Moving beyond cubicles: How an active workplace design can drive workers’ behaviors

Researchers underscore the impact of workplace culture and building layouts on workers’ behaviors and the necessity for accurate behavioral measures

JAPAN ADVANCED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

 

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WORKPLACES WITH ACTIVITY-PROMOTING FEATURES COULD INCREASE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND REDUCE SITTING TIME AMONG OFFICE-BASED WORKERS, ENHANCING THEIR HEALTH AND OVERALL WELL-BEING.

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CREDIT: "EMPTY CUBICLES" BY OREGONDOT ON OPENVERSE. IMAGE SOURCE LINK: HTTPS://OPENVERSE.ORG/IMAGE/C156D8D9-A974-4432-B7F1-963AA8C3E5B2

Ishikawa, Japan -- Physical inactivity and sitting for prolonged hours are highly prevalent among office-based workers, known to be resulting in various health risks and economic constraints. However, to reduce sedentary time and increase physical activity, health promotion interventions alone are insufficient. The design of workplaces should also be considered to promote interactive behavior among workers.

Many models, such as the socio-ecological model, show how multiple factors interact to influence workers' active and sedentary behaviors. These models specifically magnify the impact of workplace environments in shaping these behaviors. Several studies have also shown that physical environmental factors within and outside the workplace can encourage physical activity among workers. However, several gaps in the existing literature warrant further investigation.

Recently, researchers from the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) have identified three significant gaps in understanding how workplace design influences sedentary and active behaviors among employees. The research team was led by Associate Professor Mohammad Javad Koohsari from JAIST, who is also an adjunct researcher at Waseda University and an honorary associate fellow at Deakin University (Australia), along with Associate Professor Andrew T. Kaczynski from the University of South Carolina, Professor Akitomo Yasunaga from Bunka Gakuen University, Associate Professor Tomoya Hanibuchi from Kyoto University, Professor Tomoki Nakaya from Tohoku University, Professor Gavin R. McCormack from the University of Calgary, and Professor Koichiro Oka from Waseda University. Their study was published online in British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Delving deeper, Dr. Koohsari and his team reviewed existing literature to underscore the importance of investigating these gaps and to suggest future research directions. Elaborating further, he says, “We have focused on the interactive effects of workplace norms and culture, and the spatial layout of buildings on workers’ behaviors, along with the need for accurately measuring these behaviors.”

Workplace norms and culture can influence workers’ sedentary behaviors and determine how workplace design affects above mentioned behaviors. However, existing studies in this area have been conducted primarily in Western settings. So, cross-cultural studies are needed to understand these dynamics across different geographical settings, ensuring workplace interventions are culturally relevant. Moreover, the extension of workplace norms to remote and hybrid work environments could also be explored.

Understanding the full impact of workplace design on workers’ behaviors requires measuring active and sitting behaviors accurately and identifying the locations where these behaviors usually occur. While the global positioning system (GPS) in combination with accelerometer devices are commonly used for this purpose, the signals are less accurate indoors. Instead, an indoor positioning system (IPS), which uses low-cost Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, can precisely locate people within indoor environments. Through its integration with activity-tracking wearable devices, workers’ movements, intensity of activities, and other biometric data could also be collected. Additionally, combining IPS and geospatial AI (GeoAI) to analyze geospatial data could precisely locate people within workplaces and analyze workers’ movement patterns.

Previous studies have considered the impact of isolated design elements on movement and behaviors. However, the overall building layout, which is the spatial arrangement of elements like walls, doors, windows, and access routes, majorly defines the functionality of interior spaces. Yet, it remains unclear which workplace layouts promote active behaviors among employees. Space syntax theory—a method of quantifying spatial layouts using graph-based estimators—could fill this knowledge gap. Dr. Koohsari highlights, “By considering the spatial layout of a whole building rather than only the individual design elements, space syntax could be used to study how factors of building layout, such as locations of common spaces and workstation arrangement, impact workers’ movements and behaviors.”

