This systematic review assesses the quality of the evidence across individual studies on the effect of environmental noise (road traffic, aircraft, and train and railway noise) on cognition. ...Quantitative non-experimental studies of the association between environmental noise exposure on child and adult cognitive performance published up to June 2015 were reviewed: no limit was placed on the start date for the search. A total of 34 papers were identified, all of which were of child populations. 82% of the papers were of cross-sectional design, with fewer studies of longitudinal or intervention design. A range of cognitive outcomes were examined. The quality of the evidence across the studies for each individual noise source and cognitive outcome was assessed using an adaptation of GRADE methodology. This review found, given the predominance of cross-sectional studies, that the quality of the evidence across studies ranged from being of moderate quality for an effect for some outcomes, e.g., aircraft noise effects on reading comprehension and on long-term memory, to no effect for other outcomes such as attention and executive function and for some noise sources such as road traffic noise and railway noise. The GRADE evaluation of low quality evidence across studies for some cognitive domains and for some noise sources does not necessarily mean that there are no effects: rather, that more robust and a greater number of studies are required.
Context: The association between noise sensitivity and misophonia has not been explored in any population, according to the available literature. Aims: To assess the proportion of misophonia symptoms ...among young healthy adults, to propose the criteria for high perceived misophonia, and to explore the association between misophonia with noise sensitivity with adjustment for sex, age, perceived anxiety, and depression. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional study on 1132 medical students, aged 21.4 ± 2.1 years. Methods and Material: Misophonia symptoms were self-reported using the Amsterdam Misophonia Scale. Nine criteria for high perceived misophonia are proposed. Noise sensitivity was measured with Weinstein scale. Perceived anxiety and depression were measured using the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, respectively. Statistical Analysis Used: Multiple logistic regression. Results: Almost half of the students reported the feeling of irritation against people making provoking sounds. Only one in 10 claimed the feeling of loss of self-control when exposed to provoking sounds. High noise sensitivity and high depression were associated with higher odds of meeting the criteria for high perceived misophonia. Conclusion: Noise-sensitive students are at higher risk of reporting misophonia symptoms and of being classified with high perceived misophonia. The combination of at least four or more symptoms, which classifies every 10th student with high perceived misophonia, is proposed as a self-assessment tool for epidemiological studies among young healthy adults.
Many adolescents worldwide have the problem of meeting recommended nightly sleep hours. The causes of sleep disturbance are multifactorial, but interest in food’s effect on sleep has dramatically ...increased lately. In this study, we investigated the association between regular energy drink (ED) intake (weekly or more frequent) and sufficient sleep (SS) (≥8 h) in adolescents. Additional objectives were to examine the relationship between health-related behaviors and SS, stratified by gender. A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted during the 2019/2020 school year from 12 schools in Belgrade. There were 1287 students aged 15 to 19 who participated (37.4% male). We used a modified version of the food frequency questionnaire adapted for Serbian adolescents. Logistic regression revealed that regular ED consumption was an independent risk factor negatively related to SS in both sexes. Additionally, daily vegetable and water intake (≥2 L) showed a positive correlation with SS in boys, while in girls, the odds of realizing SS decreased with statements of sedative use. In conclusion, we show that ED intake is negatively associated with SS in both sexes; daily vegetable and water intake (≥2 L) may raise the odds of SS in boys, while sedative use may decrease the chances of SS in girls.
This systematic review assesses the quality of the evidence across studies on the effect of environmental noise (road traffic noise, aircraft noise, railway noise, wind-turbine noise) on quality of ...life, wellbeing and mental health. Quantitative studies of noise effects on children and adults published from January 2005 up to October 2015 were reviewed. A total of 29 papers were identified. 90% of the papers were of cross-sectional design, with fewer studies of longitudinal or intervention design. Outcomes included depression and anxiety, medication use and childhood emotional problems. The quality of the evidence across the studies for each individual noise source was assessed using an adaptation of the GRADE methodology. Overall, given the predominance of cross-sectional studies, most evidence was rated as very low quality, with evidence of effects only being observed for some noise sources and outcomes. These ratings reflect inconsistent findings across studies, the small number of studies and a lack of methodological robustness within some domains. Overall, there are few studies of clinically significant mental health outcomes; few studies of railway noise exposure; and studies of large samples are needed. The lack of evidence for noise effects across studies for many of the quality of life, wellbeing and mental health domains examined does not necessarily mean that there are no effects: rather, that they have not yet been studied robustly for different noise sources.
Many reviews have documented the adverse effects of noise on children′s health, but the international scientific community was previously unfamiliar with noise research in Central and Eastern Europe ...(CEE), South-East Europe (SEE), and Newly Independent States (NIS). The aim of this review was to present studies on the effects of noise on children′s health, conducted in aforementioned countries in the second half of the 20 th century, interpret their findings, and criticize their methodology and results wherever possible. This review focused on 30 papers published in national journals in the period from 1965 to 2000. By design, 22 studies were observational and cross-sectional, and eight studies were experimental. The outcomes under the study included auditory changes, stress reactions, sleep disturbances, school performance, upright posture, and vegetative functions. Researchers from CEE, SEE, and NIS were the pioneers in the assessment of noise-induced changes of vegetative functions and blood pressure of children in urban areas, as well as of infants exposed to noise in incubators. Future research should focus on intervention studies and follow-up of children′s health in relation to noise exposure.
