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CHS Study Links Volcanic Air Pollution to Increased Risk of Bronchitis

At the October 2008 APHA conference, Wei Yang, Ph.D., Community Health Sciences faculty and Director of the Nevada Center for Health Statistics and Informatics (NCHSI) presented findings from a cohort study to estimate the relative risk of acute bronchitis as a result of sulfurous volcanic air pollution from the continuous eruption of Kilauea Volcano, Hawai`i in communities near the volcano. This community-based case clinical review was conducted from January 2004 to December 2006 using medical records from initial visits by local residents diagnosed with acute bronchitis obtained from clinics and emergency rooms in exposed and unexposed areas. The cumulative incidence rate was 117.74 per 1,000 in unexposed communities and 184.63 per 1,000 in exposed communities. Relative Risk estimates were standardized for age and gender and revealed an elevated cumulative incidence rate ratio (CIRR) of 1.57 for acute bronchitis in the exposed communities. The highest risk was observed in children aged 0 - 14 years who lived in the communities exposed to the volcanic pollution. His study also found that middle-aged females age 45 - 64 years that lived in exposed communities had twice the risk for acute bronchitis as their unexposed counterparts.

The findings of this study suggest that communities that are continuously exposed to sulfurous volcanic air pollution may be at a higher risk of acute bronchitis across the lifespan.

International Team Receives $2.1 Million Grant to Study Arsenic in Development of Diabetes
• Dana Loomis, Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health and Chair of Community Health Sciences, and other members of an international team of investigators have been awarded a 5-year, $2.1 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to study the role of environmental exposure to arsenic in the development of diabetes. A major element of the research will be an epidemiologic study of arsenic and diabetes to be conducted in an area in northern Mexico with naturally-occurring high levels of arsenic in drinking water.

The research is relevant to Nevada, which also has areas of high arsenic concentration, as well as high prevalence of diabetes.