient visits for asthma in China. We obtained data for 143,057 asthma outpatient visits from the largest hospitals in 17 Chinese cities, between Jan 01 2013 and Dec 31 2015. We used daily concentrations of air pollutants measured by the China National Environmental Monitoring Centre. We used a time-stratified case-crossover design, and fitted conditional logistic regression models to determine the associations. Particulate matter ≤10μm in diameter (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were associated with increased risks of hospital outpatient visits for asthma on the same day, while the effects were delayed for particulate matter ≤2.5μm in diameter (PM2.5) and sulphur dioxide (SO2). For the cumulative effect model at lag05 days, 10 μg/m3 increase in air pollutants concentrations were correlated with hospital outpatient visits for asthma with odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals 1.004 (1.000-1.008) for PM2.5, 1.005 (1.002-1.008) for PM10, 1.030 (1.021-1.040) for NO2, and 1.015 (1.008-1.021) for SO2. Almost one in nine (10.9% 7.7, 13.9%) hospital outpatient visits for asthma were attributable to NO2. Short-term exposures to PM2.5, PM10, NO2 and SO2 were associated with hospital outpatient visits for asthma in China.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2022
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 16-10-2022
Abstract: Air pollution exposure may increase the demand for emergency healthcare services, particularly in South-East Asia, where the burden of air-pollution-related health impacts is high. This article aims to investigate the association between air quality and emergency hospital admissions in Singapore. Quasi-Poisson regression was applied with a distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM) to assess the short-term associations between air quality variations and all-cause, emergency admissions from a major hospital in Singapore, between 2009 and 2017. Higher concentrations of SO2, PM2.5, PM10, NO2, and CO were positively associated with an increased risk of (i) all-cause, (ii) cardiovascular-related, and (iii) respiratory-related emergency admissions over 7 days. O3 concentration increases were associated with a non-linear decrease in emergency admissions. Females experienced a higher risk of emergency admissions associated with PM2.5, PM10, and CO exposure, and a lower risk of admissions with NO2 exposure, compared to males. The older adults (≥65 years) experienced a higher risk of emergency admissions associated with SO2 and O3 exposure compared to the non-elderly group. We found significant positive associations between respiratory disease- and cardiovascular disease-related emergency hospital admissions and ambient SO2, PM2.5, PM10, NO2, and CO concentrations. Age and gender were identified as effect modifiers of all-cause admissions.
Publisher: Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Date: 2010
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 06-02-2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2020
Publisher: American Public Health Association
Date: 05-1998
Abstract: OBJECTIVES: This study examined the effects of outdoor air pollutants in Sydney, Australia, on daily mortality. METHODS: Time-series analysis was performed on counts of daily mortality and major outdoor air pollutants (particulates, ozone, and nitrogen dioxide) in Sydney (1989 to 1993) with adjustment for seasonal and cyclical factors. Poisson regression was calculated with allowance for overdispersion and autocorrelation. The effects of lagging exposure by 0 to 2 days were assessed with single- and multiple-pollutant models. RESULTS: An increase in daily mean particulate concentration from the 10th to the 90th centile was associated with an increase of 2.63% (95% confidence interval 0.87 to 4.41) in all-cause mortality and 2.68% (0.25 to 5.16) in cardiovascular mortality. An increase in daily maximum 1-hour ozone concentration from the 10th to the 90th centile was associated with an increase of 2.04% (0.37 to 3.73) in all-cause mortality and 2.52% (-0.25 to 5.38) in cardiovascular mortality. An increase in the daily mean nitrogen dioxide concentration from the 10th to the 90th centile was associated with an increase of 7.71% (-0.34 to 16.40) in respiratory mortality. Multiple-pollutant models suggest that the effects of particulates and ozone on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, and of nitrogen dioxide on respiratory mortality, are independent of the effects of the other pollutants. CONCLUSIONS: Current levels of air pollution in Sydney are associated with daily mortality.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2013
Abstract: To identify risk factors for preterm birth and determine if these vary by degree of prematurity. We used data from the state-wide mandatory surveillance system for all births in New South Wales, limiting analysis to the 836,292 live born, singleton infants without known birth anomaly born from 1994 to 2004 inclusive. Our main outcome measure was gestational age stratified into the clinically relevant groups of: 'term' (37-42 completed weeks gestation) 'mildly preterm' (33-36 weeks) 'very preterm' (29-32 weeks) and 'extremely preterm' (23-28 weeks). Analysis was by multivariate modelling using a generalised estimating equations model and confidence intervals adjusted to account for the multiple comparisons. Increasing socioeconomic disadvantage was associated with increasing risk of having a preterm baby. This association strengthened with increasing degree of preterm birth, (adjusted Odds Ratio for mothers from the most disadvantaged areas having an 'extremely preterm' baby = 1.45 [99.67% CI 1.21-1.75] compared to least disadvantaged areas). Mothers who were older, who smoked, were Aboriginal, or had pre-existing diabetes, hypertension, or pre-ecl sia were independently more likely to have a preterm baby. First-time mothers were more likely to have their baby at term. While risk factors for preterm birth such as pre-existing medical conditions are treatable, reducing the substantial effects of socioeconomic factors on preterm birth presents the greatest potential for change. Our data shows that tackling wider social issues will be necessary to assist in reducing the rising preterm birth rate.
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 02-10-2018
Abstract: Australia has relatively erse sources and low concentrations of ambient fine particulate matter (<2.5 μm, PM
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2022.158010
Abstract: Myocardial infarction is an important cause of cardiovascular mortality and can be precipitated by climatic factors. The temperature dependence of myocardial infarction risk has been well examined in temperate settings. Fewer studies have investigated this in the tropics where thermal litudes are narrower. This study investigated how ambient temperature influenced the risk of non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), an increasingly common type of myocardial infarction, in the tropical city-state of Singapore. All nationally reported NSTEMI cases from 2009 to 2018 were included and assessed for its short-term association with ambient temperature using conditional Poisson regression models that comprised a three-way interaction term with year, month and day of the week and adjusted for relative humidity. The Distributed Lag Non-Linear Modelling (DLNM) was used to account for the immediate and lagged effects of environmental exposures. Stratified analysis by sex and age groups was undertaken to assess potential effect modification. There were 60,643 reports of NSTEMI. Temperature decline (cool effect) was associated with a delayed cumulative, non-linear increase in NSTEMI risk over 10 days post exposure [Relative Risk (RR Short-term temperature fluctuations were independently associated with NSTEMI incidence in the tropics, with age as a potential effect modifier of this association. An increase in the frequency of climate change driven temperature events may trigger more instances of NSTEMI in tropical cosmopolitan cities.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2001
DOI: 10.1111/J.1467-842X.2001.TB00315.X
Abstract: To investigate in idual factors associated with an asthma outbreak among children aged one to 14 years in Sydney in February 1999. A case control study was undertaken with cases (n=92) defined as all children admitted to Sydney Children's Hospital for asthma in February 1999. Unmatched controls (n=76) were all children admitted for asthma in the previous three months. We obtained information by a structured telephone survey of parents. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine odds ratios for risk factors for hospital admission. Mean age for hospital admission of 4.7 years for cases and 4.4 years for controls. The presence of one or more siblings reduced the risk of admission during an asthma outbreak (OR=0.59, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.93). Children with older siblings aged 10 to 14 years were also less likely to be admitted (OR=0.3, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.74). An age effect was observed. Other demographic, clinical and environmental characteristics, including smoking, were not associated with admission during the outbreak. The main findings of this study are the protective effect of siblings and an age-dependent effect in risk of hospital admission during an asthma outbreak. These findings are consistent with an infective cause of the outbreak. Children without siblings, particularly older siblings, appear to be at highest risk of hospital admission during an asthma outbreak. Environmental and other factors need to be examined to further explain the episodicity of such outbreaks and to determine means of predicting and preventing future episodes.
