Date

25/09/2024

Hour

9.30 - 14.00 h

Place

PRBB
(Dr. Aiguader, 88) Barcelona

This event aims to facilitate the sharing of knowledge, ideas, and resources within the exposome research community in the Barcelona area. Whether you're a seasoned exposomics researcher or a newcomer to the field, this symposium invites you to join us in building a supportive community dedicated to advancing exposome research. With a series of invited presentations, abstract-selected presentations and posters, it will provide a panorama of exposome research across different institutions in the Barcelona area.

The exposome represents the comprehensive set of environmental exposures that an individual encounters throughout their life. The exposomics field aims to evaluate how the exposome impacts on  biology and health through discovery-based analytical approaches. This local-level symposium is part of a larger initiative to build an International Human Exposome Network.

The symposium is expected to cover the following topics:

1. Technological Innovations and Methodologies in Exposomics

• Advanced Analytical Techniques: Innovations in non-targeted chemical exposome characterization, including anthropogenic pollutants and diet related compounds.
• Computational Methods and Data Science: Application of big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning in exposome studies
• Novel Biomarkers and Detection Methods: Development of new biomarkers and tools for measuring environmental exposures, e.g. microplastics, accurately and comprehensively
• Sensors and Geospatial Modeling Applications: to collect and analyze spatial data on environmental exposures. This includes wearable sensors, remote sensing, and GIS for mapping and analyzing the spatial distribution of exposures and their health impacts.

2. Exposome and Human Health

• Social and physical environment in Low and Middle Income Countries' contexts.
• Early-life Exposures and Child Health: Research on multiple early-life exposures and their effects on child health and development.
• Chronic Diseases and Aging: The role of cumulative environmental exposures in the development of chronic diseases such as cancer, respiratory diseases, and neurodegenerative disorders.
• Precision Medicine: Utilising exposome data to advance precision medicine and improve health outcomes in clinical settings.

3. Biological Impacts and Experimental Modeling in Exposomics

• Molecular and Cellular Responses: Investigating how environmental exposures influence molecular and cellular processes, including gene expression, epigenetic modifications, and metabolic pathways.
• Animal and In Vitro Models: Use of animal models and in vitro systems to study the biological effects of environmental exposures and to identify potential mechanisms of toxicity.
• Integrative Omics Approaches: Combining genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and other omics data to understand the comprehensive biological impact of the exposome.

4. Translational Research: Bridging experimental findings with clinical and epidemiological studies to better understand the health implications of exposome-related findings​.

Key Dates

• Abstract Call Deadline: July 1st 2024
• Abstract Selection Disclosure: July 26th 2024
• Registration Deadline: Sept 13th 2024

REGISTRATIONS CLOSED

Scientific Core Committee

• ISGlobal - Exposome Hub (Léa Maitre, Martine Vrijheid, Mariona Bustamente)
• CSIC - Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (Pablo Gago-Ferrero)
• University of Barcelona - Biomarkers & Nutritional and Food Metabolomics Group (Cristina Andres-Lacueva)
• University of Barcelona - Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Lab (Karim Lekadir)
• EMBL, Barcelona - Organoid models of neuroendocrine development and cancer (Talya L. Dayton)

Agenda Outline

• 09.30 - 10.00 h — Welcome Coffee - Networking
• 10.00 - 10.30 h — Introduction local and global exposome research landscape (ISGlobal)
• 10.30 - 11.30 h — Part 1: Invited scientific presentations
• 11.30 - 12.30 h — Coffee Break - Poster session for early career researchers (selected based on abstract selection before the event)
• 12.30 - 13.30 h — Part 2: Invited and abstract-selected scientific presentations

Find here the detailed programme of the symposium. Regarding participation format, the event will be in-person and presentations need to be in this format. Livestream option will be available, but just to follow presentations only.

DETAILED AGENDA

ABSTRACT BOOK

REGISTRATIONS CLOSED

Abstract Submission and Review Process

Abstracts submitted to the Barcelona Exposome Symposium will undergo a streamlined review process, starting with an initial screening and coordination by the core team, followed by a detailed evaluation by committee members. The scientific committee will then select the final abstracts. Authors of accepted abstracts will be notified by July 27th. The selection criteria focus on relevance to the symposium's topics, scientific rigour, clarity of presentation, interdisciplinary merit, and potential public health impact. This thorough and fair evaluation ensures that the symposium features high-quality discussions that are both impactful and informative.

Oral presentations (12 min) and Posters are invited for broadly defined exposomics and environmental health related topics. Posters can cover a wide range of subjects within these fields.

Submission Guidelines: Abstracts should be 200 words max.

Coordinated by:

Support provided by:

La Noche Europea de la Investigación se celebra cada año el último viernes de septiembre en más de 300 ciudades de 30 países de toda Europa. Su objetivo es acercar la investigación, la innovación y sus protagonistas, los científicos y científicas, a la ciudadanía de forma llana y divertida. Así, todo tipo de público, desde escuelas, familias y niños hasta jóvenes o adultos de todas las edades, podrán conocer y ser partícipes de la ciencia de su territorio a través de diferentes actividades como talleres, charlas, espectáculos, experimentos, observaciones astronómicas y juegos.

ISGlobal es una de las instituciones que coordinan el programa en Cataluña, la #NitRecerCat, conjuntamente con la Asociación Catalana de Comunicación Científica, la Universidad de Barcelona, ​​la Universidad de Girona, la Universidad de Lleida, la Universidad Rovira i Virgili, la Universidad de Vic, la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona y la Fundación Bofill.

Para inscribirse en las actividades, es necesario hacerlo a través de este formulario.