As digitalization and automation engulf the modern world, sedentary behaviors among office-based workers are expected to increase. In response, Dr. Koohsari reiterates, “Future studies should examine the interactive effects of workplace norms and culture on behavior and conduct cross-cultural studies to identify similarities and differences. Innovative measurement methods can also be employed to accurately measure behaviors and locations where those behaviors occur within workplaces. Additionally, exploring the influence of spatial layout, and utilizing space syntax, can offer valuable insights into the design of work environments that facilitate workers' engagement inactive behaviors. ”

In conclusion, these insights suggest that addressing the existing knowledge gaps is crucial for developing workplace interventions and designing healthy and productive work environments, eventually enhancing the well-being of workers.

 

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Reference

Title of original paper:	Active Workplace Design: Current Gaps and Future Pathways
Authors:	Mohammad Javad Koohsari*, Andrew T. Kaczynski, Akitomo Yasunaga, Tomoya Hanibuchi, Tomoki Nakaya, Gavin R. McCormack, and Koichiro Oka
Journal	British Journal of Sports Medicine
DOI:	10.1136/bjsports-2024-108146

 

                                           

About Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Japan

Founded in 1990 in Ishikawa prefecture, the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) was the first independent national graduate school in Japan. Now, after 30 years of steady progress, JAIST has become one of Japan’s top-ranking universities. JAIST counts with multiple satellite campuses and strives to foster capable leaders with a state-of-the-art education system where diversity is key; about 40% of its alumni are international students. The university has a unique style of graduate education based on a carefully designed coursework-oriented curriculum to ensure that its students have a solid foundation on which to carry out cutting-edge research. JAIST also works closely both with local and overseas communities by promoting industry–academia collaborative research.

 

About Associate Professor Mohammad Javad Koohsari from Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Japan

Dr Koohsari is an Associate Professor at Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Japan. He also is an Adjunct Researcher with the Faculty of Sport Sciences at Waseda University, Japan, and an Honorary Associate Fellow with the School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences at Deakin University, Australia. He obtained his PhD in Urban Design from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and another PhD in Health and Sport Sciences from Waseda University, Japan. His research focuses on how built environment science can contribute to population health, especially in the context of super-aged societies. Dr Koohsari has a publication record with over 115 refereed journal articles (such as at Nature Reviews Cardiology). In 2020, 2021, and 2022, he was recognised in the top 2% of most influential researchers worldwide across all scientific disciplines (Stanford University & Elsevier). He is also included in the 'Top Scientists' list in the field of 'Social Science & Humanities' for the year 2022 (Research.com). He is an editorial board member of several international journals, such as Landscape & Urban Planning, Heart & Mind, Clinical eHealth, and Journal of Architectural & Planning Research.

 

Funding information

Mohammad Javad Koohsari is supported by the JSPS KAKENHI (grant 23K09701). Koichiro Oka is supported by the JSPS Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research program (grant 20H04113).

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JOURNAL

British Journal of Sports Medicine

DOI

10.1136/bjsports-2024-108146 

ARTICLE TITLE

Active Workplace Design: Current Gaps and Future Pathways

 

Fjords are effective carbon traps regardless of oxygen levels

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG

 

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GULLMARSFJORDEN IN SWEDISH BOHUSLÄN WAS ONE OF THE FJORDS STUDIED. IT HAS A VARYING OXYGEN CONTENT IN THE WATER NEAR THE BOTTOM. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT THE BOTTOM SEDIMENTS ACT AS AN EFFECTIVE CARBON TRAP, EVEN WHEN THE WATER HAD A HIGHER OXYGEN CONTENT.

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CREDIT: ASTRID HYLÉN

The fjords on Sweden’s west coast act as effective carbon traps regardless of whether the bottom water is oxygen-rich or not. This is the conclusion of a new study with researchers from the University of Gothenburg.

