New publication: Environmental and Household-Based Spatial Risks for Tungiasis in an Endemic Area of Coastal Kenya

New publication! I started working on this cool project on tungiasis (jiggers) with colleagues in Kenya and Japan way back in 2014. Today, I am happy to say that after much ado our work has finally seen the light of day, thanks to Nagasaki PhD student (and soon to be Dr.) Ayako Hyuga. It appears today in the journal Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease (MDPI).

Environmental and Household-Based Spatial Risks for Tungiasis in an Endemic Area of Coastal Kenya

“#Tungiasis is a #cutaneous #parasitosis caused by an embedded female sand flea. The distribution of cases can be spatially heterogeneous even in areas with similar risk profiles. This study assesses household and remotely sensed environmental factors that contribute to the geographic distribution of tungiasis cases in a rural area along the Southern Kenyan Coast. Data on household tungiasis case status, demographic and socioeconomic information, and geographic locations were recorded during regular survey activities of the Health and Demographic Surveillance System, mainly during 2011. Data were joined with other spatial data sources using latitude/longitude coordinates. Generalized additive models were used to predict and visualize spatial risks for tungiasis. The household-level prevalence of tungiasis was 3.4% (272/7925). There was a 1.1% (461/41,135) prevalence of infection among all participants. A significant spatial variability was observed in the unadjusted model (p-value < 0.001). The number of children per household, earthen floor, organic roof, elevation, aluminum content in the soil, and distance to the nearest animal reserve attenuated the odds ratios and partially explained the spatial variation of tungiasis. Spatial heterogeneity in tungiasis risk remained even after a factor adjustment. This suggests that there are possible unmeasured factors associated with the complex ecology of sand fleas that may contribute to the disease’s uneven distribution.” #environmental #kenya #NTD #NeglectedTropicalDisease #parasitology #globalhealth #publichealth

December 10, 2021

in Academics, Climate Change, Detroit, Environment, Epidemiology, Michigan, Public health, Research, Science, Statistics

New paper out: “Indoor apparent temperature, cognition, and daytime sleepiness among low-income adults in a temperate climate”

New paper out! I’m really proud to have been a part of this research, now published in Indoor Air (Wiley)

We put temperature monitors in 34 low income Detroit homes and tested to see if high temperatures had anything to do with daytime sleepiness or word recall.

“The burden of temperature-associated mortality and hospital visits is significant, but temperature’s effects on non-emergency health outcomes is less clear. This burden is potentially greater in low-income households unable to afford efficient heating and cooling. We examined short-term associations between indoor temperatures and cognitive function and daytime sleepiness in low-income residents of Detroit, Michigan. Apparent temperature (AT, based on temperature and humidity) was recorded hourly in 34 participant homes between July 2019-March 2020. Between July-October 2019, 18 participants were administered word list immediate (WLL) and delayed (WLD) recall tests (10-point scales) and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (24-point scale) 2–4 times. We applied longitudinal models with nonlinear distributed lags of temperature up to 7 days prior to testing. Indoor temperatures ranged 8–34°C overall and 15–34°C on survey days. We observed a 0.4 (95% CI: 0.0, 0.7) point increase in WLL and 0.4 (95% CI: 0.0, 0.9) point increase in WLD scores per 2°C increase in AT. Results suggested decreasing sleepiness scores with decreasing nighttime AT below 22°C. Low-income Detroit residents experience uncomfortably high and low indoor temperatures. Indoor temperature may influence cognitive function and sleepiness, although we did not observe deleterious effects of higher temperatures.”