Actividades de ISGlobal

Mesa redonda: "Revelar amenazas ocultas: el impacto de las exposiciones químicas y los disruptores endocrinos en la salud pública"

Ponentes: Léa Maitre, Pablo Gago, Nuria Güil y Emma Calikanzaro.

Lugar, día y hora: Centre Cívic El Sortidor, 25 de septiembre, de 18:00 a 19:00 h

+info

Cinefórum sobre el NOMA. Proyección del documental "Restoring Dignity" y debate posterior

Lugar, día y hora: CC Golferichs, 26 de septiembre, de 18:30 a 20:00 h

+info

Game Over en el papiloma! Taller divulgativo sobre el HPV

Ponente: Laia Diez Ahijado, ISGlobal
Lugar, día y hora: Vil·la Urània, 26 de septiembre, de 19.00 a 20.00 h

+info

Taller: Descubre cómo combatir las resistencias a los antibióticos: Una charla para el futuro de la salud global

Ponente: Marina Tarrús, ISGlobal
Lugar, día y hora: Auditorio Barradas, 27 de septiembre, de 18.00 a 19.00 h

+info

Microcharla: "Esto también es investigación..."

Ponente: Anna Oje, ISGlobal
Lugar, día y hora: Vil·la Urània, 27 de septiembre, de 19.00 a 20.00 h

+info

Date

19/09/2024 - 19/11/2024

Place

Biblioteca Sagrada Família - Josep M. Ainaud de Lasarte (Carrer de Provença, 480, L'Eixample, Barcelona)

Desde el proyecto BiblioLab Refugios Climáticos te invitamos a explorar de forma práctica y entretenida los caminos más convenientes para refugiarnos del calor. A partir de los resultados obtenidos, co-diseñaremos elementos visuales para divulgarlos a los vecinos y vecinas del barrio La Sagrada Família y alrededores.

El taller se realizará en dos ciclos. Cada ciclo tendrá la misma estructura, pero estudiará distintas rutas. Puedes apuntarte a las sesiones que más te interesen, a todo un ciclo o a los dos.

Ofrecemos dos ciclos de 4 sesiones:
1a sesión: ¿Cuáles son los caminos más frescos?
Día 19 de septiembre, de 18 a 19.30 h, o el 15 de octubre, de 18 a 19.30 h.
Hablaremos de las olas de calor en Barcelona y analizaremos los caminos a explorar.

2a sesión: ¡A la calle a medir!
Día 26 de septiembre, de 18 a 19:30 h, o martes, 22 de octubre, de 18 a 19:30 h.
Caminaremos por las calles para visualizar la temperatura con una cámara termográfica.

3a sesión: Resultados con creatividad
3 de octubre, de 18 a 19:30 h, o 29 de octubre, de 18 a 19:30 h.
Revisaremos los resultados y decidiremos la estrategia de comunicación.

4a sesión: Rutas para el barrio
10 de octubre, de 18 a 19.30 h, o 5 de noviembre, de 18 a 19.30 h.
Diseñaremos de forma gráfica los resultados de la ruta más fresca y conveniente.

El 19 de noviembre, de 18 a 19h, se realizará una sesión de clausura donde ambos ciclos compartirán sus resultados.

Esta actividad es gratuita y está a cargo de ISGlobal e Illustraciencia, en colaboración con la Biblioteca Sagrada Família. Es necesaria inscripción previa.

The analysis of air samples taken at altitudes of up to 3,000 metres above Japan has revealed the presence of a vast range of viable bacteria and fungi transported by air masses originating more than 2,000 kilometres away, in regions enriched with fertilisers and pesticides. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), reveals a new way in which human, animal and plant pathogens may travel to distant geographical regions. This research has been led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by “la Caixa” Foundation, in collaboration with the Daniel Bravo Andreu Private Foundation (FPDBA).

Pathogens can be airborne, but little is known about the diversity of microbes that can survive at very high altitudes, where the conditions are harsh. “We know that above a certain point in the troposphere (called the planetary boundary layer), certain materials can be transported over long distances because the air in that region is isolated from the surface and there is less friction. But we did not suspect that viable microorganisms could be there also,” says Xavier Rodó, ICREA researcher at ISGlobal.

“Our study is unique in that we performed 10 tropospheric flights to examine microbial diversity at high altitudes, while most studies have been performed only a few metres above the ground or the ocean,” he adds.

Airborne microbes high above Japan

Using a Cessna aircraft, Rodó and an international team of colleagues conducted ten air surveys between 1,000 and 3,000 metres above Japan, starting from Chofu airport near Tokyo. All flights were planned to follow wind currents coming from mainland Asia in what are known as tropospheric bridges, which connect air from distant regions of the world; in this case, air that uplifts in mainland China and then descends over Tokyo due to typical winter weather conditions. For comparison, samples were also collected on the ground at Chofu. A total of 22 aerosol filter samples, collected during two periods (February and April, 2014), were analysed for their chemical and biological composition.

DNA sequencing allowed the research team to identify over 266 fungal and 305 bacterial genera associated with the aerosols, some of which are potentially pathogenic for humans, other animals or plants. For instance, bacterial species such as Escherichia coli, Serratia marcescens, Clostridium difficile, Clostridium botulinum, Haemophillus parainfluenzae, Acinetobacter baumannii and several Staphylococcus species were identified, as well as fungal species from genera such as Candida, Cladosporium and Malassezia, capable of causing disease in susceptible and immunocompromised individuals.

By culturing some of the samples, the researchers showed that bacteria collected from the air remained viable, and that some were resistant to commonly used antibiotics. “Surprisingly, the Micrococcus luteus strain isolated was resistant to multiple drugs, including carbapenems, glycopeptides, ciprofloxacin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Our findings suggest that antimicrobial resistance could spread over long distances via this previously unrecognised route", says Sofya Podzniakova, co-first author of the study.

