Respiratory Health Effects of Environmental and Occupational Exposures
A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Health".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2025 | Viewed by 285
Special Issue Editor
2. Department of Environmental Health, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa
3. Environmental Health Division, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Capetown, Capetown 7925, South Africa
Interests: toxicology and chemical risk assessment; metals, pesticides and nanomaterials; environmental health; occupational health
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Ample evidence exists on the relationships between exposure to air pollutants and a number of respiratory-related health outcomes, including elevated morbidity and excess mortality, as well as increases in hospital visitations and admissions. Indeed, exposure to air pollutants is a significant contributor to the global burden of disease [1], with greater risks for individuals that have predisposing cardiovascular, respiratory and metabolic diseases, the elderly, and children. Adverse effects range from upper respiratory track irritation to chronic respiratory and heart diseases, as well as the aggravation of pre-existing lung diseases, such as asthma. Most recently, new evidence seems to link chemically induced lung microbiota dysbiosis to various immune responses and many multifactorial diseases [2].
Despite decades of study, challenges still remain in the epidemiological and toxicological study of air pollutants. Of crucial importance in the design and conduct of epidemiological studies of air pollution is the assessment and measurement of exposure and the subsequent exposure-(dose-) response analysis. Furthermore, inhalational toxicology has largely depended on the use of rodent species that possess respiratory tracts that are structurally different from those of humans. Recent advances in that regard have included the use of in vitro air–liquid interface (ALI) models that more effectively mimic the deposition of air pollutants in the lungs. The wide use of various nanomaterials, as well as the advent of new technologies, such as 3D household printing and electronic cigarettes, make the study of respiratory health effects even more intriguing.
This Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) invites new research papers, reviews, methodological papers, position papers, commentaries and case reports that address these topics, especially those that focus on the current state of knowledge on the links between air pollutants and human health, as well as new methodological approaches and techniques.
References
- Cohen, A. J.; Brauer, M.; Burnett, R.; Anderson, H. R.; Frostad, J.; Estep, K.; Balakrishnan, K.; Brunekreef, B.; Dandona, L.; Dandona, R.; et al. Estimates and 25-year trends of the global burden of disease attributable to ambient air pollution: an analysis of data from the Global Burden of Diseases Study 2015. Lancet 2017, 389, 1907–1918.
- Yang, D.; Xing, Y.; Song, X.; Qian Y. The impact of lung microbiota dysbiosis on inflammation. Immunology 2020, 159, 156–166.
Dr. Wells Utembe
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- air pollution
- adverse effects
- inhalation
- respiratory
- exposure-(dose-) response analysis
- ultrafine particles (nanoparticles)
- deposition
- modelling