Large quantities of plant parts sink to the bottom of fjords on the Swedish west coast where they form sediment. This buries organic carbon, which would otherwise contribute to ocean acidification and the greenhouse effect. When the plant parts are exposed to oxygen and other substances, the organic carbon begins to decompose into inorganic carbon, which can be dissolved into carbonic acid in the water. Research has previously assumed that it is the oxygen content of the bottom environment that determines how effectively the carbon can be captured, but measurements in three fjords in Sweden show that oxygen content plays less of a role.

Same pattern in three fjords

“We chose three fjords with different oxygen levels in the bottom water and for these fjords it seems that the amount of particles that settle is so high that the impact of oxygen on decomposition is low,” says Per Hall, professor emeritus of marine biogeochemistry at the University of Gothenburg and co-author of the study published in JGR Biogeosciences.

The three fjords; Byfjorden, Hakefjorden and Gullmarsfjorden show the same pattern in the sediments. Large amounts of organic carbon are stored, and decomposition proceeds at the same rate whether plant parts from land or sea have landed on the seabed.

“This is also new knowledge. Further into the fjords, the proportion of terrestrial plant parts is greater in the sediments than further out in the fjord, closest to the sill. But as a carbon sink, the fjord works equally well everywhere, regardless of the origin of the organic material,” says Per Hall.

Mineral particles contribute to the carbon trap

Another thing that could be noted in the measurements was that the organic material combines with mineral particles that are transported out into the fjord by water courses. This association makes the organic matter sink faster and slows down decomposition because bacteria and other organisms cannot break down this material as well. It also contributes to the carbon sink.

Fjords are the marine environments that bury the most organic carbon relative to their size. About 18 megatonnes (million tonnes) of organic carbon are buried in fjord sediments globally each year, representing 11 percent of all carbon captured in the world's oceans, even though fjords account for only one-tenth of one percent of all ocean surface area.

“Therefore, we conclude that fjords, especially those located in a temperate climate with surrounding terrestrial vegetation that can contribute to fjord sedimentation, play an important role in climate regulation on longer time scales. This emphasises the importance of exploring these ecosystems in the context of global change,” says Per Hall.

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JOURNAL

Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences

DOI

10.1029/2023JG007978 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

ARTICLE TITLE

Burial of Organic Carbon in Swedish Fjord Sediments: Highlighting the Importance of Sediment Accumulation Rate in Relation to Fjord Redox Conditions

 

Large corporations can improve the environment by taking risks and innovating, according to a study

UNIVERSITY OF SURREY

Businesses with dynamic, risk-taking cultures can be leaders in delivering positive environmental changes quickly, according to a study from the University of Surrey. 

Researchers surveyed 249 managers from multinational enterprises (MNEs) in Turkey and studied how well companies apply dynamic capabilities – their ability to adapt products and strategies in response to technological advancements and shifting consumer preferences. The study found that MNEs deploying dynamic capabilities collaborate better with suppliers to improve environmental practices. 

MNEs willing to take risks and try new approaches benefit more, especially with simpler environmental challenges like imposing sustainability standards, encouraging cleaner production, or waste reduction strategies. 

These findings offer valuable insights for businesses and policymakers. MNEs can use dynamic capabilities to build strong supplier relationships focused on environmental solutions. 

Dr Abderaouf Bouguerra, Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Strategy and International Business at the University of Surrey, said: 

“Utilising dynamic capabilities enables MNEs to collaborate with suppliers and improve environmental sustainability. Sensing external pressures and reconfiguring processes is critical to supporting suppliers’ sustainability, which is essential for meeting development goals. By working with suppliers and other key stakeholders, they can create a brighter, more sustainable future for everyone.” 

The study also found that complex environmental problems, such as initiatives to help suppliers reduce waste, can distract from long-term sustainability goals. To address this, MNEs should reduce risks in sustainability efforts by developing strong supplier collaborations and investing in targeted resources. 