Travelling thousands of kilometres

The association of these aerosols with certain elements such as zinc sulfate and potassium, commonly used in fertilizers and pesticides, suggests an agricultural origin, consistent with intensively farmed croplands in northeast China.

Finally, during the days sampled, flight and ground samples were very similar in terms of microbial diversity, which can be explained by air descending from high altitudes to the ground. The particle transport models, simulated by Roger Curcoll -currently a researcher at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC)- have corroborated both the possible transport of these particles from northeast China and the decline of tropospheric air masses to land in Japan.

“Our findings uncover a rich and unprecedented diversity of microbes that are dispersed by wind currents thousands of kilometres away from their sources by intense tunnels of wind that form high in the troposphere,” says Rodó. “They represent a paradigm shift in our understanding of how human health can be affected by pathogens thriving in the environment, particularly in the air”.

While the study does not prove a causal link between the presence of known human pathogens in aerosols and health effects, it does emphasise the need to further explore the spread of different microbial pathogens over long distances.

Reference

Rodó X, Pozdniakova S, Borràs S, Matsuki A, Tanimoto H, Armengol MP, Pey I, VilaJ, Muñoz L, Santamaria S, Cañas L, Morgui JA, Fontal A, Curcoll R. Microbial richness and air chemistry in aerosols above the PBL confirm 2000-km long-distance transport of potential human pathogens. PNAS. 2024. doi:10/1073/pnas.2404191121.

Date

23/09/2024

Hour

08:00 - 10:30 h

Place

Paramount Club, 1301 6th Ave, New York, NY 10019

Join Economist Impact for ‘MASLD and MASH: prioritising a global public health threat’, supported by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal). 

The event is scheduled for September 23 2024 from 08:00 - 10:30 h in New York and will explore the critical public health threats posed by MASLD (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease) and MASH (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis), diseases that affect one in three adults worldwide.

It will bring together senior global stakeholders (Government [including policymakers, regulators and influencers], Civil Society and/or Patient Organizations, Multilateral Organisations [e.g., UN or NCD-related], Healthcare providers) to discuss the future outlook and policies required to reduce the environmental, social, economic, and human contributors to these diseases.

Broad themes for the session include:

• The social and economic consequences: What are the impacts of leaving MASLD and MASH unaddressed on both societal and economic levels?
• Raising awareness: How can awareness around MASLD and MASH be improved to encourage more action by governments, healthcare providers, and civil society?
• Building a cohesive community: How can a more cohesive community of practice around MASLD and MASH be developed, nurtured, and supported?
• Policy development: What types of policies can be implemented to reduce the environmental, social, economic, and human contributors to MASLD?

Moderator

• Elly Vaughan, senior global health manager, Economist Impact

Speakers

• H.E. Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, minister of public health, Qatar
• Anupriya Patel, minister of state for health, Government of India (tentative)
• David Kershenobich Stalnikowitz, director general , National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition Salvador Zubiran
• Christoph Benn, director for global health diplomacy, Joep Lange Institute
• Jeffrey V. Lazarus, Head of Public Health Liver Group, ISGlobal; Professor of Global Health, CUNY SPH; Chair, Healthy Livers Healthy Lives coalition
• Johanna Ralston, chief executive, World Obesity Federation
• Arun J. Sanyal, director, Stravitz-Sanyal institute for liver disease and metabolic health, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine

Programme

8:00 h - Registration opens

8:45 h - Opening remarks and research findings by Economist Impact

• Elly Vaughan, senior global health manager, Economist Impact

9:00 h - VIP Fireside chat: Action-oriented policymaking at a national and international level

Speakers:

• H.E. Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, minister of public health, Qatar
• Anupriya Patel, minister of state for health, Government of India (tentative)
• David Kershenobich Stalnikowitz, director general, National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition Salvador Zubiran

9:30 h - Panel session: Creating cohesion in policy, awareness and community of practice around MASLD and MASH

Panellists:

• Christoph Benn, director for global health diplomacy, Joep Lange Institute
• Jeffrey V. Lazarus, head of public health liver group, ISGlobal; professor of global health, CUNY SPH; chair, Healthy Livers Healthy Lives Coalition
• Johanna Ralston, chief executive, World Obesity Federation
• Arun J. Sanyal, director, Stravitz-Sanyal institute for liver disease and metabolic health, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine

10:20 h - Closing remarks

10:25 h - Networking and light refreshments

11:00 h - Event concludes

The event is supported financially by Novo Nordisk, Boehringer Ingelheim, Echosens, The CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy and the CUNY SPH Foundation.

Register now!

Date

23/10/2024

Hour

09.00 h - 17.00 h

Place

UPF Poblenou Campus (Carrer de Roc Boronat, 138, Sant Martí, 08018 Barcelona, Spain) and online

The Women in Data Science (WiDS) initiative aims to inspire and educate data scientists around the world, independently of their gender, to support women and gender non-conforming individuals in the field. WiDS promotes gender diversity by making more visible the work from women leaders in the fields of biology, biomedicine, and digital health.

WiDS Barcelona Biomedicine is independently organized by Lauren Fromont, Maia Nahmod, and Paula Petrone to be part of the mission to increase participation of women in data science and to feature outstanding women doing outstanding work.

The event is supported by ISGlobal and the Escola d'Enginyeria UPF. Registration is required.

Poster Presentations Open to All

The submission period for Oral Presentations is now open and will close on 11 October 2024.

