Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been associated with many types of comorbidity. We aimed to quantify the real world impact of COPD on lower respiratory tract infection, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, psychiatric disease, musculoskeletal disease and cancer, and their impact on COPD through health services. A population study using health administrative data from Ontario, Cana...

BACKGROUND Associations between pediatric emergency department (ED) visits and ambient concentrations of particulate matter ≤ 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) have been reported in previous studies, although few were performed in nonmetropolitan areas. OBJECTIVE We estimated associations between daily PM2.5 concentrations, using a two-stage model that included land use parameters and satellite aero...

OBJECTIVES Although the increased risk of hospitalization and mortality during influenza seasons has been documented extensively, there is a relative paucity of research on the impact of influenza-related illnesses on other health care use indicators, such as physician use. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of influenza-associated respiratory illnesses on the Winnipeg health c...

Air pollution is a major public health problem in the Amazon forest and in large Brazilian cities. During September of 2005, high concentrations of smoke from biomass burning were observed in the city of Rio Branco. An ecological study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between daily concentrations of particulate matter < 2.5 microm (PM2.5) and the number of respiratory disease (RD)-rel...

Acute viral bronchiolitis (AVB) is the most common lower respiratory tract infection in infancy. It is caused by respiratory viruses, typically by respiratory syncytial virus [3]. Although only 1–2% of children are hospitalised, AVB accounts for a large proportion of paediatric emergency visits and hospitalisations during winter months [4]. An effective treatment would reduce the number of hosp...

Health status is determined by both host and environmental factors. Among the environmental factors, outdoor air pollution has recently received attention for its public health importance. Increasing urbanization and unprecedented vehicular growth in developing countries such as India exacerbate air quality culminating in polluted environment. There is good evidence that the health of 900 milli...

During a 5-d period that commenced on August 30, 1987, dry lightning strikes ignited more than 1,500 fires that destroyed in excess of 600,000 acres of California forests. To evaluate the public health impact of the smoke on the general population, all hospital emergency rooms located in the six counties most severely affected by smoke or fire were surveyed. Selected hospital information was ab...

Objectives: To identify the reasons for unscheduled return visits to a public emergency department and possible strategies to reduce unscheduled return visits. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: A public emergency department in Hong Kong. Patients: Unscheduled return visits within 48 hours in a threemonth period from 14 January 2000 to 15 April 2000. Main outcome measures: Patients' epide...

Resveratrol oligomers (REVs), a major class of stilbenoids, are biosynthesized by regioselective oxidative coupling of two to eight units of resveratrol monomer. Due to their unique structures and pleiotropic biological activities, natural product chemists are increasingly focusing on REVs in the last few decades. This study presents a detailed and thorough examination of REVs, including chemic...

BACKGROUND Air pollution has become a major global public health problem. A number of studies have confirmed the association between air pollutants and emergency room (ER) visits for respiratory diseases in developed countries and some Asian countries, but little evidence has been seen in Western China. This study aims to concentrate on this region. METHODS A time-series analysis was used to ...