The study argues that MNEs embracing collaborative environmental practices, such as working with suppliers on materials and waste reduction, can unlock various benefits. 

Professor Tazeeb Rajwani, Professor of International Business and Strategy at the University of Surrey and co-author of the study, said: 

“Companies working together on environmental solutions can save money, use resources more efficiently, and reduce waste. They can also improve their reputation and attract environmentally-conscious customers. By fostering a culture of innovation and risk-taking, MNEs can lead in developing sustainable solutions throughout their supply chains.” 

Read the full study in the International Business Review.    

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Note to editors:      

• Professor Tazeeb Rajwani and Dr Abderaouf Bouguerra are available for interview upon request      

• Contact the University of Surrey press office: mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk   

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JOURNAL

International Business Review

DOI

10.1016/j.ibusrev.2024.102298 

ARTICLE TITLE

MNEs engagement with environmental sustainability in an emerging economy: Do dynamic capabilities and entrepreneurial orientation matter?

 

The world’s most powerful anti-fungal chemistries cause fungal pathogens to self-destruct

Scientists have discovered that the most widely-used class of antifungals in the world cause pathogens to self-destruct.

UNIVERSITY OF EXETER

 

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FIGURE 1: AN AUTOPHAGOSOME (GREEN) IN THE PROCESS OF "EATING" A NUCLEUS (RED) IN A AZOLE-TREATED CELL OF Z. TRITICI. IMAGE PROVIDED BY CO-AUTHOR DR. MARTIN SCHUSTER.

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CREDIT: DR. MARTIN SCHUSTER

Scientists have discovered that the most widely-used class of antifungals in the world cause pathogens to self-destruct. The University of Exeter-led research could help improve ways to protect food security and human lives.

Fungal diseases account for the loss of up to a quarter of the world’s crops. They also pose a risk to humans and can be fatal for those with weakened immune systems.

Our strongest "weapon" against fungal plant diseases are azole fungicides. These chemical products account for to a quarter of the world agricultural fungicide market, worth more than £3 billion per year. Antifungal azoles are also widely used as a treatment against pathogenic fungi which can be fatal to humans, which adds to their importance in our attempt to control fungal disease. 

Azoles target enzymes in the pathogen cell that produce cholesterol-like molecules, named ergosterol. Ergosterol is an important component of cellular bio-membranes. Azoles deplete ergosterol, which results in killing of the pathogen cell. However, despite the importance of azoles, scientists know little about the actual cause of pathogen death.

In a new study published in Nature Communications, University of Exeter scientists have uncovered the cellular mechanism by which azoles kill pathogenic fungi. 

Funded by the BBSRC, the team of researchers, led by Professor Gero Steinberg, combined live-cell imaging approaches and molecular genetics to understand why the inhibition of ergosterol synthesis results in cell death in the crop pathogenic fungus Zymoseptoria tritic (Z. tritici). This fungus causes septoria leaf blotch in wheat, a serious disease in temperate climates, estimated to cause more than £250 million per year in costs in the UK alone due to harvest loss and fungicide spraying.

The Exeter team observed living Z. tritici cells, treated them with agricultural azoles and analysed the cellular response. They showed that the previously accepted idea that azoles kill the pathogen cell by causing perforation of the outer cell membrane does not apply. Instead, they found that azole-induced reduction of ergosterol increase the activity of cellular mitochondria, the "powerhouse" of the cell, required to produce the cellular "fuel" that drives all metabolic processes in the pathogen cell. While producing more "fuel" is not harmful in itself, the process leads to the formation of more toxic by-products. These by-products initiate a "suicide" programme in the pathogen cell, named apoptosis. In addition, reduced ergosterol levels also trigger a second "self-destruct" pathway, which causes the cell to "self-eat" its own nuclei and other vital organelles – a process known as macroautophagy (Figure 1). The authors show that both cell death pathways underpin the lethal activity of azoles. They conclude that azoles drive the fungal pathogen into "suicide" by initiating self-destruction.

