Avian flu epidemic 2003 in Holland: public health consequences.
FISABIO PUBLIC HEALTH ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH
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FISABIO PUBLIC HEALTH ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH HEAD OF RESEARCH SECTION DR FERRAN BALLESTER [email protected] AVENIDA DE CATALUÑA, 21 / 46020 VALENCIA / SPAIN
Transcript of FISABIO PUBLIC HEALTH ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH
FISABIOPUBLIC HEALTH
ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH
HEAD OF RESEARCH SECTIONDR FERRAN [email protected] DE CATALUÑA, 21 / 46020 VALENCIA / SPAIN
FUNDACIÓN PAR A EL FOMENTO DE L A INVEST IGACIÓN SANITARIA Y BIOMÉDIC A DE L A COMUNIDAD VALENCIANA (F ISABIO) / AVENIDA DE C ATALUÑA , 21 / 46020 VALENCIA / SPA IN
FISABIOENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH
Everyone is aware of the natural link that exists between environment and health: count-less studies as well as the experience of man-kind prove that there is a relationship between the quality of the environment that we inhabit and the state of our health. Health and disease are not separate or opposite phenomena, but different outcomes of the interaction between man and the surrounding environment. From this point of view, the identification of environ-mental risks and the study of their impact on health constitute essential means for disease prevention, health promotion and the improve-ment of the people’s quality of life.
Since the Centro Superior de Investiga-ción en Salud Pública (Superior Centre for Research on Public Health) began to operate in 2009 (it was integrated into the Fundación de Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunitat Valenciana-FISABIO in 2013), the research group has consolidated and expan-ded the line of investigation devoted to the im-pact of various environmental risks on health that was first opened in the 1990s by the Ins-tituto Valenciano de Estudios en Salud Pública (Valencian Institute of Public Health Studies, IVESP), later known as Escuela Valenciana de
Estudios en Salud (Valencian School of Health Studies, EVES).
From the moment that the Instituto de Sa-lud Carlos III launched the Centro de Inves-tigación Biomédica en Red en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (Biomedical Research Center Network for Epidemiology and Public Health, CIBERESP) in 2006, the members of this team have been part of Research Group 41, and Ferran Ballester, the Research Section coordi-nator, is also the head of the research group.
In September 2014, a collaboration agreement between FISABIO, la Universitat de València and the Universitat Jaume I de Castelló led to the establishment of the Uni-dad Mixta de Investigación en Epidemiología, Ambiente y Salud FISABIO-Universitat Jaume I -Universitat de València (FISABIO- Univer-sitat Jaume I -Universitat de València Coope-rative Research Group on Epidemiology, En-vironment and Health), with the participation of the researchers of Environment and Health Research Section of FISABIO and researchers from the Universitat de València and the Uni-versitat Jaume I de Castelló.
“The FISABIO-UJI-UV CooperativeResearch Groupon Epidemiology, Environmentand Health wascreated in 2014.”
FUNDACIÓN PAR A EL FOMENTO DE L A INVEST IGACIÓN SANITARIA Y BIOMÉDIC A DE L A COMUNIDAD VALENCIANA (F ISABIO) / AVENIDA DE C ATALUÑA , 21 / 46020 VALENCIA / SPA IN
To research aspects of human health related to environmental factors. To assess the impact on health of various environmental risks by measuring the degree of exposure to these risks, the development of biological markers, and the relationship between these factors and the incidence of various diseases or problems that affect quality of life. We use various approaches and tools to assess exposure, such as questionnaires, determination of environmental pollutants, assessment of individual exposure by means of biomarkers (biomonitoring), the use of registries and the development of integral models by means of statistical methods. We carry out studies on some of the major environmental health risks, such as air pollution, exposure to persistent pollutants, or the effects of extreme temperatures (heat and cold waves). We assess their potential association with the health and quality of life of the population, with particular emphasis on vulnerable groups such as children, pregnant women, the elderly, immigrants, or individuals with fewer economic, social or educational resources by means of observational studies that apply the methods and techniques of environmental epidemiology.
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“We study the impact of the environment on health.”
FUNDACIÓN PAR A EL FOMENTO DE L A INVEST IGACIÓN SANITARIA Y BIOMÉDIC A DE L A COMUNIDAD VALENCIANA (F ISABIO) / AVENIDA DE C ATALUÑA , 21 / 46020 VALENCIA / SPA IN
The active areas of research are the fo -llowing:
AREA 1. Childhood and environment.
INMA PROJECT. Multicentric cohort study in collaboration with other Spanish centres that share methodologies and information for assessing the impact of environmental factors on foetal and child health.
The centres that participate in the INMA (Infancia y Medio Ambiente - Childhood and Environment) program include hospitals, re -search institutions and/or universities in va-rious autonomous communities. In the autono-mous community of Valencia, more than 700 families are being followed up from gestation until children reach 11 years of age. The-re is approximately a total of 4000 families in the cohorts of Ribera del Ebro, Menorca, Granada, Valencia, Sabadell, Gipuzkoa and Asturias. The project is coordinated from the Centro de Epimediología Ambiental (Centre of Environmental Epidemiology, CREAL) of the Ins-tituto de Investigación Medica (Institute of Me-dical Research, IMIM) of Barcelona. Research on the Valencian cohort is being conducted in collaboration with the Universitat Jaume I, the Hospital Infantil de La Fe, the Department of Public Health of the Universidad Miguel Hernández and various departments and cen-tres of the Universitat de València (Nursing Department, School of Nursing and Podiatry, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Dental Clinic, School of Psychology).