Organizers

• Paula Petrone, Associate Research Professor ISGlobal 
• Maia Nahmod, Healthcare IT Consultant, IN2
• Lauren Fromont, Program Officer, EpiGen Ethiopia, ISGlobal

Speakers

• Gemma Piella, Full Professor, Engineering Sciences, UPF
• Denise Naniche, Scientific Director, ISGlobal
• Núria Monsterrat, Minister of Research and Universities, Catalan government
• Mafalda Díaz, Centre for Genomic Regulation
• Laia Paré, Reveal Genomics
• Marta Melé, Barcelona Supercomputing Center
• Paula Petrone, ISGlobal
• Carolina Migliorelli, Eurecat Centre Tecnològic
• Marta Saiz, Pompeu Fabra University
• Judit Giró, The Blue Box
• Ariadna Rius, eHealth Consultant
• Judit Camargo, Roka Furadada
• Jessica Breitenfeld, Global Speaker & Team Trainer

Date

26/09/2024

Hour

18.30 h - 20.00 h

Place

Sala del pati, junto al acceso lateral al Chalet de CC Golferichs (Gran Vía de les Corts Catalanes, 491, L'Eixample, 08015 Barcelona)

En el marco de la Nit de la Recerca 2024, te invitamos a una tarde de concienciación y aprendizaje con la proyección del documental "Restoring Dignity. Un viaje con supervivientes de noma", seguido de un debate moderado por Rafael Vilasanjuan, director de Análisis y Desarrollo Global de ISGlobal y donde participarán la codirectora Claire Jeantet, junto a una de sus protagonistas; Mulikat Okanlawon, fundadora y presidenta de Elysium, primera asociación de personas supervivientes de noma y Valter Muendane, representante de Elysium en Mozambique.

Este evento ofrece una oportunidad única para conocer de cerca la lucha contra el noma, una enfermedad devastadora y poco conocida. La proyección de la película será en versión original subtitulada en español. El debate posterior será también en inglés y con traducción simultánea al castellano. Las preguntas se podrán realizar en catalán, en castellano o en inglés.

Agenda:

18:30 - 19:30: Proyección del documental "Restoring Dignity. Un viaje con supervivientes de noma".
19:30 - 20:00: Debate y sesión de preguntas y respuestas con Claire Jeantet (co-directora del documental), Mulikat Okanlawon (una de las protagonistas y presidenta de Elysium) y Valter Muendane (representante de Elysium en Mozambique) . Modera: Rafa Vilasanjuan, director de Análisis y Desarrollo Global de ISGlobal

La entrada gratuita, previo registro aquí.

More than 47,000 people died in Europe as a result of high temperatures in 2023, the warmest year on record globally and the second warmest in Europe. This is the estimate of a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation, and published in Nature Medicine. The researchers report that the vulnerability to heat of European societies has progressively decreased over the present century, and estimate that without these societal adaptation processes, the heat related mortality burden over the past year would have been 80% higher.

The study replicates the methodology used last year in another paper published in Nature Medicine, which estimated that heat caused more than 60,000 deaths during the summer of 2022, which represented the highest heat related mortality burden of the last decade. In a nutshell, researchers used temperature and mortality records from 823 regions in 35 European countries for the period 2015-2019 to fit epidemiological models to estimate heat related mortality in each European region over the entire year 2023.

In contrast to the summer of 2022, which was characterised by persistent extreme temperatures in the central part of the season from mid-July to mid-August, no large thermal anomalies were recorded during the same weeks in 2023. However, two episodes of high temperatures in mid-July and late August would have accounted for more than 57% of the overall estimated mortality, with more than 27,000 deaths.

Southern European countries, the most affected

The results show a total of 47,690 estimated deaths in 2023 across the 35 countries as a whole, of which 47,312 deaths would have occurred in the hottest period of the year (between 29 May and 1 October). When accounting for the population, the countries with the highest heat related mortality rates were in southern Europe, namely Greece (393 deaths per million), Bulgaria (229 deaths per million), Italy (209 deaths per million), Spain (175 deaths per million), Cyprus (167 deaths per million) and Portugal (136 deaths per million).

The following link shows the details of the mortality estimates for the 35 countries analysed.

Higher vulnerability for women and people over 80 years

In line with previous studies, the data show a higher vulnerability of women and older people. Specifically, after accounting for the population, the heat related mortality rate was 55% higher in women than in men, and 768% higher in people over 80 years of age than in people aged between 65 and 79 years.

Possible underestimation of the actual heat related mortality burden

The authors of the study caution that these numbers may underestimate the actual heat related mortality burden. Due to the unavailability of daily, homogeneous mortality records during the year of 2023, they had to use weekly counts of deaths from Eurostat. In a recent study published in the Lancet Regional Health – Europe, the same authors showed that the use of weekly data would lead to an underestimation of the heat related mortality burden, and described a methodology to correct this bias. Taking this into account, researchers estimate that the likely heat related death toll in 2023 could have actually been of the order of 58,000 deaths in the 35 countries studied, although a more accurate estimate could only be obtained if improved mortality databases were made available to the scientific community.

Societal adaptation to heat prevents up to 80% of mortality

One of the aims of the study was to assess whether there has been a decrease of the vulnerability to heat in Europe, a process that is generally understood as an adaptation to rising temperatures. To do this, the researchers fitted the same type of model to temperature and mortality data from the periods 2000-2004, 2005-2009, 2010-2014 and 2015-2019. They then plugged 2023 temperatures and mortality numbers into each of the four models to estimate the number of deaths that would have occurred in each period if temperatures had been as high as they had been in 2023.

Using this method, it was estimated that if the temperatures recorded in 2023 had occurred in the period 2000-2004, the estimated heat related mortality would have exceeded the number of 85,000 deaths, that is, 80% higher than the result arising from the vulnerability to heat in the period 2015-2019. For people over 80 years, the number of deaths would have more than doubled, from 1,102 to more than 2,200 heat related deaths.