Publisher: Environmental Health Perspectives
Date: 05-2003
DOI: 10.1289/EHP.5885
Abstract: We compared mortality of 1,999 outdoor staff working as part of an insecticide application program during 1935-1996 with that of 1,984 outdoor workers not occupationally exposed to insecticides, and with the Australian population. Surviving subjects also completed a morbidity questionnaire. Mortality was significantly higher in both exposed and control subjects compared with the Australian population. The major cause was mortality from smoking-related diseases. Mortality was also significantly increased in exposed subjects for a number of conditions that do not appear to be the result of smoking patterns. Compared with the general Australian population, mortality over the total study period was increased for asthma [standardized mortality ratio (SMR) = 3.45 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.39-7.10] and for diabetes (SMR = 3.57 95% CI, 1.16-8.32 for subjects working < 5 years). Mortality from pancreatic cancer was more frequent in subjects exposed to 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (SMR = 5.27 95% CI, 1.09-15.40 for subjects working < 3 years). Compared with the control population, mortality from leukemia was increased in subjects working with more modern chemicals (standardized incidence ratio = 20.90 95% CI, 1.54-284.41 for myeloid leukemia in the highest exposure group). There was also an increase in self-reported chronic illness and asthma, and lower neuropsychologic functioning scores among surviving exposed subjects when compared with controls. Diabetes was reported more commonly by subjects reporting occupational use of herbicides. These findings lend weight to other studies suggesting an association between adverse health effects and exposure to pesticides.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2005
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 13-12-2022
DOI: 10.1093/IJE/DYAC229
Abstract: With high temperature becoming an increasing health risk due to a changing climate, it is important to quantify the scale of the problem. However, estimating the burden of disease (BoD) attributable to high temperature can be challenging due to differences in risk patterns across geographical regions and data accessibility issues. We present a methodological framework that uses Köppen–Geiger climate zones to refine exposure levels and quantifies the difference between the burden observed due to high temperatures and what would have been observed if the population had been exposed to the theoretical minimum risk exposure distribution (TMRED). Our proposed method aligned with the Australian Burden of Disease Study and included two parts: (i) estimation of the population attributable fractions (PAF) and then (ii) estimation of the BoD attributable to high temperature. We use suicide and self-inflicted injuries in Australia as an ex le, with most frequent temperatures (MFTs) as the minimum risk exposure threshold (TMRED). Our proposed framework to estimate the attributable BoD accounts for the importance of geographical variations of risk estimates between climate zones, and can be modified and adapted to other diseases and contexts that may be affected by high temperatures. As the heat-related BoD may continue to increase in the future, this method is useful in estimating burdens across climate zones. This work may have important implications for preventive health measures, by enhancing the reproducibility and transparency of BoD research.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 30-04-2009
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-2009
DOI: 10.1080/00016340902818170
Abstract: To better characterize the relation between socioeconomic disadvantage and small-for-gestational age births (SGA). Analysis of data from a mandatory population-based surveillance system. Public or private hospitals and at home. All 877,951 singleton births occurring in New South Wales, Australia, between 1994 and 2004. Multilevel models were developed to determine the factors associated with babies weighing less than the 3rd percentile for gestation and gender. Odds of SGA. The risk of SGA increased with increasing socioeconomic disadvantage. Smoking accounted for approximately 40% of the increased risk associated with socioeconomic disadvantage, and delayed antenatal care approximately 5%. While the absolute rate of SGA remained stable over the study period, the odds of SGA in mothers living in the most disadvantaged areas compared to those in the least disadvantaged areas increased from approximately 1.7 to 2.2. This trend persisted after accounting for maternal smoking. The risk of SGA over this period also increased in mothers commencing antenatal care after the first trimester. After accounting for smoking, socioeconomic disadvantage and clinical conditions, mothers under 21 years of age were at reduced risk of SGA, but mothers over 35 were at increased risk. Socioeconomic disadvantage remains one of the dominant determinants of SGA, even in a developed country with universal insurance. This relation appears to be strengthening. Smoking patterns, inadequate antenatal care and clinical conditions partially account for this association and trend, however, most is mediated by other factors.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.INJURY.2022.03.044
Abstract: In Australia, people living in rural areas, compared to major cities are at greater risk of poor health. There is much evidence of preventable disparities in trauma outcomes, however research quantifying geographic variations in injuries, pathways to specialised care and patient outcomes is scarce. (i) To analyse the Australia New Zealand Trauma Registry (ATR) data and report patterns of serious injuries according to rurality of the injury location ii) to examine the relationship between rurality and hospital mortality and iii) to compare ATR death rates with all deaths from similar causes, Australia-wide. A retrospective cohort study of patients in the ATR from 1 Compared to major cities, rural patients were younger, more likely to have spinal cord injuries, and sustain traffic-related injuries that are 'off road'. Injuries occurring outside people's homes are more likely. Mortality risk was greater for patients sustaining severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) spinal cord injury (SCI) and head trauma in addition to intentional injuries. Compared to the ATR data, Australian population-wide trauma mortality rates showed erging trends according to rurality. The ATR only captures 14.1% of all injury deaths occurring in major cities and, respectively, 6.3% and 3.2% of deaths in regional and remote areas. Compared to major cities, injuries occurring in rural areas of Australia often involve different mechanisms and result in different types of severe injuries. Patients with neurotrauma and intentional injuries who survived to receive definitive care at a MTC were at higher risk of hospital death. To inform prevention strategies and reduce morbidity and mortality associated with rural trauma, improvements to data systems are required that involve data linkage and include information about patient care from pre-hospital providers, regional hospitals and major trauma centres.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 11-1997
DOI: 10.1080/00039899709602223
Abstract: The results of several studies have indicated significant associations between daily mortality and air pollution, with little evidence of a threshold. In the current study, the authors examined daily mortality during the period 1987-1993 for the Brisbane region, which is the fastest-growing urban region in Australia (annual average concentration of particulate matter less than 10 microm in diameter = 27 microg/m3, maximum hourly sulfur dioxide level = 60 ppb, and maximum daily ozone hourly level = 118 ppb). The authors conducted a general estimating equation analysis, and they used autoregressive Poisson models for daily mortality to examine associations with air pollution variables. The authors used research methods developed in the Air Pollution on Health, European Approach (APHEA), project to control confounding effects of weather and temporal trends. The air pollutants examined included particulate pollution (measured by nephelometry [bsp data]), sulfur dioxide, ozone, and nitrogen dioxide. The results indicated that the associations between total daily mortality and particulate levels found in studies in the United States and other countries may be applicable in Brisbane, Australia. Ozone levels were also associated significantly with total daily mortality. There was little evidence of interaction between the ozone effects (mainly in summer) and particulates or with sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. The associations between pollutants (ozone, bsp) and daily mortality were significant only for in iduals who were older than 65 y of age positive associations were also found with cardiovascular disease categories, and the regression coefficients--when significant--were higher than those for total mortality. The results indicated a possible threshold for ozone levels, but a similar result for particulate levels was not apparent.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.ACTATROPICA.2022.106454
Abstract: Ross River virus (RRV) infection is one of the emerging and prevalent arboviral diseases in Australia and the Pacific Islands. Although many studies have been conducted to establish the relationship between temperature and RRV infection, there has been no comprehensive review of the association so far. In this study, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effect of temperature on RRV transmission. We searched PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science with additional lateral searches from references. The quality and strength of evidence from the included studies were evaluated following the Navigation Guide framework. We have qualitatively synthesized the evidence and conducted a meta-analysis to pool the relative risks (RRs) of RRV infection per 1 °C increase in temperature. Subgroup analyses were performed by climate zones, temperature metrics, and lag periods. A total of 17 studies met the inclusion criteria, of which six were included in the meta-analysis The meta-analysis revealed that the overall RR for the association between temperature and the risk of RRV infection was 1.09 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02, 1.17). Subgroup analyses by climate zones showed an increase in RRV infection per 1 °C increase in temperature in humid subtropical and cold semi-arid climate zones. The overall quality of evidence was "moderate" and we rated the strength of evidence to be "limited", warranting additional evidence to reduce uncertainty. The results showed that the risk of RRV infection is positively associated with temperature. However, the risk varies across different climate zones, temperature metrics and lag periods. These findings indicate that future studies on the association between temperature and RRV infection should consider local and regional climate, socio-demographic, and environmental factors to explore vulnerability at local and regional levels.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2011
DOI: 10.1016/J.WATRES.2011.08.045
Abstract: This paper describes the spatio-temporal variation of trihalomethanes in drinking water in New South Wales, Australia from 1997 to 2007 We obtained data on trihalomethanes (THMs) from two metropolitan and 13 rural water utilities and conducted a descriptive analysis of the spatial and temporal trends in THMs and the influence of season and drought. Concetrations of monthly THMs in the two metropolitan water utilities of Sydney/Illawarra (mean 66.8 μg/L) and Hunter (mean 62.7 μg/L) were similar compared to the considerable variation between rural water utilities (range in mean THMs: 14.5-330.7 μg/L). Chloroform was the predominate THM in two-thirds of the rural water utilities. Higher concentrations of THMs were found in chlorinated water distribution systems compared to chloraminated systems, and in distribution systems sourced from surface water compared to ground water or mixed surface and ground water. Ground water sourced supplies had a greater proportion of brominated THMs than surface water sourced supplies. There was substantial variation in concentration of THMs between seasons and between periods of drought or no drought. There was a moderate correlation between heavy rainfall and elevated concentrations of THMs. There is considerable spatial and temporal variation in THMs amongst New South Wales water utilities and these variations are likely related to water source, treatment processes, catchments, drought and seasonal factors.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-11-2013
Abstract: This study examined the association between unusually high temperature and daily mortality (1997–2007) and hospital admissions (1997–2010) in the Sydney Greater Metropolitan Region (GMR) to assist in the development of targeted health programs designed to minimise the public health impact of extreme heat. Sydney GMR was categorized into five climate zones. Heat-events were defined as severe or extreme. Using a time-stratified case-crossover design with a conditional logistic regression model we adjusted for influenza epidemics, public holidays, and climate zone. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals were estimated for associations between daily mortality and hospital admissions with heat-event days compared to non-heat event days for single and three day heat-events. All-cause mortality overall had similar magnitude associations with single day and three day extreme and severe events as did all cardiovascular mortality. Respiratory mortality was associated with single day and three day severe events (95 th percentile, lag0: OR = 1.14 95%CI: 1.04 to 1.24). Diabetes mortality had similar magnitude associations with single day and three day severe events (95 th percentile, lag0: OR = 1.22 95%CI: 1.03 to 1.46) but was not associated with extreme events. Hospital admissions for heat related injuries, dehydration, and other fluid disorders were associated with single day and three day extreme and severe events. Contrary to our findings for mortality, we found inconsistent and sometimes inverse associations for extreme and severe events with cardiovascular disease and respiratory disease hospital admissions. Controlling for air pollutants did not influence the mortality associations but reduced the magnitude of the associations with hospital admissions particularly for ozone and respiratory disease. Single and three day events of unusually high temperatures in Sydney are associated with similar magnitude increases in mortality and hospital admissions. The trend towards an inverse association between cardio-vascular admissions and heat-events and the strong positive association between cardio-vascular mortality and heat-events suggests these events may lead to a rapid deterioration in persons with existing cardio-vascular disease resulting in death. To reduce the adverse effects of high temperatures over multiple days, and less extreme but more frequent temperatures over single days, targeted public health messages are critical.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 24-02-2019
Abstract: Improving the walkability of built environments to promote healthy lifestyles and reduce high body mass is increasingly considered in regional development plans. Walkability indexes have the potential to inform, benchmark and monitor these plans if they are associated with variation in body mass outcomes at spatial scales used for health and urban planning. We assessed relationships between area-level walkability and prevalence and geographic variation in overweight and obesity using an Australian population-based cohort comprising 92,157 Sydney respondents to the 45 and Up Study baseline survey between January 2006 and April 2009. In idual-level data on overweight and obesity were aggregated to 2006 Australian postal areas and analysed as a function of area-level Sydney Walkability Index quartiles using conditional auto regression spatial models adjusted for demographic, social, economic, health and socioeconomic factors. Both overweight and obesity were highly clustered with higher-than-expected prevalence concentrated in the urban sprawl region of western Sydney, and lower-than-expected prevalence in central and eastern Sydney. In fully adjusted spatial models, prevalence of overweight and obesity was 6% and 11% lower in medium-high versus low, and 10% and 15% lower in high versus low walkability postcodes, respectively. Postal area walkability explained approximately 20% and 9% of the excess spatial variation in overweight and obesity that remained after accounting for other in idual- and area-level factors. These findings provide support for the potential of area-level walkability indexes to inform, benchmark and monitor regional plans aimed at targeted approaches to reducing population-levels of high body mass through environmental interventions. Future research should consider potential confounding due to neighbourhood self-selection on area-level walkability relations.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 06-12-2018
DOI: 10.3390/FIRE1030050
Abstract: The extensible Biomass Smoke Validated Events Database is an ongoing, community driven, collection of air pollution events which are known to be caused by vegetation fires such as bushfires (also known as wildfire and wildland fires), or prescribed fuel reduction burns, and wood heaters. This is useful for researchers of health impacts who need to distinguish smoke from vegetation versus other sources. The overarching aim is to study statistical associations between biomass smoke pollution and health. Extreme pollution events may also be caused by dust storms or fossil fuel smog events and so validation is necessary to ensure the events being studied are from biomass. This database can be extended by contribution from other researchers outside the original team. There are several available protocols for adding validated smoke events to the database, to ensure standardization across datasets. Air pollution data can be included, and free software was created for identification of extreme values. Protocols are described for reference material needed as supporting evidence for event days. The utility of this database has previously been demonstrated in analyses of hospitalization and mortality. The database was created using open source software that works across operating systems. The prospect for future extensions to the database is enhanced by the description in this paper, and the availability of these data on the open access Github repository enables easy addition to the database with new data by the research community.