The authors found the same mechanism of how azoles kill pathogen cells in rice-blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. The disease caused by this fungus kills up to 30 per cent of rice, an essential food crop for more than 3.5 billion people across the world. The team also tested other clinically relevant anti-fungal drugs that target the ergosterol biosynthesis, including Terbinafine, Tolfonate and Fluconazole. All initiated the same responses in the pathogen cell, suggesting that cell suicide is a general consequence of ergosterol biosynthesis inhibitors.

Lead author Professor Gero Steinberg, who holds a Chair in Cell Biology and is Director of the Bioimaging Centre at the University of Exeter, said: “Our findings rewrite common understanding of how azoles kill fungal pathogens. We show that azoles trigger cellular "suicide" programmes, which result in the pathogen self-destructing. This cellular reaction occurs after two days of treatment, suggesting that cells reach a "point of no return" after some time of exposure to azoles. Unfortunately, this gives the pathogen time to develop resistance against azoles, which explains why azole resistance is advancing in fungal pathogens, meaning they are more likely to fail to kill the disease in crops and humans.  

“Our work sheds light on the activity of our most widely used chemical control agents in crop and human pathogens across the world. We hope that our results prove to be useful to optimise control strategies that could save lives and secure food security for the future.”

The paper is entitled ‘Azoles activate type I and type II programmed cell death pathways in crop pathogenic fungi’ and is published in Nature Communications. Co-authors are Dr Martin Schuster and Dr Sreedhar Kilaru at the University of Exeter.

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JOURNAL

Nature Communications

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Cells

ARTICLE TITLE

Azoles activate type I and type II programmed cell death pathways in crop pathogenic fungi

 

Study links household chaos with sleep quality among teens with ADHD symptoms

New study explored the important role of household structure and stability for healthy sleep in teens

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF SLEEP MEDICINE

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DARIEN, IL – A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting found that household chaos and sleep hygiene are important factors in the relationship between sleep quality and ADHD symptoms in teens.

Results of structural equation modeling show that household chaos and sleep hygiene were significant mediators of the relationship between ADHD symptoms and poor sleep quality. The results suggest that improving the daily routine and stability of the household is an important strategy to consider when seeking to improve sleep quality in adolescents with symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

“These results begin to explicate some contextual factors that may help explain the increase in sleep difficulties observed in youth with higher symptoms of ADHD,” said lead author and co-principal investigator Jamie Flannery, who is a doctoral candidate in developmental psychology at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. “It suggests that when ADHD symptoms are high, aspects of the individual — poor sleep hygiene — and the familial environment — household chaos — are associated with poor sleep quality in adolescents.”

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that teenagers 13 to 18 years of age should sleep 8 to 10 hours. Healthy sleep is associated with better health outcomes including: improved attention, behavior, learning, memory, emotional regulation, quality of life, and mental and physical health.

The researchers collected data from 259 pairs of mothers and adolescents from across the U.S. Mothers used a scale to rate the severity of their adolescent’s ADHD symptoms, while adolescents completed three separate surveys about sleep quality, home environment and sleep hygiene.

Flannery noted that it’s important for adolescents and their families to know that it is more than just individual characteristics that can impact their sleep.

“While improving sleep hygiene in youths with ADHD may be beneficial, a household characterized by a lack of structure, routine and stability may undermine the adolescent’s sleep quality,” Flannery said.

The research abstract was published recently in an online supplement of the journal Sleep and will be presented Monday, June 3, during SLEEP 2024 in Houston. SLEEP is the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.

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Abstract Title: Examining the Relation Between ADHD Symptoms and Poor Sleep Quality: The Role of Household Chaos and Sleep Hygiene

Abstract ID: 0989

Poster Presentation Date: Monday, June 3, from 11-11:45 a.m. CDT, Board 212

Presenter: Jamie Flannery, M.A.

