La epidemiologia de la salud ambiental

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Epidemiologia ambiental

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Does exposure to greenness improve children's neuropsychological development and mental health? A Navigation Guide systematic review of observational evidence for associations

[EN] Background: Contact with nature may have a key role in child brain development. Recent observational studies have reported improvements in children's neuropsychological development and mental health associated with greenness exposure. In a rapidly urbanizing word, researchers, policymakers, healthcare workers and urban planners need to work together to elaborate evidence-based policies and interventions to increase the availability of quality green space with the potential to enhance childhood development. Objective: To review the observational evidence assessing the effect of exposure to greenness on children's neuropsychological development and mental health. Methods: The protocol for the review was preregistered at PROSPERO (CRD42020213838). The Navigation Guide systematic review methodology was followed. Search strategies were formulated and adapted to each database. Searches were performed in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and EBSCO's GreenFILE on October 5, 2021. Additional articles were further identified by hand-searching reference lists of included papers. Results: A systematic search of 4 databases identified 621 studies, of which 34 were included in the review. The studies included investigated diverse domains within neuropsychological development and mental health, such as attention, working memory, intelligence, cognitive development, academic performance, well-being, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms, and behavior. Most of the studies were rated as having high or probably high risk of bias in the assessment. Discussion: Although nearly all studies showed a positive association between greenness exposure and the outcomes studied, the heterogeneity in the methods used to assess exposure and the diversity of domains within each main outcome has made it difficult to draw clear conclusions. Future studies should adopt a longitudinal design to confirm the causality of the associations and include measures to determine which characteristics of greenness have the greatest influence on each domain. Researchers should also try to explore pathways linking exposure to greenness with the neuropsychological development and mental health, by implementing mechanistic studies.This study was funded by a grant from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (FIS-PI18/01237 include FEDER funds)

How different are objective operationalizations of walkability for older adults compared to the general population? A systematic review

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-MBackground. Walking is an essential activity for everyone and for older adults in particular, given that it is the most accessible form of physical activity and one of the healthiest transportation modes. Understanding how walkability (the potential of the environment to enable and/or encourage walking) has been objectively measured and analyzed for older adults is critical to create more inclusive, healthy, and sustainable environments and to promote healthy aging. Despite the numerous reviews on physical activity among older adults and its relationship with the built environment, the literature still lacks comparison reviews focusing specifically on objective operationalizations of walkability for older adults vs. the general population. Methods. We conducted a systematic review of 146 empirical studies that measured walkability objectively in relation to walking-related outcomes. We compared studies focused on older adults (n = 24) and the general population (n = 122). Content analysis included the characteristics of the study design, walkability measures, spatial extent, and associations found between walkability and walking-related outcomes. Results. In both groups of publications, the majority of studies were conducted in the US, Canada, and Europe, and largely in high-income countries. They were mostly published in health-related journals and used cross-sectional designs, operationalized walkability by using indexes, employed self-reported measures for walking-related outcomes, and found positive associations between walkability and walking outcomes. However, we observed some differences among studies focusing on older adults. Compared to studies focusing on the general population, a larger proportion of studies on older adults was conducted in the Middle East and Asia, and they used longitudinal designs, mixed methods to measure walking-related outcomes, variables related with land-use characteristics, safety from traffic and crime, and greenery, and a larger proportion found positive, as well as no associations between walkability and walking-related outcomes. Conclusion. Although there is a promising increase in interest in older adults-focused walkability studies in the last decade, there is still a need for more studies focusing on different settings, using wider spatial extents, longitudinal designs, objective or mixed methods to collect outcome data, and specific variables and/or specially created indexes for older adults and for settings

News and literature review

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Notícias e revisão da literatura

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Notícias e revisão da literatura

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Percepción del ruido por la población residente en el entorno de la bahía de Pasaia (Guipúzcoa)