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2021
DOI: 10.1071/AHV45N1_ED3
Abstract: A warming climate is increasing the duration of fire seasons and the risk of more extensive and intense bushfires. The Black Summer bushfires that occurred in Australia from September 2019 to early February 2020 were unprecedented in their scale and intensity. The fires led to loss of lives and homes, and widespread destruction of flora, fauna and ecosystems. Dense smoke from these catastrophic fires blanketed major cities and towns for weeks. A Commonwealth Royal Commission and two state inquiries provided recommendations for reducing the risk of future bushfires and for better disaster management processes to support the preparedness, relief, response and recovery to such megafires. While strategies to reduce the risk of bushfires and the damage to our biota and ecosystems are necessary and important, there is also an urgent need for mitigation strategies to reduce or prevent emission of greenhouse gases. If we are to minimise the planetary effects of a warming climate, we need to limit global warming to well below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels and to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. This requires transformative thinking and action by our political leaders that builds on the Australian public and industry’s willingness to play their part.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVRES.2019.108777
Abstract: Asthma-related outcomes are regularly used by studies to investigate the association between human exposure to landscape fire smoke and health. Robust summary effect estimates are required to inform health protection policy for fire smoke exposure. To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the association between short-term exposure to landscape fire smoke (LFS) fine particulate matter (PM We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis following PRISMA guidelines. Four databases (PubMed, Medline, EMBASE and Scopus) and reference lists of recent fire smoke and health reviews were searched. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to evaluate the quality of case-crossover studies, and a previously validated quality assessment framework was used for observational studies lacking control groups. Publication bias was assessed using funnel plots and Egger's Test. The trim and fill method was used when there was evidence of publication bias. Sensitivity and influence analyses were conducted on all endpoints to test the robustness of estimates. Summary estimates were obtained for hospitalisations and emergency department (ED) visits. A descriptive analysis was conducted for physician visits, medication use, and salbutamol dispensations. From an initial 181 articles (after duplicate removal), 20 studies were included for quantitative assessment and descriptive synthesis. LFS PM Females and all adults aged over 65 years appear to be the population groups most sensitive to asthma-related outcomes when exposed to LFS PM
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 06-09-2019
Abstract: Air pollution has emerged as one of the world’s largest environmental health threats, with various studies demonstrating associations between exposure to air pollution and respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Regional air quality in Southeast Asia has been seasonally affected by the transboundary haze problem, which has often been the result of forest fires from “slash-and-burn” farming methods. In light of growing public health concerns, recent studies have begun to examine the health effects of this seasonal haze problem in Southeast Asia. This review paper aims to synthesize current research efforts on the impact of the Southeast Asian transboundary haze on acute aspects of public health. Existing studies conducted in countries affected by transboundary haze indicate consistent links between haze exposure and acute psychological, respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurological morbidity and mortality. Future prospective and longitudinal studies are warranted to quantify the long-term health effects of recurrent, but intermittent, exposure to high levels of seasonal haze. The mechanism, toxicology and pathophysiology by which these toxic particles contribute to disease and mortality should be further investigated. Epidemiological studies on the disease burden and socioeconomic cost of haze exposure would also be useful to guide policy-making and international strategy in minimizing the impact of seasonal haze in Southeast Asia.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2017
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVINT.2016.11.018
Abstract: Emergency ambulance dispatches (EAD) are a novel outcome for evaluating the public health impacts of air pollution. We assessed the relationships between ambient particulate matter (PM) from all sources, PM from landscape fire smoke (LFS), and EADs likely to be associated with cardiorespiratory problems in the Sydney greater metropolitan region for an 11-year period from 2004 to 2015. EAD codes are assigned at the time of the call to emergency services using standard computer assisted algorithms. We assessed EADs coded as: breathing problems, chest pain, stroke or cerebrovascular accident (stroke), cardiac or respiratory arrest and death (arrest), and heart or defibrillator problems (other heart problems). Using a daily times series study design with a generalized linear Poisson regression model we quantified the association between EAD and daily PM Increases of 10μg·m Emergency dispatches for breathing problems are associated with PM
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-07-2020
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-11-2022
DOI: 10.1111/PPE.12822
Abstract: Exposure to high ambient temperatures has been shown to increase the risk of spontaneous preterm birth. Determining which maternal factors increase or decrease this risk will inform climate adaptation strategies. This study aims to assess the risk of spontaneous preterm birth associated with exposure to ambient temperature and differences in this relationship between mothers with different health and demographic characteristics. We used quasi‐Poisson distributed lag non‐linear models to estimate the effect of high temperature—measured as the 95th percentile of daily minimum, mean and maximum compared with the median—on risk of spontaneous preterm birth (23–36 weeks of gestation) in pregnant women in New South Wales, Australia. We estimated the cumulative lagged effects of daily temperature and analyses on population subgroups to assess increased or decreased vulnerability to this effect. Pregnant women ( n = 916,678) exposed at the 95th percentile of daily mean temperatures (25ºC) had an increased risk of preterm birth (relative risk 1.14, 95% confidence interval 1.07, 1.21) compared with the median daily mean temperature (17℃). Similar effect sizes were seen for the 95th percentile of minimum and maximum daily temperatures compared with the median. This risk was slightly higher among women with diabetes, hypertension, chronic illness and women who smoked during pregnancy. Higher temperatures increase the risk of preterm birth and women with pre‐existing health conditions and who smoke during pregnancy are potentially more vulnerable to these effects.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-10-2017
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 16-08-2020
Abstract: Many studies document the relationship between housing quality and health status. Poor housing in Aboriginal communities continues to be linked to the compromised health status of Aboriginal Australians. The New South Wales (NSW) Housing for Health (HfH) program has been assessing and repairing Aboriginal community housing across the state for 20 years using a standardised intervention methodology that aims to improve the health of Aboriginal people in NSW by improving their living environments. Items are tested and repairs are prioritised to maximise safety and health benefits and measured against 11 Critical Healthy Living Priorities (e.g., safety, facilities for washing people and clothes, removing waste and preparing food). Descriptive analysis of data collected pre- and post-intervention from 3670 houses was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the program. Analysis demonstrated statistically significant improvements in the ability of the houses to support safe and healthy living for all critical healthy living priorities post-interventions. Trend analysis demonstrated the magnitude of these improvements increased over 20 years. In 24 communities (n = 802 houses) where projects were repeated (5–17 years later), results indicate sustainability of improvements for 9 of 11 priorities. However, the overall condition of health-related hardware in Aboriginal community housing across NSW pre-intervention has not significantly changed during the program’s 20 years. Results suggest a systematic lack of routine maintenance and quality control continues to be the overwhelming cause for this lack of improvement pre-intervention. Our evaluation of the HfH program demonstrated that fidelity to a standardised housing testing and repair methodology to improve residents’ safety and health can have sustainable effects on housing infrastructure and associated health benefits, such as a 40% reduction in infectious disease hospital separations. Housing and health agencies should collaborate more closely on social housing programs and ensure programs are adequately resourced to address safety and health issues.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-12-2007
DOI: 10.1007/S00420-007-0290-0
Abstract: We aimed to determine the effects of ambient air pollutants on emergency department (ED) visits for asthma in children. We obtained routinely collected ED visit data for asthma (ICD9 493) and air pollution (PM(10), PM(2.5), O(3), NO(2), CO and SO(2)) and meteorological data for metropolitan Sydney for 1997-2001. We used the time stratified case-crossover design and conditional logistic regression to model the association between air pollutants and ED visits for four age-groups (1-4, 5-9, 10-14 and 1-14 years). Estimated relative risks for asthma ED visits were calculated for an exposure corresponding to the inter-quartile range in pollutant level. We included same day average temperature, same day relative humidity, daily temperature range, school holidays and public holidays in all models. Associations between ambient air pollutants and ED visits for asthma in children were most consistent for all six air pollutants in the 1-4 years age-group, for particulates and CO in the 5-9 years age-group and for CO in the 10-14 years age-group. The greatest effects were most consistently observed for lag 0 and effects were greater in the warm months for particulates, O(3) and NO(2). In two pollutant models, effect sizes were generally smaller compared to those derived from single pollutant models. We observed the effects of ambient air pollutants on ED attendances for asthma in a city where the ambient concentrations of air pollutants are relatively low.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2013
Abstract: We examined the association between validated bushfire smoke pollution events and hospital admissions in three eastern Australian cities from 1994 to 2007. Smoke events were defined as days on which bushfire smoke caused the 24-hour citywide average concentration of airborne particles to exceed the 99(th) percentile of the daily distribution for the study period. We used a time-stratified case-crossover design to assess the association between smoke events and hospital admissions. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated for cardiovascular and respiratory conditions on event days compared with non-event days. Models were adjusted for daily meteorology, influenza epidemics and holidays. Smoke events occurred on 58 days in Sydney (population: 3,862,000), 33 days in Wollongong (population: 406,000) and 50 days in Newcastle (population: 278,000). In Sydney, events were associated with a 6% (OR=1.06, 95%CI=1.02-1.09) same day increase in respiratory hospital admissions. Same day chronic obstructive pulmonary disease admissions increased 13% (OR=1.13, 95%CI=1.05-1.22) and asthma admissions by 12% (OR=1.12, 95%CI=1.05-1.19). Events were also associated with increased admissions for respiratory conditions in Newcastle and Wollongong. Smoke events were associated with increased hospital admissions for respiratory but not cardiovascular conditions. Large populations are needed to assess the impacts of brief exposures. Implications : Public health impacts from bushfire pollution events are likely to increase in association with a warming climate and more frequent severe fire weather.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-09-2019
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 11-2015
Publisher: AMPCo
Date: 23-02-2020
DOI: 10.5694/MJA2.50511
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 03-02-2018
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 08-01-2013
DOI: 10.1136/BMJ.E8446
Publisher: AMPCo
Date: 02-12-2020
DOI: 10.5694/MJA2.50869
Publisher: Environmental Health Perspectives
Date: 03-2013
DOI: 10.1289/EHP.1205575
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 19-06-2022
Abstract: The health impacts of climate are widely recognised, and extensive modelling is available on predicted changes to climate globally. The impact of these changes may affect populations differently depending on a range of factors, including geography, socioeconomics and culture. This study reviewed current evidence on the health risks of climate change for Australian Aboriginal populations and linked Aboriginal demographic data to historical and projected climate data to describe the distribution of climate-related exposures in Aboriginal compared to non-Aboriginal populations in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The study showed Aboriginal populations were disproportionately exposed to a range of climate extremes in heat, rainfall and drought, and this disproportionate exposure was predicted to increase with climate change over the coming decades. Aboriginal people currently experience higher rates of climate-sensitive health conditions and socioeconomic disadvantages, which will impact their capacity to adapt to climate change. Climate change may also adversely affect cultural practices. These factors will likely impact the health and well-being of Aboriginal people in NSW and inhibit measures to close the gap in health between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations. Climate change, health and equity need to be key considerations in all policies at all levels of government. Effective Aboriginal community engagement is urgently needed to develop and implement climate adaptation responses to improve health and social service preparedness and secure environmental health infrastructure such as drinking water supplies and suitably managed social housing. Further Aboriginal-led research is required to identify the cultural impacts of climate change on health, including adaptive responses based on Aboriginal knowledges.
