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Clean air is considered as a basic need for human health. However, air pollution is a significant threat to health in developed and developing countries. The aim of this study was to estimate the health effects attributed to PM 2.5 pollutants in the air of Ardabil in 2018 (using Air Q + model). Raw data related to particles were collected from the Department of Environment and processed in Excel software and converted into an input file of the Air Q + model, and in the final stage, by considering appropriate epidemiological parameters and combining these data with air quality data, it was possible to estimate the health effects of air pollution. The results showed that the average annual concentrations of PM 2.5 and PM 10 were 15.47 and 30.94 in the study year, respectively. The total number of deaths due to ALRI, COPD, lung cancer, IHD, and stroke deaths on average during the study period were estimated to be 73, 11, 7, 15, and 14 deaths, respectively, which include 14.62, 15.78, 4.9, 12.43, and 11.6% of deaths due to ALRI, COPD, lung cancer, IHD, and stroke deaths, respectively. In conditions of concentration above 5 µg/m 3 , attributed proportion, total number of attributed cases and number of attributed cases per 100,000 population (with moderate relative risk and confidence interval of 95%) for cardiovascular diseases have been estimated to be 0.95% 103 people and 42.19 people. Also, the attributed proportion, the total number of attributable cases, and the number of attributable cases per 100,000 population (with moderate relative risk and confidence of 95%) for the admission of respiratory diseases have been estimated at 97.1%, 68 persons and 3 persons, respectively. Our results suggest that particle exposure even at low concentrations is associated with an increased risk of overall mortality and specific cause mortality and hospital admissions for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Short-term exposures to air pollution have been associated with various adverse health effects. In this study, we investigated the associations between ambient air pollutants with the number of hospital admissions and mortality from cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). This time series study was conducted in Tehran for the years 2014-2017 (1220 day). We collected the ambient air pollutant concentration data from the regulatory monitoring stations. The health data were obtained from the Ministry of Health and Medical Education. A distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM) was used for the analyses. Total CVDs and ischemic heart disease (IHD) admissions were associated with CO for each 1 mg/m 3 increase at lags of 6 and 7 days. Also, there was a positive association between total CVDs (RR 1.01; 1.001 to 1.03), IHD (RR 1.04; 1.006 to 1.07), and cerebrovascular diseases (RR 1.03; 1.005 to 1.07) mortality with SO 2 at a lag of 4 days. PM 2.5 and PM 10 were associated with cerebrovascular disease admissions in females aged 16-65 years and 16 years and younger for each 10 µg/m 3 increase, respectively. Short-term exposure to SO 2 , NO 2 , and CO was associated with hospital admissions and mortality for CVDs, IHD, cerebrovascular diseases, and other cardiovascular diseases at different lags. Moreover, females were more affected by ambient air pollutants than males in terms of their burden of CVDs. Therefore, identifying the likely harmful effects of pollutants given their current concentrations requires the planning and implementation of strategies to reduce air pollution., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Population exposure to environmental contaminants can be precisely observed through human biomonitoring studies. The present study aimed to systematically review all the biomonitoring studies conducted in Iran on some selected carcinogen environmental pollutants. In this systematic review study, 11 carcinogen agents were selected including arsenic, cadmium, chromium, nickel, lindane, benzene, trichloroethylene (TCE), pentachlorophenol (PCP), radon-222, radium-224, - 226, - 228, and tobacco smoke. The Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus databases were searched for peer-reviewed articles published in English. After several screening steps, data were extracted from the studies. Meta-analyses (a random-effect model using the DerSimonian-Laired method) were performed only for the biomarkers with more than three eligible articles, including cadmium in blood and breast milk, and arsenic in breast milk. Methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale adapted for cross-sectional studies. Of the 610 articles found in the database search, 30 studies were eligible for qualitative review, and 13 were included in the meta-analysis (cadmium in blood (n = 3), cadmium in breast milk (n = 6), and arsenic in breast milk (n = 4)). The overall pooled average concentrations (95% CI) of cadmium in blood, cadmium in breast milk, and arsenic in breast milk were 0.11 (95% CI: 0.08, 0.14), 5.38 (95% CI: 3.60, 6.96), and 1.42 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.81) µg/L, respectively. These values were compared with the biomarker concentrations in other countries and health-based guideline values. This study showed that there is a need for comprehensive action plans to reduce the exposure of general population to these environmental contaminants., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.)