Everyday health risks: real or overblown?

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1. 1

   Association between air pollution, multimorbidity and polypharmacy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

   BMJ public health (Zhang et al.)Published Sep 3, 2026Checked Sep 30, 2026

   “After excluding incompatible effect estimates (increment other than per 5 µg/m3, 10 µg/m3 or IQR increase) and studies using overlapping datasets, four, three, two and four were included in the main meta-analysis, respectively, with a pooled adjusted risk ratio (aRR) of 1.15 (95% CI 1.08 to 1.23; I 2 =93.0%) per 5 µg/m³ particulate matter (PM)2.5 increase, a pooled aRR of 1.27 (95% CI 1.11 to 1.47; I 2 =99.5%) per 5 µg/m³ PM10 increase, a pooled aRR of 1.07 (95% CI 1.05 to 1.09; I 2 =0.0%) per 5 µg/m³ PM1 increase and a pooled aRR of 1.12 (95% CI 1.00 to 1.26; I 2 =96.6%) per 5 µg/m³ nitrogen dioxide (NO2) increase. There was no evidence of associations between other air pollutants (nitrogen oxides (N=3), black carbon (N=1), sulphur dioxide (N=3), ozone (N=4), carbon monoxide (N=3)) and multimorbidity. No eligible studies on polypharmacy, indoor air pollution, older adults, American and Oceanian populations were identified.ConclusionsLong-term exposure to ambient PM2.5 and NO2 may elevate the risk of multimorbidity. Future research should prioritise household air pollution, rural areas, older populations as a target group, continents other than Europe and Asia and polypharmacy.”

2. 2

   Venous Thrombosis and Air Pollution: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 1.4 Million Adult Patients.

   Journal of thrombosis and haemostasis : JTH (Fang et al.)Published Sep 19, 2026Checked Sep 30, 2026

   “Meta-analysis showed that occurrence of venous thrombosis was positively associated with long-term particles exposures, but not with short-term particles exposures or with any metrics of gaseous pollutants. Specifically, the increased risk of VTE was associated with a 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 (RR 1.0804, 95% CI: 1.0015-1.1656) and PM10 (RR 1.0369, 95% CI: 1.0260-1.0479) during average pollutant concentrations of one year or more. Subgroup analyses further indicated that the associations with PM2.5 remained statistically significant for DVT and among older participants. We estimated that reducing the annual average of PM2.5 concentrations to meet the World Health Organization Air Quality Guideline of 5 μg/m3 would prevent 98,233 venous thrombotic events globally.ConclusionThis analysis suggest that particulate matter air pollution might be a risk factor for venous thrombosis, highlighting that environmental policies to reduce population exposure levels may mitigate the burden of venous thrombotic events.”

3. 3

   Association between long-term exposure to air pollution and blood pressure in children: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

   Reviews on environmental health (Çulpan et al.)Published Aug 10, 2026Checked Sep 30, 2026

   “Meta-analysis was limited to PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 because cohort data for other pollutants were limited, and exposure increments and hypertension definitions varied across studies.SummaryLong-term PM2.5 exposure showed the most consistent association with higher systolic BP (0.59 mmHg per 10 μg/m3; 95 % CI: 0.28-0.90). PM10 was initially associated with higher systolic (0.28 mmHg per 10 μg/m3; 95 % CI: 0.25-0.31) and diastolic (0.27 mmHg; 95 % CI: 0.24-0.30) BP, but these associations were not sustained in sensitivity analyses. NO2 showed no significant association with systolic or diastolic BP. Several pollutants, including PM2.5, PM10, SO2, O3, and CO, were associated with increased odds of hypertension.OutlookCurrent evidence suggests that exposure to fine particulate matter may contribute to early-life elevation in blood pressure; however, given the paucity of longitudinal data and the complexity of multipollutant exposures, further research employing standardized exposure metrics, harmonized outcome definitions, and multipollutant models are needed to clarify independent pollutant effects.”

4. 4

   Health Risk of Fine Particulate Matter Across China with a Pollutant-Specific Index from 2013 to 2023.

   Environmental science & technology (Li et al.)Published Aug 1, 2026Checked Sep 30, 2026

   “The model achieved high predictive accuracy (cross-validation R2 = 0.88 spatially and 0.82 temporally at daily level). PM2.5 concentrations declined substantially nationwide from 55.06 μg/m3 in 2013 to 26.50 μg/m3 in 2022, followed by a slight rebound to 27.46 μg/m3 in 2023. Each 10 μg/m3 increase in short-term PM2.5 exposure within 3 days was associated with increased risks of all-cause (0.42%), cardiovascular (0.61%), and respiratory (0.84%) mortality. AQHIPM2.5 indicated persistent moderate-to-high health risk days in northern and southwestern China, with some regions experiencing more than 80 medium- and high-risk days annually. Eliminating high-risk days identified by AQHIPM2.5 could avert an estimated 6,985 (95% CI: 6,419 to 7,588) deaths in 2023, accounting for 7.42% of PM2.5-attributable all-cause mortality burden. These findings indicate that substantial health risks from PM2.5 persist despite improved air quality and demonstrate that integrating high-resolution exposure estimation with health risk assessment can support more targeted pollution control and public health interventions.”