"Our results show how there have been societal adaptation processes to high temperatures during the present century, which have dramatically reduced the heat-related vulnerability and mortality burden of recent summers, especially among the elderly”, says Elisa Gallo, researcher at ISGlobal and first author of the study.

"For example, we see that since 2000, the minimum mortality temperature - the optimum temperature with the lowest mortality risk - has been gradually warming on average over the continent, from 15ºC in 2000-2004 to 17.7ºC in 2015-2019. This indicates that we are less vulnerable to heat than we were at the beginning of the century, probably as a result of general socio-economic progress, improvements in individual behaviour and public health measures such as the heat prevention plans implemented after the record-breaking summer of 2003", adds Elisa Gallo.

Beyond physiological limits of adaptation

“In 2023, almost half of the days exceeded the 1.5°C threshold set by the Paris Agreement and Europe is warming at a rate twice as fast as the global average. Climate projections indicate that the 1.5°C limit is likely to be exceeded before 2027, leaving us a very small window of opportunity to act”, says Joan Ballester Claramunt, Principal Investigator of the European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant EARLY-ADAPT (https://www.early-adapt.eu/).

“We need to take into account that inherent limits in human physiology and societal structure are likely to set a bound to the potential for further adaptation in the future. There is an urgent need to implement strategies aimed at further reducing the mortality burden of the coming warmer summers, together with more comprehensive monitoring of the impacts of climate change on vulnerable populations. These adaptation measures must be combined with mitigation efforts by governments and the general population to avoid reaching tipping points and critical thresholds in temperature projections”, he adds.

Forecaster.health, a tool for predicting mortality risk by sex and age

Recently, the research group that carried out the study presented Forecaster.health, a web-based tool open to the public that provides predictions of mortality risk associated with cold and heat by gender and age for 580 regions in 31 European countries. This early warning system is not based solely on meteorological data, but incorporates epidemiological models to estimate the actual health risks for each population group. Forecaster.health is available free of charge (https://forecaster.health/) and provides forecasts up to 15 days in advance.

EARLY-ADAPT project

The study has been carried out in the context of the EARLY-ADAPT project (https://www.early-adapt.eu/), funded by the European Research Council, and aimed at studying how populations are adapting to the public health challenges triggered by climate change.

Reference

Elisa Gallo, Marcos Quijal-Zamorano, Raúl Fernando Méndez Turrubiates, Cathryn Tonne, Xavier Basagaña, Hicham Achebak & Joan Ballester. Heat-related mortality in Europe during 2023 and the role of adaptation in protecting health. Nature Medicine, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03186-1

Date

28/11/2024

Hour

9.00 - 14.00 h

Place

Palau Macaya (Pg. de St. Joan, 108, L'Eixample, 08037 Barcelona)

El objetivo de la jornada es reflexionar sobre los representantes, oportunidades y modelos de intervención en salud mental comunitaria dirigida a la población migrante.

La jornada está dirigida a personal técnico de entidades y administraciones que trabajan con la población migrante, personal técnico y referentes de servicios de atención en salud mental, responsables políticos y coordinadores de servicios comunitarios o de atención a personas migrantes, personal investigador y estudiantes.

Este evento está organizado por el Instituto de Salud Global de Barcelona (ISGlobal), el Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu y Fundació per a la Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, el Màster en Salut Mental Comunitària UB y el Institut Català de la Salut (ICS). 

Programa

8:45h – Llegada e inscripciones

9h – Bienvenida

9:15h – Sessión inaugural: "Promoción de la salud mental en la población migrada: de la intervención clínica a la comunitaria". Conversación entre Joseba Achotegui y Paco Collazos. Modera Yolanda Osorio

10:15h- 11:30h – Mesa redonda: “Experiencias comunitarias interculturales de promoción de la salud mental: lecciones aprendidas”. Modera Stella Evangelidou

• “Cuerpo y dolor”, Asociación Retorna: Kainat Iqbal Hameed Bibi (coordinadora y mediadora), Rosa Cardús y Paola Borlini (psicoterapeutas)
• “Autocuidado entre mujeres”, Alba Cuxart (ISGlobal), Irene de Gracia, Carla Cisneros (RBECs CAPs Raval Sud y Raval Nord) y Fajar Matloob (Mediadora Cultural)

11:30h – Pausa café

12:00h – Mesa redonda: "Hacia un modelo de intervención comunitaria en salud mental con población migrada a Cataluña: retos, oportunidades y hoja de ruta". Modera Moisés Carmona

• Victoria Feijoo (Atención Primaria y a la Comunidad de Barcelona Ciutat, Institut Català de la Salut)
• Fàtima Ahmed, Co-fundadora de la Associación Intercultural Diàlegs de Dona
• Soraya Ares, Associación Bayt-Al-Thaqafa
• Anna Morancho, Salut i Cures, Àrea de Drets Socials, Salut, Cooperació i Comunitat, Ajuntament de Barcelona
• Loida Mejía / Mireia Albors, Servei d’Acció Comunitària, Ajuntament de Barcelona

13:30h – Clausura: “Reflexiones finales para la investigación y la acción”

• Stella Evangelidou, Yolanda Osorio i Moisès Carmona
• Conclusiones co-creades con el público

¡INSCRÍBETE!

Date

04/11/2024 - 05/11/2024

Place

PRBB - Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (C/ del Dr. Aiguader, 88, Barcelona)

The EPICOH Early Career Conference 2024 will be held on 4-5 November at the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) in Barcelona. It is organised by the Scientific Committee on Epidemiology in Occupational Health (EPICOH), an international organisation that is part of the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH).

