Association between the severity of hearing loss and the risk of dementia within the 2010-2017 national insurance service survey in South Korea.

Hearing loss and dementia are highly prevalent neurologic conditions in older adults that can considerably impact the quality of life and create social and familial burdens. To investigate the impact of hearing loss on the risk of developing dementia in a nationwide long-term follow-up study using data obtained from the South Korean National Health Information Database. Retrospective medical data for patients of all ages were extracted from the database between January 2010 and December 2017. According to the national disability registry, the degree of severe-profound hearing loss is classified into six grades. We categorized hearing loss into three groups based on the disability registry severity: (1) severe hearing disability (HD), defined as 1st to 3rd grade disabling hearing loss; (2) non-severe HD, 4th and 5th grade disabling hearing loss; and (3) ipsilateral HD, 6th grade disabling hearing loss. After adjusting for potential confounding variables, the hazard ratio (HR) for all dementia types was 1.336 (95% CI 1.306-1.367) in the severe HD group, 1.312 (95% CI 1.286-1.338) in the non-severe HD group, and 1.257 (95% CI 1.217-1.299) in the ipsilateral HD group. On assessing by the age group, the risk of all dementia types in patients younger than 65 years was as follows: HR 1.933 (95% CI 1.779-2.101), 1.880 (95% CI 1.732-2.041), and 1.601 (95% CI 1.435-1.787) in the severe, non-severe, and ipsilateral HD groups, respectively. This study demonstrates that the impact of hearing loss on dementia incidence is severity-dependent, and the risk increases in patients younger than 65 years of age.

Cumulative risk assessment toolbox: methods and approaches for the practitioner.

The historical approach to assessing health risks of environmental chemicals has been to evaluate them one at a time. In fact, we are exposed every day to a wide variety of chemicals and are increasingly aware of potential health implications. Although considerable progress has been made in the science underlying risk assessments for real-world exposures, implementation has lagged because many practitioners are unaware of methods and tools available to support these analyses. To address this issue, the US Environmental Protection Agency developed a toolbox of cumulative risk resources for contaminated sites, as part of a resource document that was published in 2007. This paper highlights information for nearly 80 resources from the toolbox and provides selected updates, with practical notes for cumulative risk applications. Resources are organized according to the main elements of the assessment process: (1) planning, scoping, and problem formulation; (2) environmental fate and transport; (3) exposure analysis extending to human factors; (4) toxicity analysis; and (5) risk and uncertainty characterization, including presentation of results. In addition to providing online access, plans for the toolbox include addressing nonchemical stressors and applications beyond contaminated sites and further strengthening resource accessibility to support evolving analyses for cumulative risk and sustainable communities.

Quantifying the human health benefits of curbing air pollution in Shanghai.

Urban development in the mega-cities of Asia has caused detrimental effects on the human health of its inhabitants through air pollution. However, averting these health damages by investing in clean energy and industrial technologies and measures can be expensive. Many cities do not have the capital to make such investments or may prefer to invest that capital elsewhere. In this article, we examine the city of Shanghai, China, and perform an illustrative cost/benefit analysis of air pollution control. Between 1995 and 2020 we expect that Shanghai will continue to grow rapidly. Increased demands for energy will cause increased use of fossil fuels and increased emissions of air pollutants. In this work, we examine emissions of particles smaller than 10 microm in diameter (PM10), which have been associated with inhalation health effects. We hypothesize the establishment of a new technology strategy for coal-fired power generation after 2010 and a new industrial coal-use policy. The health benefits of pollution reduction are compared with the investment costs for the new strategies. The study shows that the benefit-to-cost ratio is in the range of 1-5 for the power-sector initiative and 2-15 for the industrial-sector initiative. Thus, there appear to be considerable net benefits for these strategies, which could be very large depending on the valuation of health effects in China today and in the future. This study therefore provides economic grounds for supporting investments in air pollution control in developing cities like Shanghai.

Preparation of (188) Re-labeled paper for treating skin cancer.

For homogeneous delivery of beta radiation to skin cancer, we developed a simple method for preparing (188) Re-labeled nitrocellulose paper. The homogeneity and stability of the labeled paper were investigated. Absorbed dose estimates were calculated using the Monte-Carlo method. A 74-MBq (188) Re-labeled paper with 1-cm diameter delivered 147.2 Gy up to 1-mm depth after 2-h irradiation. Animal experiments on tumor-bearing mice showed that 50 Gy is an adequate dose for treating skin cancer. Tumors disappeared 7 days after irradiation in all the groups irradiated by 50 or 100 Gy. The (188) Re-labeled paper provided a convenient, economical, effective, and non-invasive method of treating skin cancer.