About the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC

The APSS is a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society. The APSS organizes the SLEEP annual meeting each June (sleepmeeting.org).

About the American Academy of Sleep Medicine

Established in 1975, the AASM advances sleep care and enhances sleep health to improve lives. The AASM has a combined membership of 12,000 accredited sleep centers and individuals, including physicians, scientists and other health care professionals who care for patients with sleep disorders. As the leader in the sleep field, the AASM sets standards and promotes excellence in sleep medicine health care, education and research (aasm.org).

About the Sleep Research Society 

The SRS is a professional membership society that advances sleep and circadian science. The SRS provides forums for the exchange of information, establishes and maintains standards of reporting and classifies data in the field of sleep research, and collaborates with other organizations to foster scientific investigation on sleep and its disorders. The SRS also publishes the peer-reviewed, scientific journals Sleep and Sleep Advances (sleepresearchsociety.org).

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JOURNAL

SLEEP

DOI

10.1093/sleep/zsae067.0989 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Survey

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Examining the Relation Between ADHD Symptoms and Poor Sleep Quality: The Role of Household Chaos and Sleep Hygiene

Sleep moderates the link between bullying and suicide in teens

Sleep duration is an important preventative factor among adolescents who experience online and in-school bullying

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF SLEEP MEDICINE

DARIEN, IL – A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting found that sleep duration significantly moderates the association between bullying and suicide attempts among adolescents in the U.S.

The study revealed that 15% of adolescents reported they were bullied at school, and 16% were bullied electronically; 10.2% reported they had attempted suicide during the past year; and 77.3% did not adhere to sleep duration recommendations. Adolescents who reported 4 hours of sleep or less per night were two times as likely to attempt suicide, and sleep duration significantly moderated the association between bullying in school and suicide attempts.

“Adolescent suicide and suicide attempts constitute a serious public health crisis in the United States,” said lead author Marie-Rachelle Narcisse, who has a doctorate in public health and is an assistant professor in the Warren Alpert School of Medicine of Brown University and a research scientist at the E.P. Bradley Hospital COBRE Center for Sleep and Circadian Rhythms in Child and Adolescent Mental Health in Providence, Rhode Island. “The fact that sleep duration significantly modifies the association between bullying and suicide attempts is a remarkable finding.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the second-leading cause of death among teens between 14 and 18 years of age. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that teens should sleep 8 to 10 hours on a regular basis to promote optimal health. Insufficient sleep in teenagers is associated with increased risk of self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts.

The study involved an analysis of data from the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, comprising a nationally representative sample of 17,134 participants. The researchers analyzed the relationships among electronic or school bullying, sleep duration, and past-year suicide attempts among adolescents between 12 and 18 years of age. Results were adjusted for potential confounders including sex, age, race/ethnicity, screen time, and poor mental health.

Adolescents who were bullied in school or electronically were three times as likely to attempt suicide compared with those who were not bullied. Those reporting no bullying showed reduced likelihood of suicide attempts as sleep duration increased to 7 hours, and the likelihood remained constant with more hours of sleep.

According to Narcisse, the results emphasize that sleep duration is an important target for interventions to reduce suicide in teens.

“If improved sleep duration can inhibit the adverse effect of bullying on suicide attempts, then interventions aimed at improving sleep duration could potentially have a positive influence on lowering suicide risk among adolescents,” said Narcisse.

This study was supported by a Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. The research abstract was published recently in an online supplement of the journal Sleep and will be presented Monday, June 3, and Wednesday, June 5, during SLEEP 2024 in Houston. SLEEP is the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.

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Abstract Title: Sleep Duration Moderates the Association Between Bullying and Suicide Attempts Among U.S. Adolescents

Abstract ID: 0813

Oral Presentation Date: Monday, June 3, 4:30 to 4:45 p.m. CDT, Room 362

Poster Presentation Date: Wednesday, June 5, 11-11:45 a.m. CDT, Board 168

Presenter: Marie-Rachelle Narcisse, Ph.D.

