The impact of heat waves on mortality in 9 European cities: results from the EuroHEAT project

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed at developing a standardized heat wave definition to estimate and compare the impact on mortality by gender, age and death causes in Europe during summers 1990-2004 and 2003, separately, accounting for heat wave duration and intensity. METHODS: Heat waves were defined considering both maximum apparent temperature and minimum temperature and classified by intensity, duration and timing during summer. The effect was estimated as percent increase in daily mortality during heat wave days compared to non heat wave days in people over 65 years. City specific and pooled estimates by gender, age and cause of death were calculated. RESULTS: The effect of heat waves showed great geographical heterogeneity among cities. Considering all years, except 2003, the increase in mortality during heat wave days ranged from + 7.6% in Munich to + 33.6% in Milan. The increase was up to 3-times greater during episodes of long duration and high intensity. Pooled results showed a greater impact in Mediterranean (+ 21.8% for total mortality) than in North Continental (+ 12.4%) cities. The highest effect was observed for respiratory diseases and among women aged 75-84 years. In 2003 the highest impact was observed in cities where heat wave episode was characterized by unusual meteorological conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Climate change scenarios indicate that extreme events are expected to increase in the future even in regions where heat waves are not frequent. Considering our results prevention programs should specifically target the elderly, women and those suffering from chronic respiratory disorders, thus reducing the impact on mortality

Assessing the Diversity and Specificity of Two Freshwater Viral Communities through Metagenomics

Transitions between saline and fresh waters have been shown to be infrequent for microorganisms. Based on host-specific interactions, the presence of specific clades among hosts suggests the existence of freshwater-specific viral clades. Yet, little is known about the composition and diversity of the temperate freshwater viral communities, and even if freshwater lakes and marine waters harbor distinct clades for particular viral sub-families, this distinction remains to be demonstrated on a community scale

Réglementations et pesticides

Le présent article, après avoir défini ce qu’est un produit phytosanitaire et un produit biocide, présente les grandes lignes de ce cadre réglementaire et les acteurs impliqués dans ces processus.L’autorisation de mise sur le marché (AMM) des pesticides, en particulier produits phytosanitaires et biocides, est encadrée par des textes nationaux et européens

Améliorer la santé des Parisiens : deux outils d’aide à la décision pour lutter contre les inégalités de santé

The Paris Environmental Health Service has developed two management tools to prioritize, guide and assess public action in the area of ​​environmental health. The first is a cartographic tool which identifies the areas of accumulation of disadvantages, by means of indicators mapped on a fine spatial scale, relating to environmental nuisances (air pollution, noise, habitat at risk, lack of vegetation), the vulnerabilities of the population (age, state of health, income) and the lack of urban amenities (accessibility to green spaces and general practitioners). It made it possible to identify sectors in which action should be taken as a priority to reduce health inequalities. The second tool is the health impact assessment (HIA) approach applied to urban development projects, for example in the “Gare des Mines” sector located in the north east of Paris. This approach aims to assess the potential effects of an urban project on health and to produce recommendations for decision-makers by bringing together the various stakeholders and involving the inhabitants. These two complementary decision-making support tools also make it possible to improve cross-functionality within departments and with external partners

Quantification des années de vie perdues attribuables aux expositions chroniques à la pollution atmosphérique urbaine: Le cas de Nantes