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 11-2019
DOI: 10.1136/BMJOPEN-2019-028947
Abstract: Greenspace is one of the important factors that can promote an active lifestyle. Thus, greener surroundings may be a motivating factor for people with newly diagnosed diabetes to engage in more physical activity. Given that diagnosis of type 2 diabetes (T2D) may serve as a window opportunity for behavioural modification, we hypothesise that the association between neighbourhood greenspace and physical activity among people with newly diagnosed T2D may be greater than those not diagnosed with T2D. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between access to greenspace and changes in physical activity and sedentary behaviour, and whether these associations differed by T2D. Prospective cohort. New South Wales, Australia. We used self-reported information from the New South Wales 45 and Up Study (baseline) and a follow-up study. Information on sitting, walking and moderate to vigorous physical activity was used as outcomes. The proportion of greenspace within 500 m, 1 km and 2 km road network buffers around participant’s residential address was generated as a proxy measure for access to greenspace. The association between the access to greenspace and the outcomes were explored among the newly diagnosed T2D group and those without T2D. Among New T2D, although no significant changes were found in the amount of walking with the percentage of greenspace, increasing trends were apparent. There was no significant association between the percentage of greenspace and changes in amount of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Among No T2D, there were no significant associations between the amount of MVPA and walking, and percentage of greenspace. For changes in sitting time, there were no significant associations with percentage of greenspace regardless of buffer size. In this study, there was no association between access to greenspace at baseline and change in walking, MVPA and sitting time, regardless of T2D status.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-10-2012
Publisher: The Sax Institute
Date: 2006
DOI: 10.1071/NB06009
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 13-04-2021
Abstract: During extreme air pollution events, such as bushfires, public health agencies often recommend that vulnerable in iduals visit a nearby public building with central air conditioning to reduce their exposure to smoke. However, there is limited evidence that these “cleaner indoor air shelters” reduce exposure or health risks. We quantified the impact of a “cleaner indoor air shelter” in a public library in Port Macquarie, NSW, Australia when concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) were elevated during a local peat fire and nearby bushfires. Specifically, we evaluated the air quality improvements with central air conditioning only and with the use of portable high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter air cleaners. We measured PM2.5 from August 2019 until February 2020 by deploying pairs of low-cost PM2.5 sensors (i) inside the main library, (ii) in a smaller media room inside the library, (iii) outside the library, and (iv) co-located with regulatory monitors located in the town. We operated two HEPA cleaners in the media room from August until October 2019. We quantified the infiltration efficiency of outdoor PM2.5 concentrations, defined as the fraction of the outdoor PM2.5 concentration that penetrates indoors and remains suspended, as well as the additional effect of HEPA cleaners on PM2.5 concentrations. The infiltration efficiency of outdoor PM2.5 into the air-conditioned main library was 30%, meaning that compared to the PM2.5 concentration outdoors, the concentrations of outdoor-generated PM2.5 indoors were reduced by 70%. In the media room, when the HEPA cleaners were operating, PM2.5 concentrations were reduced further with a PM2.5 infiltration efficiency of 17%. A carefully selected air-conditioned public building could be used as a cleaner indoor air shelter during episodes of elevated smoke emissions. Further improvements in indoor air quality within the building can be achieved by operating appropriately sized HEPA cleaners.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVINT.2019.02.044
Abstract: Epidemiological studies show that long-term exposure to ambient air pollution reduces life expectancy. Most studies have been in environments with relatively high concentrations such as North America, Europe and Asia. Associations at the lower end of the concentration-response function are not well defined. We assessed associations between all-cause mortality and exposure to annual average particulate matter <2.5 μm (PM The '45 and Up Study' comprises a prospective longitudinal cohort from the state of New South Wales, Australia with 266,969 participants linked to death registry data. We analyzed data for the participants who resided in Sydney at baseline questionnaire (n = 75,268). Exposures to long-term pollution were estimated using annual averages from a chemical transport model (PM In our cohort mean annual PM We found evidence that low-level air pollution exposure was associated with increased risk of mortality in this cohort of adults aged 45 years and over, even at the relatively low concentrations seen in Sydney. However, a clear determination of the association with mortality is difficult because the results were sensitive to some covariates. Our findings are supportive of emerging evidence that exposure to low levels of air pollution reduces life expectancy.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2022
Publisher: Queensland University of Technology
Date: 19-04-2019
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 22-01-2021
Abstract: Dust storms originating from Central Australia and western New South Wales frequently cause high particle concentrations at many sites across New South Wales, both inland and along the coast. This study focussed on a dust storm event in February 2019 which affected air quality across the state as detected at many ambient monitoring stations in the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) air quality monitoring network. The WRF-Chem (Weather Research and Forecast Model—Chemistry) model is used to study the formation, dispersion and transport of dust across the state of New South Wales (NSW, Australia). Wildfires also happened in northern NSW at the same time of the dust storm in February 2019, and their emissions are taken into account in the WRF-Chem model by using Fire Inventory from NCAR (FINN) as emission input. The model performance is evaluated and is shown to predict fairly accurate the PM2.5 and PM10 concentration as compared to observation. The predicted PM2.5 concentration over New South Wales during 5 days from 11 to 15 February 2019 is then used to estimate the impact of the February 2019 dust storm event on three health endpoints, namely mortality, respiratory and cardiac disease hospitalisation rates. The results show that even though as the daily average of PM2.5 over some parts of the state, especially in western and north western NSW near the centre of the dust storm and wild fires, are very high (over 900 µg/m3), the population exposure is low due to the sparse population. Generally, the health impact is similar in order of magnitude to that caused by biomass burning events from wildfires or from hazardous reduction burnings (HRBs) near populous centres such as in Sydney in May 2016. One notable difference is the higher respiratory disease hospitalisation for this dust event (161) compared to the fire event (24).
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 13-04-2021
Abstract: The choice of a green space metric may affect what relationship is found with health outcomes. In this research, we investigated the relationship between percent green space area, a novel metric developed by us (based on the average contiguous green space area a spatial buffer has contact with), in three different types of buffers and type 2 diabetes (T2D). We obtained information about diagnosed T2D and relevant covariates at the in idual level from the large and representative 45 and Up Study. Average contiguous green space and the percentage of green space within 500 m, 1 km, and 2 km of circular buffer, line-based road network (LBRN) buffers, and polygon-based road network (PBRN) buffers around participants’ residences were used as proxies for geographic access to green space. Generalized estimating equation regression models were used to determine associations between access to green space and T2D status of in iduals. It was found that 30%–40% green space within 500 m LBRN or PBRN buffers, and 2 km PBRN buffers, but not within circular buffers, significantly reduced the risk of T2D. The novel average green space area metric did not appear to be particularly effective at measuring reductions in T2D. This study complements an existing research body on optimal buffers for green space measurement.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 09-07-2021
DOI: 10.1177/10105395211031735
Abstract: Smoke from forest fires can reach hazardous levels for extended periods of time. We aimed to determine if there is an association between particulate matter ≤2.5 µm in aerodynamic diameter (PM 2.5 ) and living in a forest fire–prone province and cognitive function. We used data from the Indonesian Family and Life Survey. Cognitive function was assessed by the Ravens Colored Progressive Matrices (RCPM). We used regression models to estimate associations between PM 2.5 and living in a forest fire–prone province and cognitive function. In multivariable models, we found very small positive relationships between PM 2.5 levels and RCPM scores (PM 2.5 level at year of survey: β = 0.1% 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.01, 0.19%]). There were no differences in RCPM scores for children living in forest fire–prone provinces compared with children living in non-forest fire–prone provinces (mean difference = −1.16%, 95% CI [–2.53, 0.21]). RCPM scores were lower for children who had lived in a forest fire–prone province all their lives compared with children who lived in a non-forest fire–prone province all their life (β = −1.50% 95% CI [–2.94, –0.07]). Living in a forest fire–prone province for a prolonged period of time negatively affected cognitive scores after adjusting for in idual factors.
Publisher: Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Date: 2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2015
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVRES.2015.09.007
Abstract: Among industrialised countries, fine particle (PM2.5) and ozone levels in the Sydney metropolitan area of Australia are relatively low. Annual mean PM2.5 levels have historically remained below 8 μg/m(3) while warm season (November-March) ozone levels occasionally exceed the Australian guideline value of 0.10 ppm (daily 1 h max). Yet, these levels are still below those seen in the United States and Europe. This analysis focuses on two related questions: (1) what is the public health burden associated with air pollution in Sydney and (2) to what extent would reducing air pollution reduce the number of hospital admissions, premature deaths and number of years of life lost (YLL)? We addressed these questions by applying a damage function approach to Sydney population, health, PM2.5 and ozone data for 2007 within the BenMAP-CE software tool to estimate health impacts and economic benefits. We found that 430 premature deaths (90% CI: 310-540) and 5800 YLL (95% CI: 3900-7600) are attributable to 2007 levels of PM2.5 (about 2% of total deaths and 1.8% of YLL in 2007). We also estimate about 630 (95% CI: 410-840) respiratory and cardiovascular hospital admissions attributable to 2007 PM2.5 and ozone exposures. Reducing air pollution levels by even a small amount will yield a range of health benefits. Reducing 2007 PM2.5 exposure in Sydney by 10% would, over 10 years, result in about 650 (95% CI: 430-850) fewer premature deaths, a gain of 3500 (95% CI: 2300-4600) life-years and about 700 (95% CI: 450-930) fewer respiratory and cardiovascular hospital visits. These results suggest that substantial health benefits are attainable in Sydney with even modest reductions in air pollution.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 07-12-2022
Abstract: In the original publication [...]
