Air Quality and Health Risks Associated With Exposure to Particulate Matter: A Cross-Sectional Study in Khorramabad, Iran

Background: Among ambient air pollutants, particulate matter (PM) has the most undesired adverse effects on human health. Many studies have reported that there is a strong correlation between PM concentrations and hospital admissions due to chronic or acute respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Objectives: The aims of this study were to evaluate the relationship between air quality and health endpoints of PM10 in Khorramabad, Iran. Materials and Methods: The PM10 sampling was carried out with a high-volume sampler at a flow rate of 1.1-1.4 m(3)/min from January through December 2014. Meteorological data was also collected and evaluated. The total mortality and morbidity rates were calculated using the AirQ2.2.3 software model. Results: The highest concentrations of PM10 were obtained in July, with the mean concentration of 136.48 mu g/m(3). Eastern and southeastern winds are the prevailing and semi-prevailing winds in Khorramabad. The worst air quality was also observed in July. The total mortality rate during the study was estimated to be 320 persons. Conclusions: In order to diminish the health impacts of particulate matter in Khorramabad, health training for the public, especially for persons with chronic lung and heart diseases, the elderly, and children, should be conducted by health systems to encourage them to reduce their activities during dusty days

The Effect of Eight Weeks of Intense Aerobic Exercise on Chemerin and

Background & aim: Adipokines, including omentin and chemerin, are cytokines that are mainly secreted by adipose tissue. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of eight weeks of intense aerobic exercise on chemerin and omentin plasma levels in female Sprague Dawely rats. Methods: In the present experimental study, 35 two-month old Sprague Dawely rats were randomly divided into two groups: control (15 rats) and training (20 rats). The training program included aerobic exercises which were conducted increasingly five times a week for 8 weeks. Blood samples were taken 24 h after the last training session. After eight weeks, an independent t-test and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used for data analysis. Results: The results showed that there was significant difference between omentin serum levels (p=0.012) and chemerin serum levels (p=0.003) in rats that had undergone exercises with high intensity program as compared to the control group. In addition, no significant correlation was observed between omentin and chemerin levels (p=0.08). Conclusion: According to the results of the present study as well as the importance of omentin and chemerin level changes, it seems that the training time must be more than 8 weeks and the exercise intensity should be tailored to the individual's fitness level. Otherwise, subjects are not able to perform the exercise program properly

Impact of Middle Eastern Dust storms on human health

Air pollution is emerging as a significant risk factor for human health in developing countries, particularly in Iran where air pollutant concentrations are elevated. Currently, knowledge of health effects of air pollution in developing countries is limited. The objective of this study was to estimate the excess number of hospitalizations for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and the number of excess cases of Respiratory Mortality (RM) associated with daily averages levels of particulate matter less than 10 mu m in diameter (PM10) in Ilam (Iran) over 1-year period (2015-2016). The excess instances of COPD and RM were estimated based on relative risk (RR) and baseline incidence (BI). The numbers of excess cases for COPD and RM during normal, dusty and Middle Eastern Dust (MED) storm days were 60 and 5, 200 and 15, and 78 and 6 persons, respectively. The results also showed that about 4.9 (95 CI: 3.0-6.8) of hospital visits for COPD and 7.3 (CI: 4.9-19.5) of RM could be attributed to 10 mu g/m(3) increase in PM10 concentration, respectively. It was found that a higher number of people were admitted to hospital when PM10 concentrations exceed 200 mu g/m(3) related to the MED events. Significant exposure to air pollutants, particularly during MED event, led to an excess of hospital admissions for COPD and an excess of the respiratory mortality. Several immediate actions such as strategic management of water bodies or planting of tree species in suburbs particularly bare area around the city could be effective to mitigate the impact of desert dust on respiratory illness. (C) 2017 Turkish National Committee for Air Pollution Research and Control. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved