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Background: No safe blood lead concentration in children has been identified. Lead can affect nearly every system in the body and is especially harmful to the developing central nervous system of children. The aim of this study is to analyze blood lead in a population of children and its association with sociodemographic variables, biochemical parameters, copper, iron, selenium and zinc., Methods: We recruited 155 children (86 boys and 69 girls) with a mean age of 7.3 (SD:4.1). Blood lead and serum selenium concentrations were measured by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. Serum copper and zinc concentrations were measured by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Serum iron levels were determined by colorimetric assay. A risk exposure questionnaire for lead was administered to the participants., Results: The median blood lead level was 1.1 (IQR 0.7-1.6) μg/dL. Regarding risk exposure factors, the youngest children (<2 years) who played outdoors presented a median blood lead concentration of 1.1 μg/dL IQR: 0.48-1.48, compared to the median of 0.3 μg/dL IQR:0.2-0.48 in the children who stated they played at home (p = 0.024). Significant differences were also found when taking into account those parents who smoked (median 1.3 IQR 0.8-1.9 μg/dL vs 0.9 IQR 0.5-1.4 μg/dL of non-smokers, p = 0.002). Children who drank tap water had higher blood lead levels (median 1.2 IQR 0.7-1.6 μg/dL) than those who drank bottled water (median 0.7 IQR 0.2-1.3 μg/dL p = 0.014). In addition, children whose mothers had not finished school had higher blood lead levels (median 1.7 IQR 1.2-2.3 μg/dL) than those whose mothers had finished school (median 1.2 IQR 0.7-1.7 μg/dL) and those whose mothers had gone to university (median 0.9 IQR 0.5-1.4 μg/dL) p = 0.034. In the multivariate lineal regression analysis we continue to observe the association between mother's higher level of education and lower blood levels (p = 0.04) and the interaction between age and outdoor play (p = 0.0145)., Conclusions: In spite of the decline in blood lead concentrations, associated risk factors continue to exist in vulnerable populations such as children., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Since the dawn of psychiatry, the environment has been an essential factor in the study and understanding of mental illness. Traditionally, the interrelationship between genome and environment has been a central theme in research on the etiopathogenesis of mental health problems and in the very conception of mental health. In its application to psychopathology and mental health, psychiatric enviromics was defined as «the study of environmental conditions and processes that promote mental health or increase the risk of developing mental disorders». However, environmental health -at least in Spain and in connection with its powers within the Spanish General Health System- has paid attention to aspects pertaining to risks associated with the physical, chemical and biological pollution of the air, the water and the ground, as well as to its correlation with food pollution. Although environmental risks such as air quality, extreme temperatures, noise, climate change and various environmental toxicants can play a particularly important role, they can hardly be identified as single etiopathogenic elements. This work reviews the recent literature on environmental research and problems of psychiatric morbidity and mortality. Although the results are inconclusive, future lines of research should consider a more agile interdisciplinary collaboration, allowing, on the one hand, a better understanding of mental illness and, on the other hand, to be able to shift from "traditional" environmental health to an environmental health that takes social environmental factors into account and seriously addresses the still little studied concept of "social pollution"., (Copyright © 2020 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Background: The repercussions on health of public policies are hard to assess from an economic point of view, which is why this is rarely done. The purpose of this study was to financially quantify the benefits of reducing blood lead levels in children aged 7-8 years in the Community of Madrid (Spain) as a result of the ban on the use of lead in gasoline., Methods: The decrease the intellectual quotient (IQ) points was calculated through two studies on children aged 7-8 years according to their blood lead levels. A geometric mean of 3.8 μg/dl was obtained in the 1995 study and of 0.9 μg/dl in the 2010 study. The net increase in IQ was measured in terms of productivity gained throughout the working life as per the methods of Schwartz and Salkever., Results: The decrease in blood lead levels in these children prevented a loss of between 135,391 and 144,153 IQ points; the current economic valuation of these points in terms of the productivity gained throughout the working life of this cohort of children was estimated to fall within the €626.4m- €865.4m range (2009)., Conclusions: The figures of the economic benefits derived from the decision to ban leaded gasoline are very high.

The beneficial effects of fish consumption in both children and adults are well known. However, the intake of methylmercury, mainly from contaminated fish and shellfish, can have adverse health effects. The study group on the prevention of exposure to methylmercury (GEPREM-Hg), made up of representatives from different Spanish scientific societies, has prepared a consensus document in a question and answer format, containing the group's main conclusions, recommendations and proposals. The objective of the document is to provide broader knowledge of factors associated with methylmercury exposure, its possible effects on health amongst the Spanish population, methods of analysis, interpretation of the results and economic costs, and to then set recommendations for fish and shellfish consumption. The group sees the merit of all initiatives aimed at reducing or prohibiting the use of mercury as well as the need to be aware of the results of contaminant analyses performed on fish and shellfish marketed in Spain. In addition, the group believes that biomonitoring systems should be set up in order to follow the evolution of methylmercury exposure in children and adults and perform studies designed to learn more about the possible health effects of concentrations found in the Spanish population, taking into account the lifestyle, eating patterns and the Mediterranean diet., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

The beneficial effects of fish consumption in both children and adults are well known. However, the intake of methylmercury, mainly from contaminated fish and shellfish, can have adverse health effects. The study group on the prevention of exposure to methylmercury (GEPREM-Hg), made up of representatives from different Spanish scientific societies, has prepared a consensus document in a question and answer format, containing the group's main conclusions, recommendations and proposals. The objective of the document is to provide broader knowledge of factors associated with methylmercury exposure, its possible effects on health among the Spanish population, methods of analysis, interpretation of the results and economic costs, and to then set recommendations for fish and shellfish consumption. The group sees the merit of all initiatives aimed at reducing or prohibiting the use of mercury as well as the need to be aware of the results of contaminant analyses performed on fish and shellfish marketed in Spain. In addition, the group believes that biomonitoring systems should be set up in order to follow the evolution of methylmercury exposure in children and adults and perform studies designed to learn more about the possible health effects of concentrations found in the Spanish population, ta king into account the lifestyle, eating patterns and the Mediterranean diet., (Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.)

The beneficial effects of fish consumption are well- known. Nevertheless, there is worldwide concern regard methylmercury concentrations in fish, which is why many countries such as the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and numerous European countries have made fish consumption recommendations for their populations, particularly vulnerable groups, in order to México methylmercury intake. Blood and hair are the best biological samples for measuring methylmercury. The most widely-used method to analyse methylmercury is cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry, although there are also direct methods based on the thermal decomposition of the sample. In recent years, the number of laboratories that measure mercury by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry has increased. In addition, the different kinds of mercury can be distinguished by coupling chromatography methods of separation. Laboratories that analyse mercury in biological samples need to participate in external quality control programmes. Even if mercury emissions are reduced, mercury may remain in the environment for many years, so dietary recommendations are fundamental in order to reduce exposure. It is necessary to propose public health measures aimed at decreasing mercury exposure and to evaluate the benefits of such measures from the economic and social standpoints., (Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.)

Mercury is an environmental toxicant that causes numerous adverse effects on human health and natural ecosystems. The factors that determine the existance of adverse effects, as well as their severity are, among others: the chemical form of mercury (elemental, inorganic, organic), dosis, age, period of exposure, pathways of exposure and environmental, nutritional and genetic factors. In the aquatic cycle of mercury, once it has been deposited, it is transformed into methylmercury due to the action of certain sulphate-reducing bacteria, which bioaccumulates in the aquatic organisms and moves into the food chain. The methylmercury content of large, long-lived fish such as swordfish, shark, tuna or marlin, is higher. Methylmercury binds to protein in fish and is therefore not eliminated by cleaning or cooking the fish. Fetuses and small children are more vulnerable to the neurotoxic effects of methylmercury from the consumption of contaminated fish. Methylmercury is absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract and crosses the blood-brain barrier and the placenta. The intake of certain dietary components such as polyunsaturated fatty acids, selenium, fiber, thiol compounds, certain phytochemicals and other nutrients can modify methylmercury bioaccesibility and its toxicity. Apart from environmental factors, genetic factors can influence mercury toxicity and explain part of the individual vulnerability., (Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.)

The benefit of fish consumption in children and adults is well-known. However, it has been pointed out that excessive methylmercury intake due to consumption of contaminated fish leads to neurological toxicity in children, affecting cognitive function, memory, visual-motor function and language. After the intoxications in Minamata and Iraq, wide-ranging epidemiological studies were carried out in New Zealand, the Faroe Islands and the Seychelles and international recommendations were established for fish consumption in pregnant women and small children. In Spain, the Childhood and Environmental project (INMA, its Spanish acronym) has studied the effects of diet and the environment on fetal and childhood development in different geographic areas of Spain. National and international sudies have demonstrated that mercury concentrations are mainly dependent on fish consumption, although there are variations among countries which can be explained not only by the levels of fish consumption, but also by the type or species of fish that is consumed, as well as other factors. Although the best documented adverse effects of methylmercury are the effects on nervous sytem development in fetuses and newborns, an increasing number of studies indicate that cognitive function, reproduction and, especially, cardiovascular risk in the adult population can also be affected. However, more studies are necessary in order to confirm this and establish the existance of a causal relationship., (Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.)

The objective of this article is to investigate three representative elements of environmental health from a geographical perspective taking the Autonomous Community as the unit of analysis: legionnaire's disease, chemical safety and food safety. Legionnaire's disease is a pathology with a specific epidemiological profile; males, adults, and with previous chronic pathologies and habits. The official response, with regard to recent outbreaks and the increase in the incidence of legionnaire's disease, has differed between autonomous communities due to peculiarities and different organizational cultures. Both the sinking of the ship Prestige and the accident at the oil refinery at Puertollano (Ciudad Real) have increased concern in the population about chemical substances, so familiar in our environment. However it is not only the big accidents which are relevant: it is surprising to learn that most of the registered poisonings are due to domestic cleaning goods. The pending challenge from the Public Health point of view is to elaborate the Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemical Agents which, undoubtedly, will help to establish differences between type and class. Finally, the number of outbreaks of food poisoning continues to be of concern; this should lead us to think about the effectiveness of food safety programmes and to focus on the home, being place where most of the outbreaks occur. The General Sanitary Inspection of Food ought to be a good tool to help improve food safety.

In recent years, a growing number of studies suggests that increases in air pollution levels may have short-term impact on human health, even at pollution levels similar to or lower than those which have been considered to be safe to date. The different methodological approaches and the varying analysis techniques employed have made it difficult to make a direct comparison among all of the findings, preventing any clear conclusions from being drawn. This has led to multicenter projects such as the APHEA (Short-Term Impact of Air Pollution on Health. A European Approach) within a European Scope. The EMECAM Project falls within the context of the aforesaid multicenter studies and has a wide-ranging projection nationwide within Spain. Fourteen (14) cities throughout Spain were included in this Project (Barcelona, Metropolitan Area of Bilbao, Cartagena, Castellón, Gijón, Huelva, Madrid, Pamplona, Seville, Oviedo, Valencia, Vigo, Vitoria and Saragossa) representing different sociodemographic, climate and environmental situations, adding up to a total of nearly nine million inhabitants. The objective of the EMECAM project is that to asses the short-term impact of air pollution throughout all of the participating cities on the mortality for all causes, on the population and on individuals over age 70, for respiratory and cardiovascular design causes. For this purpose, with an ecological, the time series data analyzed taking the daily deaths, pollutants, temperature data and other factors taken from records kept by public institutions. The period of time throughout which this study was conducted, although not exactly the same for all of the cities involved, runs in all cases from 1990 to 1996. The degree of relationship measured by means of an autoregressive Poisson regression. In the future, the results of each city will be combined by means of a meta-analysis.

This article draws a comparison and provides a discussion of the findings resulting from the local analyses of the 14 cities participating in the EMECAM Project. An analysis is made of the time series related to mortality, pollutants (particles in suspension, SO2, NO2, O3 and CO), temperature and other factors taken from records of public institutions. By using Poisson autoregressive regression, an estimate has been made of the short-term relationship between the number of deaths and the air pollution indicators in each one of the following cities: Barcelona, metropolitan area of Bilbao, Cartagena, Castellón, Gijón, Huelva, Madrid, Pamplona, Seville, Oviedo, Valencia, Vigo, Vitoria and Saragossa. The findings reveal the air pollution figures in our country to be similar to those of other European cities. The levels of the different pollutants point toward road traffic as being the main source of most of this pollution. A relationship has been found between the mortality and different pollutants in most cities, although the results are not homogeneous among the cities and show variability in the different causes under study. In some cities, especially in those having smaller populations, there have been no findings providing any evidence of a relationship, or the findings themselves are not highly consistent. The meta-analysis will provide estimates for all of the cities as a whole and will allow the possibility of making a more clear-cut assessment of the time lag impact of air pollution on the mortality. Worthy of special mention is the participation in this project of public health officers as actively involved researchers.

Background: Despite the changes which have taken place in the sources of emissions, the levels of particles, SO2 and CO continue to be high in the municipality of Madrid. Apart from this, photochemical pollutants, such as NO2 and O3 are taking on growing importance due to the increased number of cars and trucks on the road and the major degrees of sunlight in this city. The objective of this article is to set out the short-term relationship between the major pollutants and the daily death rate in the city of Madrid for the 1992-1995 period, using the standardized procedure of the EMECAM Projects (Spanish Multicenter Study of Air Pollution and Death Rate)., Methods: The daily fluctuations in the death rate for all causes except external ones for all ages and for those individuals over age 69, in addition to those of the circulatory system and respiratory apparatus are related to the daily fluctuations in particles (PM10), SO2, NO2, CO and O3, by means of autoregressive Poisson regression models. The seasonality, tendency, temperature, relative humidity, flu, day of the week, holidays and events out of the ordinary are controlled., Results: Statistically significant positive relationships were found to exist between SO2 and all of the death rate series analyzed, between CO and the death rate of individuals over age 69, as well as with cardiovascular and respiratory deaths and of the particles to the death rate as the result of cardiovascular disease. A statistically significant relationship was also found to exist between NO2 and the cardiovascular death rate. These impact are immediate, that is to say, they occur with the pollutants of the same day. No significant positive relationships were found to exist for O3., Conclusions: These findings suggest that, for a broad spectrum of major pollutants, the current levels of air pollution in Madrid are related to a rise in the death rate.

The objective is to determine the blood lead levels of the children (7-8 years of age) living in some of Madrid's satellite towns, and to establish links between these levels and different socioeconomic items, life styles and environmental factors, among other variables. A cross-sectional study using a sample based on 205 schoolchildren of Second Grade Primary Education, was under taken during 1995. Venous blood samples were analysed through atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Parents answered a questionnaire with items used in this study. The average blood lead level found was 3.9 mud/dl (CI 95% 3.7-4.1), with higher levels among the children of the Northern zone of Madrid. Between the associated factors to blood lead level was found to be the habit of nail biting, mother's studies and some variables associated with habitual dwelling. We reached the conclusion that the blood lead levels of Madrid's suburban children are low.

In the context of Public Health in Spain, Environmental Health does not possess the consideration it should have, according to the General Health Law and to the attention given to it frequently by our politicians in their speeches. The objectives of this paper are, on the one hand, to make a working proposal in the Environmental Health arena for the different Autonomous Communities in our country that takes into consideration, both the historical context from which we depart, and the philosophical standpoint we believe must underlie in the proposals; and on the other hand, that this working proposal be able to connect with the concerns and the social sectors that can give it the sufficient energy it requires to be reactivated on behalf of the prevention of environmental hazards. Besides, another underlying purpose of this group is that starting from this opinion paper, we can open a debate about the role of Environmental Health. We consider that this debate has been delayed for much time. We propose a serious debate; scientific, reflexive, critical, deep and vehement, so that Environmental Health will come out to the light with its own tools; those of the fields of Environmental Epidemiology, Toxicology and the Evaluation of the Environmental Impacts on Health.