Publisher: Environmental Health Perspectives
Date: 07-2011
DOI: 10.1289/EHP.1002725
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2018
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 13-07-2021
Abstract: Due to climate change, bushfires are becoming a more frequent and more severe phenomenon which contributes to poor health effects associated with air pollution. In pregnancy, environmental exposures can have lifelong consequences for the fetus, but little is known about these consequences in the context of bushfire smoke exposure. In this review we summarise the current knowledge in this area, and propose a potential mechanism linking bushfire smoke exposure in utero to poor perinatal and respiratory outcomes in the offspring. Bushfire smoke exposure is associated with poor pregnancy outcomes including reduced birth weight and an increased risk of prematurity. Some publications have outlined the adverse health effects on young children, particularly in relation to emergency department presentations and hospital admissions for respiratory problems, but there are no studies in children who were exposed to bushfire smoke in utero. Prenatal stress is likely to occur as a result of catastrophic bushfire events, and stress is known to be associated with poor perinatal and respiratory outcomes. Changes to DNA methylation are potential epigenetic mechanisms linking both smoke particulate exposure and prenatal stress to poor childhood respiratory health outcomes. More research is needed in large pregnancy cohorts exposed to bushfire events to explore this further, and to design appropriate mitigation interventions, in this area of global public health importance.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 04-12-2019
Abstract: This paper presents a summary of the key findings of the special issue of Atmosphere on Air Quality in New South Wales and discusses the implications of the work for policy makers and in iduals. This special edition presents new air quality research in Australia undertaken by (or in association with) the Clean Air and Urban Landscapes hub, which is funded by the National Environmental Science Program on behalf of the Australian Government’s Department of the Environment and Energy. Air pollution in Australian cities is generally low, with typical concentrations of key pollutants at much lower levels than experienced in comparable cities in many other parts of the world. Australian cities do experience occasional exceedances in ozone and PM2.5 (above air pollution guidelines), as well as extreme pollution events, often as a result of bushfires, dust storms, or heatwaves. Even in the absence of extreme events, natural emissions play a significant role in influencing the Australian urban environment, due to the remoteness from large regional anthropogenic emission sources. By studying air quality in Australia, we can gain a greater understanding of the underlying atmospheric chemistry and health risks in less polluted atmospheric environments, and the health benefits of continued reduction in air pollution. These conditions may be representative of future air quality scenarios for parts of the Northern Hemisphere, as legislation and cleaner technologies reduce anthropogenic air pollution in European, American, and Asian cities. However, in many instances, current legislation regarding emissions in Australia is significantly more lax than in other developed countries, making Australia vulnerable to worsening air pollution in association with future population growth. The need to avoid complacency is highlighted by recent epidemiological research, reporting associations between air pollution and adverse health outcomes even at air pollutant concentrations that are lower than Australia’s national air quality standards. Improving air quality is expected to improve health outcomes at any pollution level, with specific benefits projected for reductions in long-term exposure to average PM2.5 concentrations.
Publisher: AMPCo
Date: 04-2018
DOI: 10.5694/MJA18.00032
Publisher: AMPCo
Date: 10-2002
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2021
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 2013
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 30-04-2022
Abstract: Heatwaves are associated with increased mortality and are exacerbated by the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Thus, to inform climate change mitigation and adaptation, we quantified the mortality burden of historical heatwave days in Sydney, Australia, assessed the contribution of the UHI effect and used climate change projection data to estimate future health impacts. We also assessed the potential for tree cover to mitigate against the UHI effect. Mortality (2006–2018) records were linked with census population data, weather observations (1997–2016) and climate change projections to 2100. Heatwave-attributable excess deaths were calculated based on risk estimates from a published heatwave study of Sydney. High resolution satellite observations of UHI air temperature excesses and green cover were used to determine associated effects on heat-related mortality. These data show that % of heatwave days would not breach heatwave thresholds in Sydney if there were no UHI effect and that numbers of heatwave days could increase fourfold under the most extreme climate change scenario. We found that tree canopy reduces urban heat, and that widespread tree planting could offset the increases in heat-attributable deaths as climate warming progresses.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-10-2021
DOI: 10.5694/MJA2.51302
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 20-12-2019
Abstract: Ambient air pollution is a risk factor for both acute and chronic diseases and poses serious health threats to the world population. We aim to study the relationship between air pollution and all-cause mortality in the context of a city-state exposed to the Southeast Asian haze problem. The primary exposure was ambient air pollution, as measured by the Pollutants Standards Index (PSI). The outcome of interest was all-cause mortality from 2010–2015. A time-stratified case-crossover design was performed. A conditional Poisson regression model, including environmental variables such as PSI, temperature, wind speed, and rainfall, was fitted to the daily count of deaths to estimate the incidence rate ratio (IRR) of mortality per unit increase in PSI, accounting for overdispersion and autocorrelation. To account for intermediate exposure effects (maximum lag of 10 days), a distributed lag non-linear model was used. There were 105,504 deaths during the study period. Increment in PSI was significantly associated with an increased risk of mortality. The adjusted IRR of mortality per the 10-unit increase in PSI was 1.01 (95%CI = 1.00–1.01). The lag effect was stronger when PSI was in the unhealthy range compared to the good and moderate ranges. At lag = 7 days, PSI appeared to have an adverse effect on mortality, although the effect was not significant. These findings provide evidence on the general health hazard of exposure to air pollution and can potentially guide public health policies in the region.
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Date: 20-05-2020
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVINT.2018.08.050
Abstract: Short- and long-term spatiotemporal variation in exposure to air pollution is associated with respiratory morbidity in areas with moderate-to-high level of air pollution, but very few studies have examined whether these associations also exist in areas with low level exposure. We assessed the association between spatial variation in long-term exposure to PM We recorded data on hospitalisations for 100,084 participants, who were aged >45 years at entry in 2006-2009 until June 2014. Annual NO NO We found weak positive associations of exposure to air pollution with hospitalisation for asthma while there was no evidence of an association for all respiratory diseases.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-01-2009
DOI: 10.1111/J.1440-1584.2008.01030.X
Abstract: To provide a framework for investigating the influence of socioeconomic and cultural factors on rural health. Discussion paper. Socioeconomic and cultural factors have long been thought to influence an in idual's health. We suggest a framework for characterising these factors that comprises in idual-level (e.g. in idual socioeconomic status, sex, race) and neighbourhood-level dimensions (population composition, social environment, physical environment) operating both independently and through interaction. Recent spatial research suggests that in rural communities, socioeconomic disadvantage and indigenous status are two of the greatest underlying influences on health status. However, rural communities also face additional challenges associated with access to, and utilisation of, health care. The ex le is given of procedural angiography for in iduals with an acute coronary event. Socioeconomic and cultural factors specific to rural Australia are key influences on the health of residents. These range from in idual-level factors, such as rural stoicism, poverty and substance use norms, to neighbourhood-level social characteristics, such as lack of services, migration out of rural areas of younger community members weakening traditionally high levels of social cohesion, and to environmental factors, such as climate change and access to services.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 31-08-2021
Abstract: We aimed to determine the associations between ambient air pollution, specifically particulate matter less than or equal to 10 microns and 2.5 microns (PM10 and PM2.5 respectively) and ozone (O3), and stillbirths. We analysed all singleton births between 20–42 weeks gestation in metropolitan Sydney, Australia, from 1997 to 2012. We implemented logistic regression to assess the associations between air pollutants and stillbirth for each trimester and for the entire pregnancy. Over the study period, there were 967,694 live births and 4287 stillbirths. Mean levels of PM10, PM2.5 and O3 for the entire pregnancy were 17.9 µg/m3, 7.1 µg/m3 and 3.2 ppb, respectively. Adjusted odds ratios were generally greater than unity for associations between PM and stillbirths, but none were statistically significant. There were no significant associations between O3 and stillbirths. There was potential effect modification of the PM10 and O3 association by maternal age. We did not find consistent evidence of associations between PM and O3 and stillbirths in Sydney, Australia. More high quality birth cohort studies are required to clarify associations between air pollution and stillbirths.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2021
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 18-11-2022
DOI: 10.3389/FPUBH.2022.1056370
Abstract: Studies assessing the health benefits of air pollution reduction in Vietnam are scarce. This study quantified the annual mortality burden due to PM 2.5 pollution in Vietnam above the World Health Organization recommendation for community health (AQG: 5 μg/m 3 ) and the proposed National Technical Regulation on Ambient Air Quality ( proposed QCVN: 15 μg/m 3 ). This study applied a health impact assessment methodology with the hazard risk function for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and lower respiratory infections (LRIs) in the Global Exposure Mortality Model (GEMM) to calculate attributable deaths, Years of Life lost, and Loss of Life expectancy at birth due to air pollution in the Vietnamese population above 25 years of age in 11 provinces. We obtained annual average PM 2.5 concentrations for Vietnam in 2019 at a 3x3 km grid modeled using Mixed Linear regression and multi-data sources. Population and baseline mortality data were obtained from administrative data system in Vietnam. We reported the findings at both the provincial and smaller district levels. Annual PM 2.5 concentrations in all studied provinces exceeded both the AQG and the proposed QCVN . The maximum annual number of attributable deaths in the studied provinces if they had complied with WHO air quality guidelines was in Ha Noi City, with 5,090 (95%CI: 4,253–5,888) attributable deaths. At the district level, the highest annual rate of attributable deaths if the WHO recommendation for community health had been met was 104.6 (95%CI: 87.0–121.5) attributable deaths per 100,000 population in Ly Nhan (Ha Nam province). A much larger number of premature deaths in Vietnam could potentially be avoided by lowering the recommended air quality standard. These results highlight the need for effective clean air action plans by local authorities to reduce air pollution and improve community health.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2020
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEUINT.2019.104615
Abstract: Epidemiological studies have reported contradictory results regarding the effects of ambient air pollution on Parkinson's disease (PD). This study investigated the associations between long-term exposure to particulate matter <2.5 μm in diameter (PM We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of long-term exposure to PM Among the 236,390 participants with complete data, 1,428 (0.6%) reported physician-diagnosed PD. Annual mean PM Overall, we found limited evidence of associations between long-term exposure to NO
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-12-2019
DOI: 10.1111/JRH.12407
Abstract: Socioecological factors are understudied in relation to trauma patients' outcomes. This study investigated the association of neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage (SED) and remoteness of residence on acute length of hospital stay days (ALSD) and inpatient mortality. A retrospective cohort study was conducted on adults hospitalized for major trauma in a Level 1 trauma center in southeast Queensland from 2014 to 2017. Neighborhood SED and remoteness indices were linked to in idual patient variables. Step-wise multivariable negative binomial regression and proportional hazards regression analyses were undertaken, adjusting for injury and patient factors. Outcomes were ALSD and inpatient mortality. We analyzed 1,025 patients. Statistically significant increased hazard of inpatient mortality was found for older age (HR 3.53, 95% CI: 1.77-7.11), injury severity (HR 5.27, 95% CI: 2.78-10.02), remoteness of injury location (HR 1.75, 95% CI: 1.06-2.09), and mechanisms related to intentional self-harm or assault (HR 2.72, 95% CI: 1.48-5.03,). Excess mortality risk was apparent for rural patients sustaining less severe injuries (HR 4.20, 95% CI: 1.35-13.10). Increased risk for longer ALSD was evident for older age (RR 1.35, 95% CI: 1.07-1.71), head injury (RR 1.39, 95% CI: 1.19-1.62), extremity injuries (RR 1.82, 95% CI: 1.55-2.14), and higher injury severity scores (ISS) (RR 1.51, 95%: CI: 1.29-1.76). Severely injured rural trauma patients are more likely to be socioeconomically disadvantaged and sustain injuries predisposing them to worse hospital outcomes. Further research is needed to understand more about care pathways and factors influencing the severity, mechanism and clinical consequences of rural-based traumatic injuries.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2011
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVRES.2011.05.007
