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- Orru, Hans, et al.
(författare)
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Particulate Air Pollution and Its Impact on Health in Vilnius and Kaunas
- 2012
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Ingår i: Medicina (Kaunas). - 1010-660X .- 1648-9144. ; 48:9, s. 472-477
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Particulate matter in outdoor air has a significant impact on health. Small particles, composed of a variety of organic and inorganic compounds, are inhaled deep into the respiratory tract. The mechanisms and outcomes are manifold, resulting mainly in cardiopulmonary diseases. The current study aimed to quantify the health effects of particulate pollutants in Vilnius and Kaunas. Material and Methods. For risk estimation, the methodology of health impact assessment was employed. The exposure was defined as annual PM2.5 levels for long-term exposure effects and daily PM10 averages for short-term exposure effects. The baseline mortality/morbidity data were retrieved from health registers and exposure-response relationships from previous epidemiological studies. For health impact calculations, the WHO-developed tool AirQ was also applied. Results. The annual average concentration of PM2.5 was 11 mu g/m(3) in Vilnius and 17.5 mu g/m(3) in Kaunas. The exposure above the natural background corresponded annually to 263 (95% CI, 68-464) and 338 (95% CI, 86-605) premature deaths in Vilnius and Kaunas. This resulted in 3438 (95% CI, 905-5952) and 3693 (95% CI, 983-6322) years of life lost and in an average decrease in life expectancy of 0.43 (95% CI, 0.11-0.74) and 0.69 (95% CI, 0.18-1.19) years, respectively. In addition, 143 (95% CI, 86-200) and 129 (95% CI, 78-179) respiratory and 297 (95% CI, 188-377) and 267 (95% CI. 169-338) cardiovascular hospitalizations per year could be expected in Vilnius and Kaunas, respectively. Conclusions. There is substantial exposure to particulate matter in the main Lithuanian cities, which causes considerable adverse health effects. Traffic and domestic heating are considered locally the most important contributing factors to the degradation of air quality.
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| 2. |
- Rehm, Jürgen, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of the WHO "best buys" for alcohol policy on consumption and health in the Baltic countries and Poland 2000-2020
- 2023
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Ingår i: The Lancet Regional Health. - 2666-7762. ; 33
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Alcohol use is a major risk factor for burden of disease. This narrative review aims to document the effects of major alcohol control policies, in particular taxation increases and availability restrictions in the three Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) between 2000 and 2020. These measures have been successful in curbing alcohol sales, in general without increasing consumption of alcoholic beverages from unrecorded sources; although for more recent changes this may have been partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, findings from time -series analyses suggest improved health, measured as reductions in all -cause and alcohol -attributable mortality, as well as narrowing absolute mortality inequalities between lower and higher educated groups. For most outcomes, there were sex differences observed, with alcohol control policies more strongly affecting males. In contrast to this successful path, alcohol control policies were mostly dismantled in the neighbouring country of Poland, resulting in a rising death toll due to liver cirrhosis and other alcohol -attributable deaths. The natural experiment in this region of high -income European countries with high consumption levels highlights the importance of effective alcohol control policies for improving population health.
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| 3. |
- Stelemekas, Štelemėkas, et al.
(författare)
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Alcohol control policy measures and all-cause mortality in Lithuania : an interrupted time-series analysis
- 2021
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Ingår i: Addiction. - : Wiley. - 0965-2140 .- 1360-0443. ; 116:10, s. 2673-2684
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and aims Alcohol use has been identified as a major risk factor for burden of mortality and disease, particularly for countries in eastern Europe. During the past two decades, several countries in this region have implemented effective alcohol policy measures to combat this burden. The aim of the current study was to measure the association between Lithuania's alcohol control policies and adult all-cause mortality.Design Interrupted time-series methodology by means of general additive models.Setting Lithuania.Participants Adult population of Lithuania, aged 20 years and older.Measurements Alcohol control policies were ascertained via a document review of relevant legislation materials. Policy effects were evaluated as follows: (1) slope changes in periods of legislative (non-)activity with regard to alcohol control policy (analysis 1); (2) level changes of three interventions following recommendations of the World Health Organization (analysis 2); and (3) level changes of seven interventions judged a priori by an international panel of experts (analysis 3). Mortality was measured by sex-stratified and total monthly age-standardized rates of all-cause mortality for the adult population.Findings During the period 2001-18, effective alcohol control policy measures were implemented on several occasions, and in those years the all-cause mortality rate declined by approximately 3.2% more than in years without such policies. In particular, the implementation of increased taxation in 2017 was associated with reduced mortality over and above the general trend for men and in total for all analyses, which amounted to 1452 deaths avoided (95% confidence interval = -166 to -2739) in the year following the implementation of the policy.Conclusions Alcohol control policies in Lithuania appear to have reduced the overall adult all-cause mortality over and above secular trends.
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