International journal of hygiene and environmental health
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Int J Hyg Environ Health · Mar 2014
Randomized Controlled TrialExposure to air pollution near a steel plant and effects on cardiovascular physiology: a randomized crossover study.
Iron and steel industry is an important source of air pollution emissions. Few studies have investigated cardiovascular effects of air pollutants emitted from steel plants. ⋯ Air quality in residential areas near steel plants may influence cardiovascular physiology.
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Int J Hyg Environ Health · Mar 2014
ReviewA systematic review of air pollution as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease in South Asia: limited evidence from India and Pakistan.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are major contributors to mortality and morbidity in South Asia. Chronic exposure to air pollution is an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, although the majority of studies to date have been conducted in developed countries. Both indoor and outdoor air pollution are growing problems in developing countries in South Asia yet the impact on rising rates of CVD in these regions has largely been ignored. ⋯ There is as an urgent need for longer term investigations using robust measures of air pollution with different population groups that include a wider range of air pollutants and outcomes, including early indicators of CVD. These regions are facing burdens from increasing urbanization, air pollution and populations, generally weaker health infrastructure, aging populations and increased incidence of non-communicable diseases, included CVD. The extent to which the problem of air pollution and CVD will impact these countries will depend largely on the information available to inform policy and programs, which are still lacking, political will as well as social and economic development.
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Int J Hyg Environ Health · Mar 2014
Country clustering applied to the water and sanitation sector: a new tool with potential applications in research and policy.
The fields of global health and international development commonly cluster countries by geography and income to target resources and describe progress. For any given sector of interest, a range of relevant indicators can serve as a more appropriate basis for classification. We create a new typology of country clusters specific to the water and sanitation (WatSan) sector based on similarities across multiple WatSan-related indicators. ⋯ Analysis of these five clusters revealed that they were more compact and well separated than United Nations and World Bank country clusters. This analysis and resulting country typology suggest that previous geography- or income-based country groupings can be improved upon for applications in the WatSan sector by utilizing globally available WatSan-related indicators. Potential applications include guiding and discussing research, informing policy, improving resource targeting, describing sector progress, and identifying critical knowledge gaps in the WatSan sector.