Abstract: Extreme air pollution events due to bushfire smoke and dust storms are expected to increase as a consequence of climate change, yet little has been published about their population health impacts. We examined the association between air pollution events and mortality in Sydney from 1997 to 2004. Events were defined as days for which the 24h city-wide concentration of PM(10) exceeded the 99th percentile. All events were researched and categorised as being caused by either smoke or dust. We used a time-stratified case-crossover design with conditional logistic regression modelling adjusted for influenza epidemics, same day and lagged temperature and humidity. Reported odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals are for mortality on event days compared with non-event days. The contribution of elevated average temperatures to mortality during smoke events was explored. There were 52 event days, 48 attributable to bushfire smoke, six to dust and two affected by both. Smoke events were associated with a 5% increase in non-accidental mortality at a lag of 1 day OR (95% confidence interval (CI)) 1.05 (95%CI: 1.00-1.10). When same day temperature was removed from the model, additional same day associations were observed with non-accidental mortality OR 1.05 (95%CI: 1.00-1.09), and with cardiovascular mortality OR (95%CI) 1.10 (95%CI: 1.00-1.20). Dust events were associated with a 15% increase in non-accidental mortality at a lag of 3 days, OR (95%CI) 1.16 (95%CI: 1.03-1.30). The magnitude and temporal patterns of association with mortality were different for smoke and dust events. Public health advisories during bushfire smoke pollution episodes should include advice about hot weather in addition to air pollution.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 06-12-2019
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 1997
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-03-2020
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 14-04-2022
DOI: 10.3389/IJPH.2022.1604331
Abstract: Objective: This study reports the mortality burden due to PM 2.5 exposure among adults (age & ) living in Hanoi in 2017. Methods: We applied a health impact assessment methodology with the global exposure mortality model and a PM 2.5 map with 3 × 3 km resolution derived from multiple data sources. Results: The annual average PM 2.5 concentration for each grid ranged from 22.1 to 37.2 µg/m³. The district average concentration values ranged from 26.9 to 37.2 µg/m³, which means that none of the 30 districts had annual average values below the Vietnam Ambient National Standard of 25 µg/m 3 . Using the Vietnam Ambient National Standard as the reference standard, we estimated that 2,696 deaths (95% CI: 2,225 to 3,158) per year were attributable to exposure to elevated PM 2.5 concentrations in Hanoi. Using the Interim Target 4 value of 10 µg/m 3 as the reference standard, the number of excess deaths attributable to elevated PM 2.5 exposure was 4,760 (95% CI: 3,958–5,534). Conclusion : A significant proportion of deaths in Hanoi could be avoided by reducing air pollution concentrations to a level consistent with the Vietnam Ambient National Standard.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 31-12-2020
Abstract: Ambient fine particulate matter .5 µm (PM2.5) air pollution increases premature mortality globally. Some PM2.5 is natural, but anthropogenic PM2.5 is comparatively avoidable. We determined the impact of long-term exposures to the anthropogenic PM component on mortality in Australia. PM2.5-attributable deaths were calculated for all Australian Statistical Area 2 (SA2 n = 2310) regions. All-cause death rates from Australian mortality and population databases were combined with annual anthropogenic PM2.5 exposures for the years 2006–2016. Relative risk estimates were derived from the literature. Population-weighted average PM2.5 concentrations were estimated in each SA2 using a satellite and land use regression model for Australia. PM2.5-attributable mortality was calculated using a health-impact assessment methodology with life tables and all-cause death rates. The changes in life expectancy (LE) from birth, years of life lost (YLL), and economic cost of lost life years were calculated using the 2019 value of a statistical life. Nationally, long-term population-weighted average total and anthropogenic PM2.5 concentrations were 6.5 µg/m3 (min 1.2–max 14.2) and 3.2 µg/m3 (min 0–max 9.5), respectively. Annually, anthropogenic PM2.5-pollution is associated with 2616 (95% confidence intervals 1712, 3455) deaths, corresponding to a 0.2-year (95% CI 0.14, 0.28) reduction in LE for children aged 0–4 years, 38,962 (95%CI 25,391, 51,669) YLL and an average annual economic burden of $6.2 billion (95%CI $4.0 billion, $8.1 billion). We conclude that the anthropogenic PM2.5-related costs of mortality in Australia are higher than community standards should allow, and reductions in emissions are recommended to achieve avoidable mortality.
Publisher: AMPCo
Date: 11-2016
DOI: 10.5694/MJA16.00895
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Date: 12-2020
Abstract: Waste-to-energy (WtE) processes, or the combustion of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) for energy generation, has the potential to reduce landfill volume while providing a renewable energy source. We aimed to systematically review and summarise current evidence on the potential health effects (benefits and risks) of exposure to WtE/RDF-related combustion emissions. We searched PubMed and Google Scholar using terms related to health and WtE/RDF combustion emissions, following PRISMA guidelines. Two authors independently screened titles, abstracts and then full-texts of original, peer-reviewed research articles published until 20th March 2020, plus their relevant references. Overall quality of included epidemiological studies were rated using an amended Navigation framework. We found 19 articles from 269 search results that met our inclusion criteria, including two epidemiological studies, five environmental monitoring studies, seven health impact or risk assessments (HIA/HRA), and five life-cycle assessments. We found a dearth of health studies related to the impacts of exposure to WtE emissions. The limited evidence suggests that well-designed and operated WtE facilities using sorted feedstock (RDF) are critical to reduce potential adverse health (cancer and non-cancer) impacts, due to lower hazardous combustion-related emissions, compared to landfill or unsorted incineration. Poorly fed WtE facilities may emit concentrated toxins with serious potential health risks, such as dioxins/furans and heavy metals these toxins may remain problematic in bottom ash as a combustion by-product. Most modelling studies estimate that electricity (per unit) generated from WtE generally emits less health-relevant air pollutants (also less greenhouse gases) than from combustion of fossil fuels (e.g. coal). Some modelled estimates vary due to model sensitivity for type of waste processed, model inputs used, and facility operational conditions. We conclude that rigorous assessment (e.g. HRA including sensitivity analyses) of WtE facility/technological characteristics and refuse type used is necessary when planning roposing facilities to protect human health as the technology is adopted worldwide.
Publisher: AMPCo
Date: 29-11-2018
DOI: 10.5694/MJA18.00789
Abstract: Climate plays an important role in human health and it is well established that climate change can have very significant impacts in this regard. In partnership with The Lancet and the MJA, we present the inaugural Australian Countdown assessment of progress on climate change and health. This comprehensive assessment examines 41 indicators across five broad sections: climate change impacts, exposures and vulnerability adaptation, planning and resilience for health mitigation actions and health co-benefits economics and finance and public and political engagement. These indicators and the methods used for each are largely consistent with those of the Lancet Countdown global assessment published in October 2017, but with an Australian focus. Significant developments include the addition of a new indicator on mental health. Overall, we find that Australia is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change on health, and that policy inaction in this regard threatens Australian lives. In a number of respects, Australia has gone backwards and now lags behind other high income countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom. Ex les include the persistence of a very high carbon-intensive energy system in Australia, and its slow transition to renewables and low carbon electricity generation. However, we also find some ex les of good progress, such as heatwave response planning. Given the overall poor state of progress on climate change and health in Australia, this country now has an enormous opportunity to take action and protect human health and lives. Australia has the technical knowhow and intellect to do this, and our annual updates of this assessment will track Australia's engagement with and progress on this vitally important issue.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2023
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-02-2005
DOI: 10.1111/J.1398-9995.2005.00741.X
Abstract: Prototype nasal filters were developed to collect inhaled pollen. This study evaluated the efficacy of the filters for prevention of rhinitis symptoms during acute outdoor pollen exposure. A randomized double-blind design was used. Subjects (n=46) with a history of autumn exacerbation of rhinitis and positive skin test to ragweed, Bermuda and/or Bahia grass wore either active or placebo nasal filters for 2 h in autumn in a park containing these species. Major and Total Symptoms scores were recorded at 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 min. Subjects wearing active nasal filters had significantly reduced scores, at all time-points compared with placebo group (all P <0.05). Of 14 in idual symptoms measured, seven were significantly reduced (number of sneezes, runny nose, itchy nose, sniffles, itchy throat itchy eyes and watery eyes) and another three showed a trend towards lower severity. The nasal filters also enabled the resolution of existing symptoms. Maximal difference in symptoms was seen immediately after subjects had spent 20 min sitting beside a large patch of ragweed. This is the first clinical trial of a nasal filter. The results suggest it has potential for enhancing rhinitis management during acute allergen exposure.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 04-2011
DOI: 10.3155/1047-3289.61.4.390
Abstract: Epidemiological studies of exposure to vegetation fire smoke are often limited by the availability of accurate exposure data. This paper describes a systematic framework for retrospectively identifying the cause of air pollution events to facilitate a long, multicenter analysis of the public health effects of vegetation fire smoke pollution in Australia. Pollution events were statistically defined as any day at or above the 95th percentile of the 24-hr average concentration of particulate matter (PM). These were identified for six cities from three distinct ecoclimatic regions of Australia. The dates of each event were then crosschecked against a range of information sources, including online newspaper archives, government and research agency records, satellite imagery, and aerosol optical thickness measures to identify the cause for the excess particulate pollution. Pollution events occurred most frequently during summer for cities in subtropical and arid regions and during winter for cities in temperate regions. A cause for high PM on 67% of days examined in the city of Sydney was found, and 94% of these could be attributed to landscape fire smoke. Results were similar for cities in other subtropical and arid locations. Identification of the cause of pollution events was much lower in colder temperate regions where fire activity is less frequent. Bushfires were the most frequent cause of extreme pollution events in cities located in subtropical and arid regions of Australia. Although identification of pollution episodes was greatly improved by the use of multiple sources of information, satellite imagery was the most useful tool for identifying bushfire smoke pollution events.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 16-06-2022
Abstract: Wildfires are increasing and cause health effects. The immediate and ongoing health impacts of prolonged wildfire smoke exposure in severe asthma are unknown. This longitudinal study examined the experiences and health impacts of prolonged wildfire (bushfire) smoke exposure in adults with severe asthma during the 2019/2020 Australian bushfire period. Participants from Eastern/Southern Australia who had previously enrolled in an asthma registry completed a questionnaire survey regarding symptoms, asthma attacks, quality of life and smoke exposure mitigation during the bushfires and in the months following exposure. Daily in idualized exposure to bushfire particulate matter (PM2.5) was estimated by geolocation and validated modelling. Respondents (n = 240) had a median age of 63 years, 60% were female and 92% had severe asthma. They experienced prolonged intense PM2.5 exposure (mean PM2.5 32.5 μg/m3 on 55 bushfire days). Most (83%) of the participants experienced symptoms during the bushfire period, including: breathlessness (57%) wheeze/whistling chest (53%) and cough (50%). A total of 44% required oral corticosteroid treatment for an asthma attack and 65% reported reduced capacity to participate in usual activities. About half of the participants received information/advice regarding asthma management (45%) and smoke exposure minimization strategies (52%). Most of the participants stayed indoors (88%) and kept the windows/doors shut when inside (93%), but this did not clearly mitigate the symptoms. Following the bushfire period, 65% of the participants reported persistent asthma symptoms. Monoclonal antibody use for asthma was associated with a reduced risk of persistent symptoms. Intense and prolonged PM2.5 exposure during the 2019/2020 bushfires was associated with acute and persistent symptoms among people with severe asthma. There are opportunities to improve the exposure mitigation strategies and communicate these to people with severe asthma.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 29-03-2021
Abstract: The 2019–2020 summer wildfire event on the east coast of Australia was a series of major wildfires occurring from November 2019 to end of January 2020 across the states of Queensland, New South Wales (NSW), Victoria and South Australia. The wildfires were unprecedent in scope and the extensive character of the wildfires caused smoke pollutants to be transported not only to New Zealand, but also across the Pacific Ocean to South America. At the peak of the wildfires, smoke plumes were injected into the stratosphere at a height of up to 25 km and hence transported across the globe. The meteorological and air quality Weather Research and Forecasting with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) model is used together with the air quality monitoring data collected during the bushfire period and remote sensing data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) satellites to determine the extent of the wildfires, the pollutant transport and their impacts on air quality and health of the exposed population in NSW. The results showed that the WRF-Chem model using Fire Emission Inventory (FINN) from National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) to simulate the dispersion and transport of pollutants from wildfires predicted the daily concentration of PM2.5 having the correlation (R2) and index of agreement (IOA) from 0.6 to 0.75 and 0.61 to 0.86, respectively, when compared with the ground-based data. The impact on health endpoints such as mortality and respiratory and cardiovascular diseases hospitalizations across the modelling domain was then estimated. The estimated health impact on each of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) census districts (SA4) of New South Wales was calculated based on epidemiological assumptions of the impact function and incidence rate data from the 2016 ABS and NSW Department of Health statistical health records. Summing up all SA4 census district results over NSW, we estimated that there were 247 (CI: 89, 409) premature deaths, 437 (CI: 81, 984) cardiovascular diseases hospitalizations and 1535 (CI: 493, 2087) respiratory diseases hospitalizations in NSW over the period from 1 November 2019 to 8 January 2020. The results are comparable with a previous study based only on observation data, but the results in this study provide much more spatially and temporally detailed data with regard to the health impact from the summer 2019–2020 wildfires.