Provision of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services in health care facilities is a priority at the global, national, and local levels. To inform improvements planning, conditions of ...WASH, waste management, and environmental cleaning were assessed in 81 facilities in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia, as part of a nationally representative survey in 2019. The survey included on-site checks, structured interviews, and drinking-water quality analysis. WHO/UNICEF indicators for WASH service levels and an advanced service level defined at the national level were applied. The results showed that all investigated facilities provided basic water services; 94% of facilities provided basic hygiene and waste management services; 58 and 2%, respectively, provided basic cleaning and sanitation services. Only 1% of investigated facilities met the basic level for all five WASH dimensions. Advanced service levels were only met for hygiene, waste management, and/or cleaning in 15-38% of facilities. In 33% of health care facilities, drinking-water quality was not in compliance with the national standards. The results revealed that there is a need for increased awareness and efforts to ensure basic provisions for sanitation, environmental cleaning, and drinking-water safety.
Nutrition and health claims (NHCs) are a powerful tool that influence consumers’ final decision on the choice of food products. The purposes of this repeated cross-sectional study were to (i) assess ...the prevalence of pre-packaged food products containing nutrition and health claims among different food categories, (ii) to determine the type of NHCs labelled on the examined food products, and (iii) to evaluate the trend in the use of NHCs in comparison to the 2012 survey. The survey was conducted immediately before the full enforcement of the new national legislation on NHCs in 2020. It comprised 3141 pre-packaged food products from 10 product categories. In total, 21.2% of food products contained any claim (19.4% contained any nutrition claim; 8.2% contained any health claim). In comparison to the 2012 survey, we observed a rising trend in the presence of NHCs; the use of nutrition claims on food products increased three times and the use of health claims increased 1.3 times in the 2020 survey. Bearing in mind that NHCs are a powerful tool guiding consumers’ food purchase decisions, NHCs should be supported by precise legislation and strict surveillance by the public health authorities.
To determine the presence of nutrition labels on pre-packaged food products, as well as to analyse the types of presentation.
This was a descriptive study. The following characteristics were ...analysed: (i) presence and placement of the nutrition declaration (either as front-of-pack (FOP) or back-of-pack (BOP)); (ii) content of the presented information; (iii) presence of nutrition and health claims; and (iv) legibility of the written information. Settings Three different types of retailers in Belgrade, Serbia.
A total of 2138 pre-packaged food products from ten categories.
A nutrition declaration was found on 65.9% of all tested products. It was displayed on the back of the packaging of 62.7% of products and on the front of the packaging of 19.1% of products. BOP was the most commonly observed in breakfast cereals, soft drinks, milk and instant soups (in total over 90%), and the least common in meat products (21.5%). FOP was predominantly displayed on breakfast cereals (65.0%) and the least frequently on milk products (2.4%). The 'Big 4' (energy value, protein, carbohydrate and fat contents) and the 'Big 4 with additional information' figured on 40.9% of products. The 'Big 8' ('Big 4' plus sugar, saturated fat, fibre and sodium contents) and the 'Big 8 with additional information' were present less frequently (20.5%). Nutrition claims and health claims appeared on very few products (6.6% and 6.3%, respectively). The proportion of products with insufficient legibility was 31.5%.
Nutrition labelling in Belgrade, Serbia is not satisfactory. Mandatory regulations may be the best way to improve the current situation.
The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between noise levels, traffic density and the presence of public transport and children′s blood pressure. Another aim was to assess the ...applicability of public transport as a proxy indicator of noise exposure. A cross-sectional study involved 1113 children aged 7-11 years from a central municipality in Belgrade. Equivalent noise levels were measured in front of all schools and in the middle of all streets. Traffic density was defined as number of light and heavy vehicles per hour. The number of public transport vehicles was calculated from official timetables. Children′s addresses were matched with noise levels and transport maps. A physician measured blood pressure with the sphygmomanometer. Children attending schools with public transport running nearby had by 1.3 mmHg higher systolic pressure than did children from schools without public transport. This relationship was independent from children′s age, gender, and body mass index, family history of hypertension, some dwelling characteristics, and lifestyle habits. The association between diastolic pressure and public transport was statistically insignificant. The study indicated a possible positive association between the presence of public transport in the vicinity of schools with systolic blood pressure in 7-11 year-old schoolchildren. The presence of public transport may serve as an auxiliary indicator of noise exposure in undeveloped countries with limited capacities for noise measurement or modeling.
Arsenic in drinking water presents a serious public health problem in Serbia, but its relationship with diabetes has not been studied previously. The aim of this study was to explore the association ...between exposure to arsenic in drinking water and the occurrence of type 2 diabetes in Middle Banat region, Serbia.
This cross-sectional study comprised two populations. Exposed population in Middle Banat region consumes drinking water with arsenic (mean=56μg/L); unexposed population from six regions in Central Serbia consumes arsenic below detection limit (2μg/L). Newly diagnosed cases of type 2 diabetes were obtained from the National Registry of Diabetes in 2008. The Registry included age, gender, family history of diabetes, presence of overweight, central obesity, cholesterol and triglyceride levels. In addition, the number of cases of diabetes reported in years 2006, 2007 and 2009 was used to calculate standardized incidence rates for both populations.
Two populations were comparable by age, family history of diabetes and prevalence of overweight persons. Unexposed population was more likely to have central obesity, and high total cholesterol and triglycerides. Standardized incidence rates of type 2 diabetes were higher in exposed population. Odds ratios for type 2 diabetes were significantly higher for the exposed population, both men and women, in the period from 2006 to 2009, when compared with the unexposed population.
The population from Middle Banat region, consuming drinking water with low levels of arsenic, was at higher risk for the occurrence of type 2 diabetes in comparison to the unexposed population in Central Serbia.
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