The objectives of the project are:
- To share methodologies and knowledge between various Spanish research groups that are investigating the health effects of environ-mental factors in children.
- To describe individual body burdens of pollutants and levels of exposure during gesta-tion and early childhood.
- To assess the impact of exposure to diffe -rent pollutants on the health, growth and neu-rological, endocrine and immune development in children.
- To assess the protective role of diet and fatty acids in children’s health, growth and de-velopment.
- To assess the interaction between per-sistent pollutants and nutritional and genetic determinants of prenatal and postnatal health and development.
The future aims of this research area are:
- To continue monitoring the development of children in the cohort up to age 14 years.
- To assess the exposure of participating children to environmental risks as an approxi-mation of exposure levels in the entire Spanish population.
- To provide scientific evidence that is use-ful and relevant to decision-making toward ex-posure reduction.
- To analyse the impact of the relationship between environmental factors, sociodemo-graphic factors and diet, on one hand, and children’s health and development.
- To provide information on the current le -vels of exposure to environmental pollutants of vulnerable subsets of the Spanish population (pregnant women and early childhood).
- To provide scientific evidence that is use-ful and relevant to decision-making toward the prevention of disease and health problems in children.
Project website: www.proyectoinma.org
In addition, at the international level and through the INMA project, we participate in several European projects that assemble preg-nancy, birth and child cohorts to assess the re-lationship between various environmental fac-tors and child health. Chief among them are:
THE ESCAPE PROJECT that studies the po-tential effects of air pollution on the health of the European population, including the gesta-tional period and childhood.
THE MEDALL PROJECT that combines the work and experience of a significant number of researchers and European institutions to advance
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AREASOF RESEARCH
FUNDACIÓN PAR A EL FOMENTO DE L A INVEST IGACIÓN SANITARIA Y BIOMÉDIC A DE L A COMUNIDAD VALENCIANA (F ISABIO) / AVENIDA DE C ATALUÑA , 21 / 46020 VALENCIA / SPA IN THE ELABORATION OF THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN FUNDED BY THE PROJECT AFI -01/14, IN THE CONTEXT OF THE GRANTS FOR PARTICIPATION IN EUROPEAN COMMISSION RESEARCH PROGRAMMES ON HEALTH GIVEN BY THE CONSELLERIA DE SANITAT UNIVERSAL I SALUT PÚBLICA OF THE GOVERNMENT OF VALENCIA FOR THE 2014-2015 FISCAL PERIOD.
our understanding of the mechanisms by which asthma and other allergic diseases develop.
THE CHICOS PROJECT that gathers and summarises information on the methods and outcomes of European projects on child health determinants with the purpose of guiding the implementation of preventive measures.
THE DENAMIC PROJECT, which studies the degree of exposure to neurotoxic environ-mental pollutants in children from various Euro-pean regions (Norway, Netherlands, Slovakia and Spain) and its potential effects on neuro-developmental outcomes in children.
AREA 2. Air pollution and health.
Assessment of the relationship between air quality and population health through mul-ticentric studies such as the Spanish EMECAS study, which includes 16 cities, or the Euro-pean APHEA study, with the participation of 30 cities in Europe. At the national level, we are developing a study in collaboration with the Dirección General de Salud Pública de Ca-narias (General Directorate of Public Health of the Canary Islands) to assess the impact of African dust outbreaks on the health of the po-pulation of the Canary Islands.
The section also conducts studies to assess the impact of pollution on population health, such as the European project APHEKOM that aims to provide information relevant for deci-
sion-making in the context of public policy or for its use by health care and environmental professionals, as well as the population. In re-cent years we have worked on the elaboration of scientific documents for the Plan de Calidad del Aire (Air Quality Plan) of the Spanish go-vernment.
AREA 3. Weather and climate.
Assessment of the relationship between climate factors and meteorological variables, especially ambient temperature, and health, as well as the public health measures that may minimise the impact of predictable weather changes in the future. We worked on the TEM-PRO-EMECAM project, based on 16 Spanish cities, and participated in the European pro-jects PHEWE and EUROHEAT. At present we are working on the European project PHASE that aims to contribute to the understanding of the association between meteorological fac-tors and health, and identify the best strategies for the prevention of their potential impact on health. At the national level, we participate as experts in the Observatorio de Salud y Cambio Climático (Observatory of Health and Climate Change), of the Ministries of Health and Environment, in the elaboration of expert reports on the subjects of Climate Change and Health, and in the panel of experts for the fi-ght against climate change of the autonomous Community of Valencia.
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RESEARCH GROUP
RESEARCHERS
DR CARMEN IÑIGUEZ
MARISA ESTARLICH
MARIO MURCIA
DR SABRINA LLOP
OLGA COSTA
DR MARÍA JOSÉ LÓPEZ ESPINOSA
LOPEZ_ [email protected]
DR CLEMENTE AGUILAR
AMPARO FERRERO
LLÚCIA GONZÁLEZ
RESEARCHERS FROM OTHER
SECTIONS
SILVIA GIMENO
CLARA RODRÍGUEZ
TECHNICIANS
AMPARO CASES
ESPERANZA ALABARTA
RESEARCHERS AT OTHER CENTRES
DR MARISA REBAGLIATO
DR ANA ESPLUGUES
JUAN BELLIDO
VIRGINIA FUENTES
JOSÉ Mª TENÍAS BURILLO
TENIAS_ [email protected]
ANA VICEDO
RESEARCH SECTION COORDINATOR
DR FERRAN BALLESTER
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON FISABIO’S ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES:
W. FISABIO.SAN.GVA.ES / T. +34 961925700 / M. [email protected]