Background: Noise is an environmental pollution agent to which a high percentage of the urban population, as well as residents living around important sources of noise, are exposed.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out to measure the perception of noise of the residents living in the area of the bay of Pasaia (Guipuzkoa, Spain). 351 dwellings were randomly selected. A structured questionnaire was used to gather information about the respondent self-perception of annoyance and sensitivity to noise. The sound pressure levels were estimated using a model that took into account the main characteristics of the different sources of noise.Results: 37.5% of the sample reported to be annoyed by noise. The interviewees declared that the main sourceof annoyance was the traffic (60%) followed by the activity in the harbour (24%). The annoyance attributed tonoise was not correlated with the estimated sound level, but with the level of sensitivity to this physical agent(r=0.36; p<0.01). The percentage of the population that showed that the noise levels interfered with activities like getting to sleep was not high (9.5%). Nevertheless, half of the interviewees had already installed in their houses some kind of protection against noise.Conclusions: The relationship among the degree of annoyance caused by noise, the sensitivity to noise, the sound levels and other social and demographic variables show a very interrelated and complex phenomenon. The fact that half of the population had taken any measure to protect them from noise could have mitigated the percentage of people that declare to be annoyed by noise.Fundamento: El ruido es un agente de contaminación ambiental al que esta expuesto un porcentaje elevado de la población urbana, así como la residente en el entorno de focos emisores importantes. La bahía de Pasaia es un entorno industrial y urbano degradado ambientalmente con importantes focos de ruido.Métodos: Se realizó un estudio transversal de percepción al ruido en el entorno de la bahía de Pasaia, en 351 viviendas seleccionadas al azar, utilizando un cuestionario estructurado que recogía información sobre la autopercepción de la molestia y sensibilidad al ruido. La medida de la exposición sonora se modelizó partiendo de la caracterización de los principales focos sonoros.Resultados: El ruido provocaba molestia al 37.5% de la población estudiada. El 60% refirió que la principal fuente de molestia era el tráfico, seguida por la actividad del puerto (24%). La molestia atribuida al ruido no se correlacionó con los niveles sonoros estimados, pero si con el grado de sensibilidad mostrado a este agente (r=0.36; p<0.01). El porcentaje de población que indicó interferencia del ruido con actividades como conciliar el sueño (9.5%) no fue elevado. Sin embargo, un 50% de los encuestados ya había instalado en la vivienda algún tipo de asilamiento frente al ruido.Conclusiones: La relación entre el grado de molestia causado por el ruido, la sensibilidad al mismo, los niveles sonoros y otras variables sociodemográficas revelan un mundo complejo de interacciones. El hecho de que la mitad de la población haya tomado medidas para contrarrestar el efecto del ruido puede influir en la molestia atribuida a este agente

Epidemiologia ambiental: possibilidades e desafios

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2D:4D indizearen zeharkako neurketa: software bidezko irudien analisiaren behatzaile arteko/barneko fidagarritasuna

Sex hormones have an effect on brain structures and so they have on human behavior. The 2D:4D in-dex is a non-invasive indicator of prenatal sex hormone exposure. Previous literature on its reliability indicated that the software analysis method is reliable, but, still, there is no consensus about which program should be used. The objectives of the present study are to analyze the intraobserver and interobserver reliability of two softwares used to measure the 2D:4D ratio, and to explore the measurements’ economy. Scans of the hands of 180 11 year-old participants were collected, and measurements were made by using the GIMP and AutoMetric programs. The results showed that although AutoMetric is a faster program, GIMP presented higher intra and interobserver reliability. To sum up, further research should be carried out on this subject, because few studies exist which analyze the differences among the available image analysis methods.; Sexu hormonek eragina dute garunaren garapenean, egituretan eta funtzionamenduan, eta, ondorioz, gizakion jokaeran. Haurdunaldiko hormona-esposizio mailen adierazle bat da 2D:4D indizea. Indize honen fidagarritasunaren inguruko ikerketek erakutsi dutenez, 2D:4D indizea neurtzeko metodo fidagarria da ordenagailuko irudien analisirako programak erabiltzea. Hau horrela izanik ere, ez dago adostasunik erabili beharreko programa egokienaren inguruan. Lan honen helburuak bi dira: 2D:4D ratioa neurtzeko erabili diren bi softwareen fidagarritasuna aztertzea (behatzaile-barneko eta behatzaile arteko fidagarritasunari erreparatuz) eta neurketen ekonomia ezagutzea. Horretarako, 11 urteko 180 parte-hartzaileren eskuetako eskanerrak jaso ziren. Neurketak irudien analisirako ordenagailuko bi programa erabiliz egin ziren (GIMP eta AutoMetrik). Emaitzek erakutsi dute, nahiz eta AutoMetrik programa bizkorragoa izan, GIMP programak behatzaile-barneko eta behatzaile arteko fidagarritasun altuagoa erakusten duela. Ondorio gisa esan daiteke 2D:4D indizearen neurketak egiteko irudien analisia erabiltzen duten metodoen desberdintasunak ikertzen dituzten lan gutxi daudenez, ikerketa gehiago egin beharko liratekeela gai honen inguruan