Publisher: The Sax Institute
Date: 2004
DOI: 10.1071/NB04037
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2013
DOI: 10.1071/AH12152
Abstract: Background. Research on frequent or avoidable hospital admission has not focussed on the perspectives of service providers or rural settings. The link between social isolation and admission is not well explored, although social isolation is known to have negative health effects. Objective. This paper reports further analysis from a study investigating service providers’ perspectives on factors influencing frequent hospital admission in older patients with chronic disease, and explores the perceived role of social isolation. Methods. Semi-structured interviews with 15 purposively s led community-based service providers in rural New South Wales, Australia were thematically analysed. Results. Social isolation was repeatedly identified as an important contributory factor in frequent and/or avoidable admission. Patients were described as socially isolated in three broad and interrelating ways: living alone, not socialising and being isolated from family. Social isolation was perceived to contribute to admission by limiting opportunities offered by social interaction, including opportunities for: improving mental health, pain tolerance and nutritional status facilitating access to services reinforcing healthful behaviours and providing a monitoring role. Conclusions. Social isolation is perceived to contribute to admission in ways that may be amenable to intervention. Further research is needed to understand patients’ perspectives on the role of social isolation in admission, in order to inform policy and programs aimed at reducing hospitalisation among older people with chronic disease. What is known about the topic? Social isolation has been shown to adversely affect physical health and mental health and wellbeing across a range of populations. However, less is known about the influence of social isolation on hospital admission among older people with chronic disease, and in particular in instances where admission might have been avoided. What does this paper add? This paper adds to our understanding of the ways in which social isolation might link to hospital admission among older people with chronic conditions. It does this by reporting the perspectives of community-based service providers with many years’ experience of working with this patient group. What are the implications for practitioners? Practitioners need to consider the wider determinants of hospital admission among older patients with chronic disease, including social structures and support. For policy makers the implications are to review support for such patients and explore the possible impact of reducing social isolation on hospital admission.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2022
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-06-2007
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 2007
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-2009
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2016
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVINT.2015.11.012
Abstract: This study investigates the mortality effect of primary and secondary PM2.5 related to ship exhaust in the Sydney greater metropolitan region of Australia. A detailed inventory of ship exhaust emissions was used to model a) the 2010/11 concentration of ship-related PM2.5 across the region, and b) the reduction in PM2.5 concentration that would occur if ships used distillate fuel with a 0.1% sulfur content at berth or within 300 km of Sydney. The annual loss of life attributable to 2010/11 levels of ship-related PM2.5 and the improvement in survival associated with use of low-sulfur fuel were estimated from the modelled concentrations. In 2010/11, approximately 1.9% of the region-wide annual average population weighted-mean concentration of all natural and human-made PM2.5 was attributable to ship exhaust, and up to 9.4% at suburbs close to ports. An estimated 220 years of life were lost by people who died in 2010/11 as a result of ship exhaust-related exposure (95% CIβ: 140-290, where CIβ is the uncertainty in the concentration-response coefficient only). Use of 0.1% sulfur fuel at berth would reduce the population weighted-mean concentration of PM2.5 related to ship exhaust by 25% and result in a gain of 390 life-years over a twenty year period (95% CIβ: 260-520). Use of 0.1% sulfur fuel within 300 km of Sydney would reduce the concentration by 56% and result in a gain of 920 life-years over twenty years (95% CIβ: 600-1200). Ship exhaust is an important source of human exposure to PM2.5 in the Sydney greater metropolitan region. This assessment supports intervention to reduce ship emissions in the GMR. Local strategies to limit the sulfur content of fuel would reduce exposure and will become increasingly beneficial as the shipping industry expands. A requirement for use of 0.1% sulfur fuel by ships within 300 km of Sydney would provide more than twice the mortality benefit of a requirement for ships to use 0.1% sulfur fuel at berth.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 22-03-2021
Abstract: There is an established association between air pollution and cardiovascular disease (CVD), which is likely to be mediated by systemic inflammation. The present study evaluated links between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and high-sensitivity C reactive protein (hs-CRP) in an older Chinese adult cohort (n = 7915) enrolled in the World Health Organization (WHO) study on global aging and adult health (SAGE) China Wave 1 in 2008–2010. Multilevel linear and logistic regression models were used to assess the associations of particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) on log-transformed hs-CRP levels and odds ratios of CVD risk derived from CRP levels adjusted for confounders. A satellite-based spatial statistical model was applied to estimate the average community exposure to outdoor air pollutants (PM with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 μm or less (PM10), 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5), and 1 μm or less (PM1) and NO2) for each participant of the study. hs-CRP levels were drawn from dried blood spots of each participant. Each 10 μg/m3 increment in PM10, PM2.5, PM1, and NO2 was associated with 12.8% (95% confidence interval (CI): 9.1, 16.6), 15.7% (95% CI: 10.9, 20.8), 10.2% (95% CI: 7.3, 13.2), and 11.8% (95% CI: 7.9, 15.8) higher serum levels of hs-CRP, respectively. Our findings suggest that air pollution may be an important factor in increasing systemic inflammation in older Chinese adults.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-2022
DOI: 10.1111/PAI.13872
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-2015
Publisher: Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Date: 2012
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 25-11-2020
DOI: 10.20944/PREPRINTS202011.0642.V1
Abstract: Dust storms originating from Central Australia and western New South Wales frequently cause high particles concentration at many sites across New South Wales, both inland and along the coast. This study focussed on a dust storm event in February 2019 which affect air quality across the state as detected at many ambient monitoring stations in the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) air quality monitoring network. The WRF-Chem (Weather Research and Forecast Model & ndash Chemistry) model is used to study the formation, dispersion and transport of dust across the state of New South Wales (NSW, Australia). Wildfires also happened in northern NSW at the same time of the dust storm in February 2019, and their emissions are taken into account in WRF-Chem model by using Fire Inventory from NCAR (FINN) as emission input. The model performance is evaluated and is shown to predict fairly accurate the PM2.5 and PM10 concentration as compared to observation. The predicted PM2.5 concentration over New South Wales during 5 days from 11 to 15 February 2019 is then used to estimate the impact of the February 2019 dust storm event on three health endpoints namely mortality, respiratory and cardiac diseases hospitalisation rates. The results show that even though as the daily average of PM2.5 over some parts of the state, especially in western and north western NSW near the centre of the dust storm and wild fires, are very high (over 900 & micro g/m3), the population exposure is low due to the sparse population. The top five Statistical Area Level 4 regions with the most impact in term of mortality, respiratory diseases hospitalisation and cardiac disease hospitalisation are Far West and Orana, Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, New England and North West, Sydney & ndash Inner South West and either Central Coast (mortality) or Sydney & ndash Parramatta (respiratory diseases hospitalisation) or Sydney & ndash Inner West (cardiac diseases hospitalisation). Generally, the health impact is similar in order of magnitude to that caused by biomass burnings events from wildfires or from hazardous reduction burnings (HRBs) near populous centres such as in Sydney in May 2016. One notable difference is the higher respiratory diseases hospitalisation for this dust event (161) compared to fire event (24).
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-09-2019
DOI: 10.1186/S12889-019-7501-Y
Abstract: Climate change is associated with greater frequency, duration, intensity and unpredictability of certain weather-related events, including floods. Floods harm mental health. There is limited understanding of the mental health and well-being effects from river flooding, particularly over the longer term and in rural contexts. This paper describes the rationale, aims, objectives, study design and socio-demographic characteristics of the s le for a study measuring associations between flood experience and mental health and wellbeing of residents (particularly those most likely to be negatively impacted and hard to reach) in rural NSW Australia 6 months following a devastating flood in 2017. To our knowledge, the study is the first of its kind within Australia in a rural community and is an important initiative given the likelihood of an increasing frequency of severe flooding in Australia given climate change. A conceptual framework ( The Flood Impact Framework ) drawing on social ecological approaches was developed by the research team. It was based on the literature and feedback from the community. The Framework describes putative relationships between flood exposure and mental health and wellbeing outcomes. Within a community-academic partnership approach, a cross-sectional survey was then undertaken to quantify and further explore these relationships. The cross-sectional survey was conducted online (including on mobile phone) and on paper between September and November 2017 and recruited 2530 respondents. Of those, 2180 provided complete demographic data, among whom 69% were women, 91% were aged 25–74, 4% identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, 9% were farmers and 33% were business owners. The study recruited a wide range of respondents and the partnership facilitated the community’s engagement with the design and implementation of the study. The study will provide a basis for a follow-up study, that will aim to improve the understanding of mental health and wellbeing effects over the longer term. It will provide an important and original contribution to understanding river flooding and mental health in rural Australia, a topic that will grow in importance in the context of human-induced climate change, and identify critical opportunities to strengthen services, emergency planning and resilience to future flooding.
