Prenatal greenspace exposure and cord blood cortisol levels : A cross-sectional study in a middle-income country

Exposure to greenspace has been associated with reduced stress; however, the available evidence on such an association for the fetus is still very scarce. We, for the first time, investigated the association between maternal greenspace exposure and the level of cortisol, a stress hormone, in the cord blood. Our study was based on a cohort of 150 pregnant women in Sabzevar, Iran (2018). We comprehensively assessed greenspace exposure for each participant through (i) residential surrounding greenspace (using two satellite-derived vegetation indices), (ii) residential proximity to green spaces, (iii) maternal visual access to greenspace, (iv) use of public and private green spaces, (v) having a private garden, and (vi) the number of plant pots at home. Linear regression models were developed to assess the association of each indicator of greenspace exposure with cord blood cortisol levels, controlled for the relevant covariates. We observed that a higher residential surrounding greenspace (100 m buffer), having a window with greenspace view, window greenspace coverage of more than 50%, frequently looking at greenspace through window, residential proximity to large green spaces, and more time spent in green spaces were associated with lower cortisol levels in the cord blood. The findings for residential surrounding greenspace at 300 m and 500 m buffers, residential proximity to any green space regardless of its size, having a private garden, and number of plant pots at home were not conclusive. While about one-third of the association between residential surrounding greenspace (100 m buffer) could be mediated through reduction in exposure to air pollution, we did not observe any strong evidence for such a mediatory role for the visual access to greenspace. The findings stratified for parental education and housing type showed mixed patterns. Our findings suggest that more greenspace exposure might reduce cortisol level in the cord blood

Concentration of Heavy Metals in Bark Samples of Pine Trees in Neishabur, Iran

Background and purpose: Heavy metals in urban air are major health threats and increase the risk of respiratory, cardiovascular, and cancers in humans. An efficient and low-cost method for monitoring these pollutants is using tree bark as a bioindicator. The purpose of this study was to measure the concentration of heavy metals by pine tree bark as a bioindicator in Neishabur, north-east of Iran and the ecological risk of these pollutants. Materials and methods: Twenty seven locations were determined on Neishabour map using GIS. Concentrations of heavy metals, including silver (Ag), arsenic (As), cobalt (Co), cesium (Cs), manganese (Mn), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), and cadmium (Cd) were measured using Inductivity Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry. Ecological risk potential index, total ecological risk, and Spearman correlation coefficient were examined. Results: In this study, Cr and Zn had the highest average concentrations (34.7 mg/kg and 10.2 mg/kg,respectively) and other heavy metals in the bark were in the following order: Mn>Cu>Co>Pb>As>Ag>Cd>Cs. The average ecological risk potential decreases as Cd>As>Pb>Zn>Cu>Cr. Ecological risk potential index for all heavy metals except As and Cd (medium risk) was found to be at low-risk levels. The total ecological risk index showed that the concentrations of the studied heavy metals are at low-risk levels. Spearman correlation analysis showed that Cs and As had the highest correlation among the elements and there is a considerable relationship between these heavy metals which indicates the same source of pollution. Cr and Cd also have a strong correlation and have the same source of contamination. Conclusion: The present study showed low risk of heavy metal pollution according to the average ecological risk potential in pine bark samples in Neishabour

Asthma disease as cause of admission to hospitals due to exposure to ambient oxidants in Mashhad, Iran

Nowadays, asthma is one of the most common chronic respiratory diseases, worldwide. Many reports have emphasized the correlation between the short-term exposure to the ambient air pollutants and acute respiratory diseases, especially among children with asthmatic symptoms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the exposure to three atmospheric antioxidants (NO2, SO2, and O3) and hospital admission due to asthmatic disease (HAAD) in the city of Mashhad, Iran. The concentrations of atmospheric antioxidants were obtained from the real-time monitoring stations located in the city. The collected data were employed for developing predictive models in the AirQ software. In order to investigate the association between short-term exposure to air pollutants and HAAD, the study participants were categorized into two age groups: less than 15 and from 15 to 64Â years old. The results indicated that in people less than 15Â years increase in NO2 (attributable proportion (AP)Â =Â 3.775%, 95% CI 0.897--6.883%), SO2 (APÂ =Â 3.649%, 95% CI 1.295--5.937%), and O3 (APÂ =Â 0.554%,95% CI 0.00--3.321) results in increase in HAAD. While for those aged between 15 and 64Â years, the AP was 4.192% (95% CI 0.450--7.662%) for NO2; 0.0% (95% CI 0.00--1.687%) for SO2; and 0.236% (95% CI 0.00--1.216%) for O3. The number of asthmatic cases who were less than 15Â years admitted to the hospitals during the study period was higher than that of those within the age groups between 15 and 64Â years as a consequence of exposure to NO2 (101 vs. 75), SO2 (98 vs. 0), and O3 (15 vs. 3), respectively. To the best of our knowledge, the AirQ model has not been applied before to estimate the effect of atmospheric antioxidant exposure on hospital admission because of asthma disease. Eventually, this model is proposed to be applicable for other cities around the world