For the first time in a decade, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed strengthening standards on fine soot in the air, a known contributor to serious health issues. Under the new proposal, standards for fine particulate pollution, known as PM 2.5, would change from a level of 12 micrograms per cubic meter to a level between nine and 10 micrograms per cubic meter. The standards haven’t been altered since 2012. The EPA estimates that with a standard of 9 micrograms per cubic meter, there would be up to 4,200 fewer premature deaths a year, 270,000 fewer lost workdays and as much as $43 billion in net health benefits in 2032. The agency will take comment on the full range of recommendations on soot standards included in the latest report from the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, which is between eight and 11 micrograms per cubic meter. These fine pollution particles can penetrate deep into the lungs, triggering asthma attacks, heart attacks and premature death. Children, older adults, those with heart and lung conditions, and minority communities are most affected, the EPA said. “Our work to deliver clean, breathable air for everyone is a top priority at EPA, and this proposal will help ensure that all communities, especially the most vulnerable among us, are protected from exposure to harmful pollution,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said…  read on >  read on >

A new way of allocating donor lungs that eliminates geographical restrictions could save more lives, new research suggests. In early 2023, the current U.S. system, which looks for compatible candidates within a fixed radius, will be replaced by the Composite Allocation Score. The new score will prioritize a candidate’s medical needs. “The importance of removing the geographical barrier can’t be overstated here,” said study author Dr. Maryam Valapour, senior investigator for lung transplantation at the U.S. Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR). “The Composite Allocation Score system’s goal of making access to lung transplant more equitable for all candidates in the United States will help reduce waitlist [death rates] and we hope will even improve post-transplant survival over time.” The current system gauges donor and recipient compatibility, geographical restrictions and prioritizes calculated survival after transplant, according to a study led by Valapour and colleagues at the SRTR and the Cleveland Clinic, where she is director of lung transplant outcomes. That system first looks at compatibility within a 250-mile radius. But someone who needs the lungs more quickly may live just outside that boundary. The new system is meant to improve equity in organ allocation by prioritizing a patient’s medical needs and eliminating geographical boundaries. To investigate the potential impact of the change, Valapour’s team tested six alternate scenarios in 10 simulations. They used data from…  read on >  read on >

For teens who are obese, weight-loss surgery can be life-changing — but not always in a good way. A new study finds a troubling downside to weight-loss surgery among 13- to 19-year-olds: They’re at increased risk of alcohol use disorders. And their risk stays higher for up to eight years after their surgery. “We have to be honest about both the risks and benefits of these procedures,” said study co-author Dr. Thomas Inge, director of adolescent bariatric surgery at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. About 200,000 weight-loss (or “bariatric”) surgeries were performed in the United States in 2020, according to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). And while these procedures have benefited many teens, some have gone on to develop heart problems or had trouble getting adequate nutrition after their surgery. Now, Inge and other researchers report that teens who have had weight-loss surgery are also more likely to develop alcohol use disorder. That’s based on tracking 217 teens for eight years and comparing their alcohol use before and after their surgery. The study found they had eight times the odds for hazardous drinking, a pattern of alcohol use with a risk for harmful consequences; and five times the odds of showing symptoms of alcohol-related harm. They were also 13 times more likely to have alcohol-related legal, domestic,…  read on >  read on >

People should test for the naturally occurring radioactive gas radon in their homes to help prevent ill health, the American Lung Association urges. In some areas, like the state of Connecticut, radon was found to be present at high levels in a quarter (26%) of all homes. Radon is emitted from the ground and can enter a house through floor cracks, basement walls and foundations. Exposure to radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the United States and it is the leading cause in people who’ve never smoked. It’s responsible for an estimated 21,000 U.S. lung cancer deaths each year, the ALA said. “Since radon is odorless, tasteless and colorless, the only way to detect radon in your home is to test the air,” said Ruth Canovi, director of advocacy for the lung association. “Radon Action Month is the perfect time to learn more about this dangerous gas and take action to protect yourself and your loved ones,” Canovi said in an association news release. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets an action level of 4 picoCuries per liter or pCi/L for radon. Anyone with a radon level that high should have a professional install a mitigation system in their home, according to the EPA. Both the EPA and the lung association recommend doing so if levels are greater than 2 pCi/L.…  read on >  read on >

Air pollution may trigger more asthma attacks in urban children and teens, a new study reports. Even moderate levels of ozone and fine airborne particulates — two ingredients of smog — appear to increase kids’ risk of asthma attacks, according to findings published online Jan. 4 in The Lancet Planetary Health journal. “The strong association this study demonstrates between specific air pollutants among children in impoverished urban communities and non-viral asthma attacks further augments the evidence that reducing air pollution would improve human health,” said Dr. Hugh Auchincloss, acting director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The U.S. National Institutes of Health, of which NIAID is a part, funded the new study. The study also tied the two pollutants to distinct changes in children’s airways that could trigger an asthma attack, according to study leader Dr. Matthew Altman, an associate professor in the department of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine, in Seattle, and colleagues. It’s one of the first times elevated levels of distinctive air pollutants in specific urban locations have been tied to the risk of asthma attacks. During an asthma attack, inflammation causes the lining of airways to swell as muscles around the airways contract and mucus floods the passages — all substantially narrowing the space through which air passes in and out of…  read on >  read on >

Generous parental leave policies at work can do wonders for a new mom’s mental health. This is among the key messages from a new review of 45 studies examining how parental leave policies affect mom and dad’s mental health and well-being. Mothers working for companies with generous parental leave policies were less likely to experience symptoms of depression, poor mental health, psychological distress, burnout, or to require mental health care. The more generous the policy, the greater and more long-lasting the benefits, the new Swedish study showed. “Parental leave was protective against poorer maternal mental health including depressive symptoms, general mental health, psychological distress and burnout; however, improved mental health among mothers was associated with more generous parental leave policies [such as] those with longer length of leave or paid leave,” said study author Amy Heshmati. She is a doctoral student in the department of global public health at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. The findings on dads were less conclusive, but there haven’t been as many studies done on the benefits of father’s paid leave and mental health yet, she noted. Almost all countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) — except the United States — provide new mothers with at least 14 weeks of paid leave around childbirth. New mothers can take up to nine months of paid maternity leave in…  read on >  read on >

Cigars are linked with victory, new babies and Winston Churchill, not nicotine addiction, but are they any better for your health than cigarettes? No, say experts who point out the many dangers of cigar smoking. Over the past few decades, through clever marketing, cigar smoking has taken on a rarified aura, with cigar bars and magazines like Cigar Aficionado devoted to a cigar-smoking lifestyle that appeals to male fantasies of power and class. It’s also a way to relax because it is a more leisurely smoke than the frenetic rush of a cigarette. What are cigars made of? Unlike cigarettes, they are all tobacco from the inside to the tobacco leaf wrapper. Do cigars have nicotine? Like cigarettes, they contain nicotine and the same cancer-causing compounds found in cigarettes and are not a safe alternative for smokers. Do you inhale cigars? Some people may think that cigar smoking is less harmful than cigarettes because you don’t inhale. But even if you don’t inhale, large amounts of nicotine can be absorbed through the lining of your mouth. Cigars can be as addictive as cigarettes because it’s the nicotine in tobacco that the body craves. ”While the production, look and consumption of cigars and cigarettes are different, they both pose serious health risks,” Dr. Edwin Lin, a hematology oncology physician at PIH Health Whittier Hospital in California,…  read on >  read on >