The conference serves as a platform for early career researchers and professionals in the field of occupational epidemiology, industrial hygiene and occupational health to exchange ideas, share insights, and foster collaboration. The event will highlight research from early career researchers and will include keynote lectures and networking activities. Barbara Harding, researcher at ISGlobal, is the Chair of the Organising Committee.

Registration ends on 4 October!

Please note that the conference registration deadline is 4 October. We encourage all attendees to register for the conference as soon as possible on the conference website: https://epicoh2024.org/registration/

Visit the EPICOH Early Career Network LinkedIn page for more updates. The organisation will post and discuss about the conference

Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm! We look forward to welcoming you in Barcelona.

Last issues of ISGlobal Updates

• September 2024
• July-August 2024
• June 2024
• May 2024
• April 2024
• March 2024
• February 2024
• January 2024
• December 2023
• November 2023
• October 2023
• September 2023
• July-August 2023
• June 2023
• May 2023
• April 2023
• March 2023
• February 2023
• January 2023
• December 2022
• November 2022
• October 2022
• September 2022
• July-August 2022
• June 2022
• May 2022
• April 2022
• March 2022
• February 2022
• January 2022
• December 2021
• November 2021
• October 2021
• September 2021
• July-August 2021
• June 2021
• May 2021
• April 2021
• March 2021
• February 2021

Would you like to receive our newsletter?

In low and middle-income countries, severely ill children often present neurological manifestations prior to death, which are linked to a variety of diseases that can be treated. Lumbar punctures, which can help to identify the causes of these neurological symptoms and prevent deaths, are seldom used. These are the main conclusions of a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by “la Caixa” Foundation, and published in JAMA Network Open. 

When children suddenly show neurological symptoms, they need urgent medical help. LMICs have the highest number of these cases but lack the necessary resources for proper diagnosis and treatment. So far, understanding the reasons behind these medical emergencies mainly depends on clinical assessments and family reports after a child's death.

This study was done within a network focused on preventing child deaths, called the CHAMPS Network. A team led by Quique Bassat, ICREA researcher and ISGlobal General Director, analysed data from more than 3,000 deceased children in seven LMICs to identify what neurological symptoms were present prior to the death and correlate them with the cause of death. To determine the latter, the CHAMPS network uses a minimally invasive tissue sampling technique (MITS) developed and validated by ISGlobal researchers, which consists in obtaining small tissue samples and bodily fluids (blood, cerebrospinal fluid) after death and analysing them using advanced histopathological and microbiological tests.

Clinical evaluations are not enough

Of the 1,330 children who had neurological evaluations recorded, over half of them (727 out of 1,330, or 54.7%) showed neurological symptoms before their death. The most common confirmed causes of death were: lack of oxygen to the brain (23.2%); infections of the brain like meningitis and encephalitis (10.2%); and cerebral malaria (5.11%).

The neurological symptoms were very similar across different diagnoses, and clinical manifestations were unable to differentiate the main underlying causes. Among neonates, the most important syndromes presenting similar manifestations where hypoxic events and meningitis, and in children, the most similar presentations were in children with cerebral malaria and meningitis. However, only 18% of children with meningitis had a lumbar puncture (a crucial diagnostic test) conducted prior to death. This is because of several reasons, including lack of resources to perform lumbar punctures, a lack of capacity or laboratory infrastructures to test the cerebrospinal fluid, and the lack of clear guidelines.

“Neurological symptoms are common in very ill children in LMICs, but it is impossible to determine the exact cause without performing complementary tests” says Sara Ajanovic, ISGlobal researcher and first author of the study. The study shows that lumbar punctures are seldom performed in LMICs, and in more than half of the study settings, they were practically unavailable. “Sadly, this places these settings very far from achieving the goals within the WHO Roadmap to Defeat Meningitis by 2030. Improving the early diagnosis of neurological emergencies is essential to reduce child mortality rates,” she adds. The authors point out that nearly 90% of deaths following neurological symptoms were preventable.

“The CHAMPS network gives us a unique opportunity of creating knowledge about the underlying causes of neurological emergencies among children in LMICs,” concludes Bassat.

Reference

Ajanovic S, Madewell ZJ, El Arifeen S et al. Neurological symptoms and cause of death among young children in LMIC. Results from the CHAMPS network, 2016-2022. JAMA Network Open. DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.31512

Ambient temperatures are associated with over 5 million premature deaths worldwide every year, more than 300,000 of which in Western Europe alone. In a context of rapidly warming temperatures that successively broke previous records during the last two decades , it is essential to use epidemiological models to develop novel, impact-based early warning systems predicting the health effects of forecast temperatures.

This is precisely what the Adaptation group at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation, has done: Forecaster.health is the first pan-European, open-access platform using sex- and age-specific epidemiological models to predict the actual mortality risks of ambient temperatures for different segments of the population.

The tool allows users to enter the date for which they want to obtain the health predictions within a window of up to two weeks, as well as the population subgroup for which they want to obtain the prediction of temperature related mortality . Once these variables have been selected, the system displays a map showing warnings for 580 regions in 31 European countries with colour codes corresponding to four levels of heat and cold related mortality risk: low, moderate, high and extreme.

Change in paradigm: from meteorology to epidemiology

"Until now, temperature warnings have been solely based on the physical information of weather forecasts, and therefore, they ignore the differences in vulnerability to heat and cold among population groups. Our system changes this paradigm by shifting the focus from meteorology to epidemiology and the social determinants of vulnerability to the environmental factors", says Joan Ballester Claramunt, principal investigator of the Adaptation group at ISGlobal. " Forecaster.health does not only forecast the temperatures themselves, but also the actual risks that these temperatures have on the population as a whole, and especially, on specific population subgroups based on sex and age", he adds.

