Noise, air pollutants and traffic: continuous measurement and correlation at a high-traffic location in New York City

Background

Epidemiological studies have linked both noise and air pollution to common adverse health outcomes such as increased blood pressure and myocardial infarction. In urban settings, noise and air pollution share important sources, notably traffic, and several recent studies have shown spatial correlations between noise and air pollution. The temporal association between these exposures, however, has yet to be thoroughly investigated despite the importance of time series studies in air pollution epidemiology and the potential that correlations between these exposures could at least partly confound statistical associations identified in these studies.Methods: An aethelometer, for continuous elemental carbon measurement, was co-located with a continuous noise monitor near a major urban highway in New York City for six days in August 2009. Hourly elemental carbon measurements and hourly data on overall noise levels and low, medium and high frequency noise levels were collected. Hourly average concentrations of fine particles and nitrogen oxides, wind speed and direction and car, truck and bus traffic were obtained from nearby regulatory monitors. Overall temporal patterns, as well as day–night and weekday–weekend patterns, were characterized and compared for all variables.

Results

Noise levels were correlated with car, truck, and bus traffic and with air pollutants. We observed strong day–night and weekday–weekend variation in noise and air pollutants and correlations between pollutants varied by noise frequency. Medium and high frequency noise were generally more strongly correlated with traffic and traffic-related pollutants than low frequency noise and the correlation with medium and high frequency noise was generally stronger at night. Correlations with nighttime high frequency noise were particularly high for car traffic (Spearman rho=0.84), nitric oxide (0.73) and nitrogen dioxide (0.83). Wind speed and direction mediated relationships between pollutants and noise.

Conclusions

Noise levels are temporally correlated with traffic and combustion pollutants and correlations are modified by the time of day, noise frequency and wind. Our results underscore the potential importance of assessing temporal variation in co-exposures to noise and air pollution in studies of the health effects of these urban pollutants.     

长期口服小剂量阿司匹林不能预防健康女性患2型糖尿病

慢性无临床症状的炎症与2型糖尿病的发生有关,流行病学资料认为这种关联在妇女表现得更为强烈。虽然小型临床研究显示短期口服大剂量阿司匹林具有明显的降糖效果,但是并没有随机试验直接评估临床可接受的剂量的阿司匹林预防糖尿病的效果。在美国一项随机、双盲、安慰剂-对照的女性健康研究（Women＇s Health Study）中,38716名45岁以上的且无临床糖尿病的健康女性随机口服小剂量的阿司匹林（n=19326）或安慰剂（n=19390）,     

The impact of psychosocial training on staff attitudes towards people living with dementia: A systematic review

Background

As the prevalence of dementia increases, the need for appropriately trained and skilled care teams also increases. Staff attitudes towards people living with dementia have a significant impact on caregiving behaviours and staff and resident outcomes. Training within care settings is a potential way of improving staff attitudes towards residents in their care.

Objectives

This review aimed to (i) assess the effectiveness of psychosocial training in improving care staff attitudes towards dementia; and (ii) examine the content and focus of training.

Method

The review was conducted following PRISMA guidance and the protocol was registered on PROSPERO prior to conducting the review. A comprehensive search of peer-reviewed literature was undertaken using CINAHL, Medline and PsycINFO from inception to March 2021. All papers were evaluated using a quality appraisal tool.

Results

Ten studies met inclusion criteria and were of variable quality. However, six studies found significant improvements in staff attitudes towards dementia following staff training. The studies varied in terms of training focus and included behavioural, communication and cognitive-based approaches.

Conclusions

Staff training could be an effective method of improving staff attitudes towards dementia in care settings. Further research adopting high-quality randomised controlled designs to further explore staff attitudes following psychosocial training would make a valuable contribution to the literature base.