5. 5

   Health risk assessment of inorganic arsenic: an umbrella review.

   Reviews on environmental health (Leem et al.)Published Jul 23, 2026Checked Sep 30, 2026

   “An umbrella review framework was employed to synthesize and reinterpret findings across systematic reviews. The methodological quality of included systematic reviews was assessed using the A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews 2 tool. Extracted data on study characteristics, exposure levels, and risk estimates were analyzed to evaluate the dose-response relationship between iAs exposure and health outcomes. From 922 systematic reviews, 36 were included and categorized into 10 health condition groups. For example, seven SRs found a significant dose-response relationship between iAs and bladder cancer, with one systematic review reporting relative risks of 2.70, 4.20, and 5.80 at 10, 50, and 150 µg/L, respectively. Individual study analysis further showed that each 10 µg/L increase in iAs raised bladder cancer risk by 3.11 % (p=0.003). iAs exposure is associated with hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and adverse fetal outcomes. Dose-dependent increases in bladder cancer, lung cancer, and hypertension risks were observed. These findings support more precise health risk assessments and regulatory strategies.”

6. 6

   Levels of Uranium in Soil and Dust and Their Associated Chemical Risks to Human Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

   Environmental health insights (Kalumbi et al.)Published Aug 12, 2026Checked Sep 30, 2026

   “Two independent reviewers screened titles, abstracts, and full texts, applying the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal criteria for data extraction. Meta-analyses were performed, incorporating pooled estimates where appropriate. Narrative synthesis was applied to data unsuitable for meta-analysis. Eighteen studies from 13 countries met the inclusion criteria. The pooled mean uranium concentration was 3.49 mg/kg in soil and 5.10 mg/kg in dust. Regionally, the WHO South-East Asian Region (SEARO) reported the highest mean soil concentrations (5.26 mg/kg), while the Western Pacific Region recorded the highest dust concentrations (11.69 mg/kg). Non-carcinogenic hazard quotients ranged from 3.1 × 10-13 (children and adults) to 1.47 (adults), and carcinogenic risks spanned 3.54 × 10-21 (children) to 2.17 × 10-9 (adults). Uranium contamination in soil and dust varies by region, with SEARO and the Western Pacific as high-exposure areas. Risk ratios vary, influenced partly by age. Enhancing exposure assessment methods and age-specific risk evaluations is crucial for refining risk characterisation and informing public health interventions in uranium-affected areas.”

7. 7

   Occurrence, distribution, and ecological risk of microplastics in Chinese surface waters: a systematic review and multi-model assessment.

   Environmental geochemistry and health (Zhou et al.)Published Aug 28, 2026Checked Sep 30, 2026

   “Microplastics are widely detected in Chinese surface waters, posing potential threats to ecosystems and human health. We conducted a systematic review of literature published from January 2014 to March 2026 based on predefined search and eligibility criteria, and integrated data from 40 eligible studies.Using the Pollution Load Index (PLI), the Potential Ecological Risk Index (PERI), the Species Sensitivity Distribution (SSD), and health risk models (Target Hazard Quotient, THQ; Cancer Risk, CR), we analyzed the spatial distribution, morphology, and multi-dimensional risks of microplastics. Results showed pronounced spatial heterogeneity, with hotspots in northwestern inland rivers, northern industrialized basins, and the southeastern coast. Fibers dominated (47.6-59.5%), particles -1. Human health risk assessment estimated THQ = 0.019 and CR = 1.32×10-5 under the assumed exposure scenarios. Overall, microplastic contamination and associated risks varied among regions, with hotspots requiring further monitoring. These findings provide useful information for ecological risk assessment and future management strategies.”

8. 8

   Environmental health (Wikipedia)

   WikipediaPublished Sep 29, 2026Checked Sep 30, 2026

   “Environmental health is the branch of public health concerned with all aspects of the natural and built environment affecting human health. Its study determines the requirements for a healthy environment, with the goal of effective control over the factors that affect health. The major sub-disciplines of environmental health are environmental science, toxicology, environmental epidemiology, and environmental and occupational medicine.”