The team used the mortality database of the project EARLY-ADAPT (https://www.early-adapt.eu), which currently includes data for 580 regions in 31 European countries by sex, age and cause of death, to fit separate epidemiological models for population groups. Every day, the tool obtains temperature records and forecasts, and uses the epidemiological models to quantify the risk of temperature related mortality by sex and age group for any given date within the following 15 days.

“We know that vulnerability to heat is influenced by a number of factors, including sex and age. We know, for example, that women are more susceptible to heat than men, and that the risk of death for both heat and cold increases with age. For that reason, our tool separately fits epidemiological models for each sex and age group, which allows us to issue independent warnings accounting for the real impacts on the population”, says Marcos Quijal-Zamorano, researcher at ISGlobal and one of the authors of the system.

The first step towards a multi-hazard platform

Always based on epidemiological evidence and models, Forecaster.health will be expanded in the next months and years in different directions. To begin with, new countries and smaller regions will be added to the platform, as soon as new data is acquired by the team. The tool is also expected to develop new epidemiological models to incorporate health warnings for several air pollutants, such as particulate matter, ozone or nitrogen dioxide. Finally, the platform will also issue warnings for specific causes of death, such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and for other health outcomes, such as hospital admissions and occupational accidents.

“Our approach crucially depends on the availability of health data to fit our epidemiological models. We are eager to add additional health outcomes for more countries or smaller regions, either from Europe or in other continents, if data is provided to us”, emphasises Joan Ballester Claramunt .

Proof-of-Concept Grants of the European Research Council

Forecaster.health has been funded by the Proof-of-Concept Grants HHS-EWS and FORECAST-AIR of the European Research Council (ERC). These grants are aimed at transforming the basic research and resources generated in the ERC Consolidator Grant EARLY-ADAPT into innovative tools to address societal challenges. In that regard, EARLY-ADAPT is studying how populations are adapting to the public health challenge of climate change, and consequently, HHS-EWS and FORECAST-AIR are offering real solutions to increase the resilience of societies to environmental threats such as ambient temperatures and air pollutants.

The team that developed the platform is composed by Joan Ballester Claramunt, Mireia Beas-Moix, Nadia Beltrán-Barrón, Raúl Fernando Méndez Turrubiates, Fabien Peyrusse andMarcos Quijal-Zamorano.

The combination of pathogen evolution and climate anomalies, such as those during El Niño events, significantly contributed to the spread of cholera. The research, led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by “la Caixa” Foundation, highlights the synergistic role of climate and pathogen changes in the emergence and spread of infectious diseases.

During the 19th century, cholera spread across the world from its original reservoir in the Ganges delta, in India. Six subsequent pandemics have killed millions of people on every continent. The current (seventh) pandemic started in South Asia in 1961, reached Africa in 1971 and the Americas in 1991. Since 2022, the number of cholera cases has risen sharply in many countries, particularly in places with poor socioeconomic conditions.

How the different cholera pandemics originated and spread has been a matter of debate. Scientists have long suspected genetic changes in the bacterium. For example, during the seventh pandemic, the dominant strain (“Classical”) was gradually replaced by another strain (“El Tor”), against which people had less immunity. But Xavier Rodó, ICREA researcher at ISGlobal, and his colleagues suspected that climate conditions could also play a role by facilitating the regional spread of the emerging strain, once it reaches a new area.

Going back in history

Using historical records, Rodó and his team examined the links between climate patterns and cholera deaths across different provinces of former British India during the sixth cholera pandemic (1899-1923). They compared these findings with the more recent seventh pandemic and the brief emergence of a new cholera strain in Bangladesh. They used advanced statistical methods to study how outbreaks in different regions were connected and how they related to changes in temperature and rainfall, particularly during events like El Niño, which causes significant climate fluctuations and extreme weather conditions.

One of the most striking findings was the synchronisation of cholera outbreaks in the Bengal region, which is a sign of a new strain of cholera for which the population lacked immunity. This was accompanied by an El Niño event from 1904 to 1907. It appeared that abnormal weather conditions, similar to those seen in the late 20th century during cholera expansions into Africa and South America, played a crucial role in helping the new strain outcompete the previous one. In particular, the unusual rainfall during 1904-05, which was among the most extreme on record, seemed to provide the perfect conditions for the new cholera strain to thrive and spread.

“Our findings indicate that genetic shifts in the dominant cholera strain, combined with unusual climate conditions, led to the emergence and spread of the sixth pandemic”, says Rodó. "However, climate facilitation does not always lead to a new strain replacement unless the new strains are already shedding in the environment and can take over. We have seen how even larger climate anomalies in the recent past, have not always been accompanied by new strains replacing former ones. These results highlight the nonlinear dynamics of such relationships and the need for a joint action of both factors in the same direction", he explains. The findings also underscore the role of environmental conditions in generating opportunities for the spread of new variants or new pathogens.

“We need to better understand and predict the dynamics of climate-sensitive pathogens, such as those transmitted by water or vectors,” adds Rodó. This understanding is particularly important to prevent and mitigate future pandemics as we face increasing climate variability and extremes due to global warming.

"Variation in climate conditions or the evolutionary change of a pathogen can be important drivers of major epidemics. But these two drivers are typically considered separately in studies seeking to explain the emergence of unusually large outbreaks. Here, we present indirect evidence that the two can act together to synergistically underlie the establishment and widespread transmission of a new strain", says Mercedes Pascual, senior author of the study and researcher at the New York University.

Reference

Rodó X, Bouma MJ, Rodriguez Arias MA, et al. Strain variation and anomalous climate synergistically influence cholera pandemics. Plos NTD. 2024.