Publisher: American Public Health Association
Date: 12-1998
Abstract: OBJECTIVES: This study examined the effects of outdoor air pollutants on daily hospital admissions in Sydney, Australia. METHODS: A time-series analysis of counts of daily hospital admissions and outdoor air pollutants (1990 to 1994) was performed, by means of Poisson regression that allowed for overdispersion and autocorrelation. RESULTS: An increase in daily maximum 1-hour concentration of nitrogen dioxide from the 10th to the 90th percentile was associated with an increase of 5.29% (95% confidence interval = 1.07, 9.68) in childhood asthma admissions and 4.60%(-0.17,9.61) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) admissions. A similar increase in daily maximum 1-hour particulate concentration was associated with an increase of 3.01% (-0.38, 6.52) in COPD admissions. An increase from the 10th to the 90th percentile in daily maximum 1-hour nitrogen dioxide, daily maximum 1-hour ozone, and daily mean particulate was associated with an increase in heart disease admissions among those 65 years and older of 6.71% (4.25, 9.23), 2.45% (-0.37, 5.35), and 2.82% (0.90, 4.77), respectively. Heart disease and childhood asthma were primarily associated with nitrogen dioxide COPD was associated with both nitrogen dioxide and particulates. CONCLUSIONS: Current levels of air pollution in Sydney are associated with increased hospitalization for respiratory and heart disease.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-2005
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2010
DOI: 10.1016/J.HEALTHPLACE.2010.02.006
Abstract: In the field of disease mapping, little has been done to address the issue of analysing sparse health datasets. We hypothesised that by modelling two outcomes simultaneously, one would be able to better estimate the outcome with a sparse count. We tested this hypothesis utilising Bayesian models, studying both birth defects and caesarean sections using data from two large, linked birth registries in New South Wales from 1990 to 2004. We compared four spatial models across seven birth defects: spina bifida, ventricular septal defect, OS atrial septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus, cleft lip and or palate, trisomy 21 and hypospadias. For three of the birth defects, the shared component model with a zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) extension performed better than other simpler models, having a lower deviance information criteria (DIC). With spina bifida, the ratio of relative risk associated with the shared component was 2.82 (95% CI: 1.46-5.67). We found that shared component models are potentially beneficial, but only if there is a reasonably strong spatial correlation in effect for the study and referent outcomes.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 05-05-2020
Abstract: Background: Health effects of air pollution on anaemia have been scarcely studied worldwide. We aimed to explore the associations of long-term exposure to ambient air pollutants with anaemia prevalence and haemoglobin levels in Chinese older adults. Methods: We used two-level linear regression models and modified Poisson regression with robust error variance to examine the associations of particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) on haemoglobin concentrations and the prevalence of anaemia, respectively, among 10,611 older Chinese adults enrolled in World Health Organization (WHO) Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) China. The average community exposure to ambient air pollutants (PM with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 μm or less (PM10), 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5), 1 μm or less (PM1) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2)) for each participant was estimated using a satellite-based spatial statistical model. Haemoglobin levels were measured for participants from dried blood spots. The models were controlled for confounders. Results: All the studied pollutants were significantly associated with increased anaemia prevalence in single pollutant model (e.g., the prevalence ratios associated with an increase in inter quartile range in three years moving average PM10 (1.05 95% CI: 1.02–1.09), PM2.5 (1.11 95% CI: 1.06–1.16), PM1 (1.13 95% CI: 1.06–1.20) and NO2 (1.42 95% CI: 1.34–1.49), respectively. These air pollutants were also associated with lower concentrations of haemoglobin: PM10 (−0.53 95% CI: −0.67, −0.38) PM2.5 (−0.52 95% CI: −0.71, −0.33) PM1 (−0.55 95% CI: −0.69, −0.41) NO2 (−1.71 95% CI: −1.85, −1.57) respectively. Conclusions: Air pollution exposure was significantly associated with increased prevalence of anaemia and decreased haemoglobin levels in a cohort of older Chinese adults.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2021
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-04-2016
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 08-2005
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-2011
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2017
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVRES.2017.03.046
Abstract: China's rapid economic development has resulted in severe particulate matter (PM) air pollution and the control and prevention of infectious disease is an ongoing priority. This study examined the relationships between short-term exposure to ambient particles with aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5µm (PM Data on daily numbers of new measles cases and concentrations of ambient PM A 10µg/m We provide new evidence that measles incidence is associated with exposure to ambient PM
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2021
Publisher: AMPCo
Date: 12-03-2020
DOI: 10.5694/MJA2.50545
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-08-2021
DOI: 10.5694/MJA2.51199
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 12-2020
DOI: 10.1136/BMJRESP-2020-000684
Abstract: Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution leads to respiratory morbidity and mortality however, the evidence of the effect on lung function and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in older adult populations is inconsistent. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated the associations between particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) exposure and lung function, as well as COPD prevalence, in older Chinese adults. We used data from the WHO Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) China Wave 1, which includes 11, 693 participants from 64 townships in China. A cross-sectional analysis explored the association between satellite-based air pollution exposure estimates (PM with an aerodynamic diameter of ≤10 µm [PM 10 ], ≤2.5 µm [PM 2.5 ] and NO 2 ) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV 1 ), forced vital capacity (FVC), the FEV 1 /FVC ratio and COPD (defined as post-bronchodilator FEV 1 /FVC %). Data on lung function changes were further stratified by COPD status. Higher exposure to each pollutant was associated with lower lung function. An IQR (26.1 µg/m 3 ) increase in PM 2.5 was associated with lower FEV 1 (−71.88 mL, 95% CI –92.13 to –51.64) and FEV 1 /FVC (−2.81, 95% CI −3.37 to –2.25). For NO 2 , an IQR increment of 26.8 µg/m 3 was associated with decreases in FEV 1 (−60.12 mL, 95% CI –84.00 to –36.23) and FVC (−32.33 mL, 95% CI –56.35 to –8.32). A 31.2 µg/m 3 IQR increase in PM 10 was linked to reduced FEV 1 (−8.86 mL, 95% CI −5.40 to 23.11) and FEV 1 /FVC (−1.85, 95% CI −2.24 to –1.46). These associations were stronger for participants with COPD. Also, COPD prevalence was linked to higher levels of PM 2.5 (POR 1.35, 95% CI 1.26 to 1.43), PM 10 (POR 1.24, 95% CI 1.18 to 1.29) and NO 2 (POR 1.04, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.11). Ambient air pollution was associated with lower lung function, especially in in iduals with COPD, and increased COPD prevalence in older Chinese adults.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-09-2020
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-10-2011
Publisher: Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Date: 05-2008
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 09-03-2021
DOI: 10.20944/PREPRINTS202103.0243.V1
Abstract: The 2019-2020 summer wildfire event on the east coast of Australia was a series of major wildfires occurring from November 2019 to end of January 2020 across the states of Queensland, New South Wales (NSW), Victoria and South Australia. The wildfires were unprecedent in scope and the extensive extend of the wildfires has caused smoke pollutants transported not only to New Zealand but across the Pacific Ocean to South America. At the height of the wildfires, smoke plumes were injected into the stratosphere at height up to 25km and hence transported across the globe. Based on meteorological and air quality simulation using WRF-Chem model, air quality monitoring data collected during the bushfire period and remote sensing data from MODIS and CALIPSO satellites, the extend of the wildfires and the pollutant transport, and their impacts on air quality and health on exposed population in NSW can be analysed. The results showed that WRF-Chem model using Fire Emission Inventory from NCAR (FINN) predicts the dispersion and transport of pollutants and the predicted concentration of PM2.5 and other pollutants from wildfires reasonably well when compared with ground-based and satellite data. The impact on health endpoints such as mortality, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases hospitalisation across the modelling domain is then estimated. The estimated health impact is comparable with previous study based only on observation data, but the results in this study provide much more detailed spatially and temporally with regards to the health impact from the 2019-2020 wildfire.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 28-02-2018
DOI: 10.1080/15389588.2018.1426911
Abstract: This study used medicolegal data to investigate fatal older road user (ORU) crash circumstances and risk factors relating to four key components of the Safe System approach (e.g., roads and roadsides, vehicles, road users, and speeds) to identify areas of priority for targeted prevention activity. The Coroners Court of Victoria's Surveillance Database was searched to identify coronial records with at least one deceased ORU in the state of Victoria, Australia, for 2013-2014. Information relating to the ORU, crash characteristics and circumstances, and risk factors was extracted and analyzed. The average rate of fatal ORU crashes per 100,000 population was 8.1 (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.0-10.2), which was more than double the average rate of fatal middle-aged road user crashes (3.6, 95% CI 2.5-4.6). There was a significant relationship between age group and deceased road user type (χ Road user error was the most significant risk factor identified in fatal ORU crashes, which suggests that there is a limited capacity of the Victorian road system to fully accommodate road user errors. Initiatives related to safer roads and roadsides, vehicles, and speed zones, as well as behavioral approaches, are key areas of priority for targeted activity to prevent fatal older road user crashes in the future.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 15-11-2021
DOI: 10.3390/EN14227622
Abstract: Meeting the Paris Agreement on climate change requires substantial investments in low-emissions energy and significant improvements in end-use energy efficiency. These measures can also deliver improved air quality and there is broad recognition of the health benefits of decarbonising energy. Monetising these health benefits is an important part of a robust assessment of the costs and benefits of renewable energy and energy efficiency programs (clean energy programs (CEP)) and a variety of methods have been used to estimate health benefits at national, regional, continental and global scales. Approaches, such as unit damage cost estimates and impact pathways, differ in complexity and spatial coverage and can deliver different estimates for air pollution costs/benefits. To date, the monetised health benefits of CEP in Australia have applied international and global estimates that can range from 2–229USD/tCO2 (USD 2016). Here, we calculate the current health damage costs of coal-fired power in New South Wales (NSW), Australia’s most populous state, and the health benefits of CEP. Focusing on PM2.5 pollution, we estimate the current health impacts of coal-fired power at 3.20USD/MWh, approximately 10% of the generation costs, and much lower than previous estimates. We demonstrate the need for locally specific assessment of the air pollution benefits of CEP and illustrate that without locally specific information, the relative costs/benefits of CEP may be significantly over- or understated. We estimate that, for NSW, the health benefits from CEP are 1.80USD/MWh and that the current air pollution health costs of coal-fired power in NSW represent a significant unpriced externality.
Start Date: 2013
End Date: 2016
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2020
End Date: 2022
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2008
End Date: 2011
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2012
End Date: 2016
Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2023
End Date: 2028
Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2006
End Date: 2008
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2018
End Date: 2020
Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2017
End Date: 2022
Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2012
End Date: 2017
Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council
View Funded Activity