International audienceBackground: When French regional planning for air quality first began, exposure-response functions from time-series studies were used to assess the short-term health impact of urban air pollution. The World Health Organisation also suggests that exposure-response functions from cohort studies be taken into account to evaluate the effects of chronic exposure and to quantify the prematurity of deaths related to chronic exposure to air pollution. This work characterises the long-term effects of air pollution in Nantes by considering years of life lost as well as the number of attributable deaths. Methods: The study population is classified in birth cohorts. For each cohort, 2 survival curves are built based on current mortality conditions: the first is built for current exposure to air pollution and the second for exposure to a lower reference level of air pollution. The area between the 2 curves represents years of life lost attributable to urban air pollution. Results: The estimated number of premature deaths due to air pollution is approximately 56, or about 2.0% of the deaths of those older than 30 years. The health impact on the Nantes population is estimated at 27.2 years of life lost attributable to urban air pollution in 1999 and 2,388.1 years of life lost for the 1999-2008 period. This amounts to a decrease of roughly 4 months in the life expectancy of those aged 30 years. Conclusion: This study, which also identifies and discusses relevant errors and uncertainty, confirmed that air pollution in Nantes has significant health effects and that chronic exposure plays an essential role in this impact. The number of years of life lost and the reduction in life expectancy provide new reasons to reject the assumption that health effects are limited to the premature deaths of terminally-ill people. The expected health gains in Nantes associated with reduced although still moderate air pollution levels are on the same scale as, and possibly better than, those found in 9 other French cities for similar air pollution decreases.Position du problème : lors de l’élaboration en France des plans régionaux pour laqualité de l’air, des évaluations de l’impact sanitaire à court terme de la pollution atmosphé-rique urbaine ont été réalisées à partir de relations exposition-risque issues d’études de sériestemporelles. L’Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS) a suggéré de prendre également encompte les relations exposition-risque issues d’études de cohortes afin d’évaluer l’impact desexpositions chroniques et de caractériser l’anticipation des décès attribuables à la pollutionatmosphérique. L’article présente la démarche mise en œuvre à Nantes pour caractériserl’impact à long terme de la pollution atmosphérique en nombre d’années de vie perdues encomplément à l’évaluation du nombre de décès attribuables. Méthode : la population d’étudeest répartie en cohortes de naissance. Pour chaque cohorte, deux courbes de survie sontconstruites à partir des conditions actuelles de mortalité. La première des courbes estdéterminée à partir des niveaux actuels d’exposition à la pollution atmosphérique tandis quela seconde est établie pour des expositions à un niveau de référence plus faible. Les surfacesentre les deux courbes de survie représentent les années de vie dont la perte est attribuable àla pollution atmosphérique urbaine. Résultats : l’impact de la pollution atmosphérique a étéévalué de l’ordre de 56 décès anticipés, soit environ 2,0 % des décès parmi les Nantais âgés deplus de 30 ans. Le nombre d’années de vie perdues par cette population a été estimé à27,2 années en 1999 et 2 388,1 années sur la période 1999-2008. La réduction d’espérance devie à 30 ans a été évaluée de l’ordre de 0,3 année. Conclusions : après identification etdiscussion des erreurs et incertitudes, cette étude a confirmé l’existence à Nantes d’un impactsanitaire non négligeable de la pollution atmosphérique et réaffirmé le rôle essentiel desexpositions chroniques dans la manifestation de cet impact. La quantification du nombred’années de vie perdues et de la réduction d’espérance de vie offre, dans le cadre des étudeslocales, des arguments nouveaux pour réfuter l’hypothèse d’un impact sanitaire limité à desdécès précipités de personnes en fin de vie. Malgré des niveaux de pollution modérés, les gainssanitaires attendus à Nantes, sont du même ordre de grandeur, voire supérieurs, à ceux évaluésdans 9 autres villes françaises pour une même réduction des expositions à la pollutionatmosphérique

Évaluation des risques de la pollution urbaine sur la santé en Île-de-France (erpurs) : liens avec la mortalité 1987-1998.

Following a period of major air pollution in January-February 1989, the Erpurs program was established to evaluate health effects related to urban air pollution in the Paris area. Mortality data was gathered from an exhaustive national registry for Paris and its close suburb residents from 1987 to 1998 and related to various air pollutants. The methods consisted in analyzing temporal variations of air pollutant levels with those of daily death counts. Mortality risks during days with pollutant levels higher than the yearly median were compared with mortality risks during the 18 days with the lowest levels. Mortality increases associated with increase in fine particulate matters were 4.7% for respiratory deaths

Étude minéralogique de quelques argiles des grés de Nubie du Fezzan, Libye

Le faciès de quelques échantillons d'argiles des «Grès de Nubie » du Fezzan a été étudié au microscope électronique. Les résultats obtenus se relient directement à la paléogéographie du bassin, confirmant l'origine continentale des dépôts. L'existence de particules enroulées est liée au régime climatique.Oberlin Mathieu-Sicaud Agnès, Freulon Jean-Michel, Lefranc Jean-Philippe. Étude minéralogique de quelques argiles des grés de Nubie du Fezzan, Libye. In: Bulletin de la Société française de Minéralogie et de Cristallographie, volume 81, 1-3, 1958. pp. 1-4