What types of cities exist in Europe and which are more favourable in terms of human health, environmental quality and carbon footprint? To answer these questions, a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation, has analysed 919 European cities. The research, published in The Lancet Planetary Health , identified four basic urban configurations on the continent : compact-high density cities, open lowrise-medium density cities, open lowrise-low density cities and green-low density cities. The results show that greener and less densely populated cities have lower mortality rates, lower air pollution levels and lower urban heat island effect, but higher carbon footprints per capita. In contrast, high-density compact cities have higher mortality rates, less green space, poorer air quality and a stronger urban heat island effect, but lower greenhouse gas (CO₂) emissions per capita.

Compact, high-density cities

Compact cities are characterised by small surface area sizes and a high population density. In addition, they tend to have a high density of pedestrian areas, a moderate cycleway density and a low availability of green natural areas. It is the urban typology with the highest number of inhabitants in Europe (more than 68 million). Barcelona, Milan, Paris and Basel are examples of this urban typology.

Cities of this type tend to facilitate short-distance mobility , as they usually have dense public transport networks and infrastructure for walking and cycling. For these reasons, in recent literature, the compact city has emerged as the optimal theoretical model to promote healthier and more sustainable cities.

Open lowrise, medium density cities

Open lowrise, medium density cities have small surface area sizes , medium population densities and a relatively higher density of roads for motorized traffic . The availability of pedestrian areas, cycleways and green areas is intermediate, compared to other city types. Brussels, Dublin or Leipzig are examples of such cities.

Open lowrise, low density cities

Open lowrise low density cities occupy a larger surface area than the two previous typologies and have a lower population density . They are also characterised by a low availability of pedestrian areas and cycleways and moderate to high availability of green natural areas towards the outskirts. Pisa, Oviedo or Toulouse are examples of open lowrise low density cities.

Green, low-density cities

Lastly, the low-density green city is characterised by a large surface area size with a low population density . These sprawled cities are characterized by moderate availability of pedestrian areas and high availability of cycleways and natural green spaces, integrated from the central parts of the urban area. Helsinki, Rennes, Aarhus or Stockholm are examples of cities in this group.

City types comparison

Among the four city types, Compact-High Density and Open Lowrise-Medium Density cities exhibited the highest motorized traffic flows , resulting in the greatest levels of adverse exposure to air pollution and urban heat island effect. Accordingly, these cities also had the highest mortality rates . On the positive side, the concentration of people and services in a smaller space leads to better energy efficiency, so compact cities are also the type of city with the lowest CO ₂ emissions per capita.

In contrast, Green-Low Density cities exhibited the lowest urban heat island effect and air pollution levels , resulting in lower mortality rates. However, as sprawled conurbations, they require longer commutes and are less energy efficient, making them the costliest type of city in terms of carbon footprint per capita.

Most of the population in the study resided in compact high density (n=68,096,496) and open lowrise medium density (n=56,108,876) cities, compared with the open lowrise low density (n=38 559 619 ) and green low density (n=27,474,508) city types.

Leveraging compact cities

“After analysing more than 900 cities in Europe, we believe that, as the literature and experts point out, the compact city may still be the model of the future, but in their current configuration, they show a poor environmental quality and need to overcome important challenges”, says Tamara Iungman, ISGlobal researcher and one of the lead authors of the study. “The potential for reduced car dependency, walkability or access to services and opportunities for social interaction are clear advantages of the compact city model. However, compact cities still show a high presence of motorised transport and a distinct lack of green spaces”, she adds.

“High air pollution levels are a particular challenge for compact cities and a reduction in the levels will reduce the mortality rates significantly”, says Sasha Khomenko, ISGlobal researcher and co-lead author of the study.

“We must leverage the potential of our compact cities through innovative models, such as superblocks, low-traffic or car-free neighbourhoods, incorporating alternatives such as nature-based solutions, including planting trees and green roofs and facades. It is essential to reduce car use and shift even more to active and public transportation. Of course, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for all cities. Each city should carry out specific studies based on its own characteristics and design an ad hoc solution to find the optimal model in terms of health, environmental quality and carbon footprint”, says Mark Nieuwenhuijsen , head of the Climate, Air Pollution, Nature and Urban Health programme at ISGlobal and senior author of the study.

Methodology

The study analyzed 919 European cities included in the 2018 Urban Audit database. The area of each city was divided into five concentric rings for a detailed analysis of each of the variables. The morphological configuration of each of the rings was made using a standardised classification based on satellite imagery; the design and intended use of each street was extracted from the OSM database; traffic volume was obtained from the Open Transport Map (OTM) database; given the limited availability of ambient temperature data, the team opted to use land surface temperature to calculate the surface heat island effect (SUHI) as an indicator of the urban heat island effect, expressed as the difference in degrees Celsius between the city and the surrounding rural areas. Similarly, as an indicator of air pollution, tropospheric NO2 levels were obtained from the Sentinel-5P satellite; CO2 emissions were extracted from the ODIAC inventory; and natural cause mortality rates at city level were obtained from previous studies using the Eurostat database.

Some of the data collected by the team in previous studies are publicly available on isglobalranking.org

Reference

Iungman T, Khomenko S, Pereira Barboza E, Cirach M, Gonçalves K, Petrone P, Erbertseder T, Taubenböck H, Chakraborty T, Mark Nieuwenhuijsen M. The impact of urban configuration types on urban heat islands, air pollution, CO2 emissions and mortality in Europe: a data science approach . The Lancet Planetary Health, July 2024. 8: e489–505. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(24)00120-7

BLOG: WHAT POLICIES COULD (COMPACT) CITIES ADOPT TO REDUCE THEIR HEALTH BURDEN?