About the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC

The APSS is a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society. The APSS organizes the SLEEP annual meeting each June (sleepmeeting.org).

About the American Academy of Sleep Medicine

Established in 1975, the AASM advances sleep care and enhances sleep health to improve lives. The AASM has a combined membership of 12,000 accredited sleep centers and individuals, including physicians, scientists and other health care professionals who care for patients with sleep disorders. As the leader in the sleep field, the AASM sets standards and promotes excellence in sleep medicine health care, education and research (aasm.org).

About the Sleep Research Society 

The SRS is a professional membership society that advances sleep and circadian science. The SRS provides forums for the exchange of information, establishes and maintains standards of reporting and classifies data in the field of sleep research, and collaborates with other organizations to foster scientific investigation on sleep and its disorders. The SRS also publishes the peer-reviewed, scientific journals Sleep and Sleep Advances (sleepresearchsociety.org).

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JOURNAL

SLEEP

DOI

10.1093/sleep/zsae067.0813 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Survey

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Sleep Duration Moderates the Association Between Bullying and Suicide Attempts Among U.S. Adolescents

Focus on cities will boost benefits of air pollution action for most vulnerable

IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON

Meeting UK air pollution targets by focussing on urban areas will maximise health benefits for the most deprived communities.

A study led by Imperial College London researchers shows that reducing typically urban sources of fine-particle air pollution like roads, wood burners, and machinery would also reduce inequalities in how different communities suffer the health impacts.

Air pollution can reach the lungs, causing short-term irritation and more harmful long-term impacts on heart and lung function. For people with existing conditions like heart failure and asthma, this can worsen already serious health problems.

Residents or workers in more deprived areas are more likely to suffer these conditions, and as such are  disproportionately impacted by air pollution.

The new study shows that while there are many ways to reduce the UK population’s exposure to air pollution overall, focusing on these typically urban sources benefits deprived areas more, reducing the health inequalities across the country. The research is published in Environmental Advances.

Lead researcher Dr Huw Woodward, from the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London, said: “People facing higher air pollution in deprived areas suffer health inequalities, which have a profound impact on their quality of life. Reducing air pollution will benefit everyone, but thinking more deeply about how we get there can also help us alleviate the impact on the most vulnerable in society.”

Reducing bias

There are several types of air pollution, including nitrous dioxide and fine particles. This study focused on a type of fine-particle pollution called PM2.5 (pollution particles that are less than 2.5 microns across).

The UK Environment Act of 2021 set a target for cutting the population’s exposure to PM2.5 by 35% by 2040, compared to 2018 levels. In practice, this means reducing the sources of the pollution, which include industry, road transport, energy production and agriculture.

Experts and policymakers use models to explore different ways of reaching the target by reducing pollution from these sources by different proportions. While all reductions in pollutant emissions will reduce the population’s exposure, previous studies have not considered how different ways of reaching the target would influence the health inequality.

To track how different scenarios impact the inequality, the team created a new metric, called the Indicator of Exposure Bias (IoEB). They paired this with the UK Integrated Assessment Model, used to investigate the impact of future emissions scenarios on air quality in England.

The team modelled several of these scenarios, including two that meet the 2040 target, and used the IoEB to assess their impact on the exposure bias. The ‘successful’ scenarios both achieved the target by reducing PM2.5 sources from all sectors, but one focused more on urban sources, including road transport and wood burners.

While both these scenarios reduced the exposure bias, the one focusing more on urban sources had a larger impact, reduced the bias by 59% (compared to 43% for the other scenario).

North-South divide

There is also a bias between Southern and Northern areas of England, with the former experiencing higher levels of PM2.5 air pollution. This bias is due to the south receiving a greater proportion of pollution from shipping channels and continental neighbours. The south of England has fewer deprived areas than the north, and as such this north-south divide in PM2.5 from non-UK sources reduces the overall bias towards deprived areas.

Despite this, deprived areas still experience higher levels of PM2.5­ pollution. Of the sources under English control, the bias towards deprived areas is greater than that assessed by considering all sources including those from outside of the UK.

The study looked at pollution on the level of populations, as individual exposure is very difficult to estimate accurately.

The team believe their new measure can be applied to different countries or regions using models that estimates population exposure and socio-economic status. This could allow policymakers to identify the sectors which contribute disproportionately to the bias in exposure and to identify effective strategies for reducing this bias.

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JOURNAL

Environmental Advances

DOI

10.1016/j.envadv.2024.100529 

ARTICLE TITLE

Assessing PM2.5 exposure bias towards deprived areas in England using a new indicator

Novel mobile air monitoring technology yields greater insight into post-disaster pollution levels

Study was the first to apply the method to a real-world disaster—a major industrial fire in Indiana

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

A team including researchers from the Texas A&M University School of Public Health and School of Medicine has found that high resolution mass spectrometry could be a valuable tool for identifying and assessing air-borne contaminants produced by natural and man-made disasters. Their findings were published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology.

The scientists used high resolution mass spectrometry—a highly accurate means of identifying molecular compounds in a sample—in fall 2023 to identify volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present following a major fire that occurred on April 11, 2023, in Richmond, Indiana. The fire and subsequent explosions at the My Way plastic recycling plant led to the evacuation of residents in a half-mile radius from the facility. The fire was sufficiently large to be captured in satellite images, and debris was found as far away as Oxford, Ohio, nearly 30 miles from the site.

“The Environmental Protection Agency does extensive, long-term recovery work after disasters like this,” said researcher Natalie Johnson, PhD, from the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health. “We believe that our study proves this method produces accurate data very quickly, which could help officials determine the best evacuation zones following a disaster.”

The research was funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Others on the team were Eva C.M. Vitucci, PhD, a postdoctoral student in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Carolyn L. Cannon, MD, PhD, from the Texas A&M School of Medicine and two colleagues from Carnegie Mellon University.

The team monitored the air within and bordering the half-mile evacuation zone using high resolution mass spectrometry and non-targeted analysis, a relatively new computational tool for detecting and identifying chemicals in environmental exposures.

Johnson said this approach is an improvement over the ones currently used in the field, which frequently have issues with instrument sensitivity, time limitations in sampling and ability to characterize a broad range of pollutants. Non-targeted analysis, on the other hand, quickly and effectively identifies all the compounds—even those not known to be present initially. While this approach has shown promise in previous tests, this was the first time it was applied to a real-world disaster.

After receiving training and guidance on the Hzard Comparison Module by Antony Williams of US-EPA’s Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, the team used the module to create a risk assessment from the VOCs present. Their analysis identified 46 VOCs, and the average levels in the area studied were higher than those they found in Middleton, Ohio, about 520 miles away.

The levels of hydrogen cyanide—which disrupts the body’s use of oxygen and can cause death—and four other VOCs were at least 1.8-fold higher near the incidence site. Of the 46 VOCs, approximately 45 percent were classified as high hazards, and 39 percent were classified as very high hazards.

“Each of the VOC levels we detected were individually below the hazard thresholds for single exposures, but we currently do not fully understand what the hazard thresholds would be for exposure to VOC mixtures such as these,” Johnson said.

She noted that facilities such as My Way contain large amounts of harmful toxins, and a large number of different toxins, which makes prediction of the VOCs produced in fires and similar disasters difficult.

“Fires at recycling plants and other typically smaller-scale disasters are usually overlooked as contributors to pollution levels, but they also are happening more frequently across the United States,” Johnson said. “This makes research and the application of research findings a pressing public health issue.”

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JOURNAL

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

The application of PTR-MS and non-targeted analysis to characterize VOCs emitted from a plastic recycling facility fire