Michelle L. Bell

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Verified

Michelle verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

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• Doctor of Philosophy
• Mary E. Pinchot Professor of Environmental Health at Yale University

Background: Decades of steady improvements in life expectancy in Europe slowed down from around 2011, well before the COVID-19 pandemic, for reasons which remain disputed. We aimed to assess how changes in risk factors and cause-specific death rates in different European countries related to changes in life expectancy in those countries before and...

Background Odors are a documented environmental justice challenge in Denver, Colorado. Complaints are an important modality through which residents express their concerns. Objective We investigated disparities in environmental justice related-variables, such as home and workplace census block groups (race/ethnicity, education levels, renter-occupi...

Various studies indicated that pregnant women living near UONG sites may be more likely to give birth to infants with CHDs due to exposure to air, water, and soil pollution generated by these sites. We systematically searched three English-language databases—PubMed, Scopus, and the Web of Science Core Collection—from their inception until September...

Livestock are a critical part of our food systems, yet their abundance globally has been cited as a driver of many environmental and human health concerns. Issues such as soil, water, and air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, aquifer depletion, antimicrobial resistance genes, and zoonotic disease outbreaks have all been linked to livestock opera...

Importance As US society ages and the climate changes, extreme outdoor heat may exacerbate the health burden of Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD), but where, when, and among whom extreme heat may increase hospitalizations with ADRD remains understudied. Objective To investigate the association between extreme heat and the risk of hosp...

The impacts of climate change on human health are often underestimated or perceived to be in a distant future. Here, we present the projected impacts of climate change in the context of COVID-19, a recent human health catastrophe. We compared projected heat mortality with COVID-19 deaths in 38 cities worldwide and found that in half of these cities...

Dynamic gridded population data are crucial in fields such as disaster reduction, public health, urban planning, and global change studies. Despite the use of multi-source geospatial data and advanced machine learning models, current frameworks for population spatialization often struggle with spatial non-stationarity, temporal generalizability, an...

Background The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 provides a comprehensive assessment of health and risk factor trends at global, regional, national, and subnational levels. This study aims to examine the burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors in the USA and highlight the disparities in health outcomes ac...

This appendix provides supplementary tables and figures for the paper titled “The burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors by state in the USA, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.”

Background Little is known about the impact of PM2.5 on people with disabilities. We aimed to explore the association between PM2.5 and hospitalization via the emergency department (ED admission) among people with disabilities, together with the attributable ED admission cases and costs. Methods We applied a time-stratified case-crossover design a...

Purpose of Review Air pollution has been raised as a novel risk factor for osteoporosis, which impose a huge burden on both individuals and society. Thus, summarizing and discussing previous results on the association between ambient air pollution and osteoporosis can be informative in synthesizing the current evidence and improving relevant action...

Findings for greenspace’s impacts on birth outcomes are largely dependent on vegetation indexes. Examinations are needed for various greenspace indicators given varying pathways for fetal development. This prospective cohort study assessed the impacts of prenatal greenspace exposure on preterm birth (PTB), term low birthweight (TLBW), birthweight,...

Objectives While COVID-19 continues to challenge the world, meteorological variables are thought to impact COVID-19 transmission. Previous studies showed evidence of negative associations between high temperature and absolute humidity on COVID-19 transmission. Our research aims to fill the knowledge gap on the modifying effect of vaccination rates...

Fine-mode particulate matter (PM2.5) is a highly detrimental air pollutant, regulated without regard for chemical composition and a chief component of wildfire smoke. As wildfire activity increases with climate change, its growing continental influence necessitates multidisciplinary research to examine smoke’s evolving chemical composition far down...

Background Emerging research has suggested a link between ambient temperature and mental and neurological conditions such as depression and dementia. This systematic review aims to summarize the epidemiological evidence on the effects of ambient temperature on mental and neurological conditions in older adults, who may be more vulnerable to tempera...

Background Fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) occurs within a mixture of other pollutant gases that interact and impact its composition and toxicity. To characterize the local toxicity of PM 2.5 , it is useful to have an index that accounts for the whole pollutant mix, including gaseous pollutants. We consider a recently proposed pollutant mixture c...

Objectives To assess the short term temporal variations in suicide risk related to the day of the week and national holidays in multiple countries. Design Multicountry, two stage, time series design. Setting Data from 740 locations in 26 countries and territories, with overlapping periods between 1971 and 2019, collected from the Multi-city Multi...

Background Land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) can substantially affect climate through biogeochemical and biogeophysical effects. Here, we examine the future temperature–mortality impact for two contrasting LULCC scenarios in a background climate of low greenhouse gas concentrations. The first LULCC scenario implies a globally sustainable land...

Objective Prior studies demonstrate that some untoward clinical outcomes vary by outdoor temperature. This is true of some endpoints common among persons with diabetes, a population vulnerable to climate change-associated health risks. Yet, prior work has been agnostic to the antidiabetes drugs taken by such persons. We examined whether relationshi...

Background: Heat is known to affect many health outcomes, but more evidence is needed on the impact of rising temperatures on crime and/or violence. Objectives: We conducted a systematic review with meta-analysis regarding the influence of hot temperatures on crime and/or violence. Methods: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we evalu...

Objective To examine the associations between characteristics of daily rainfall (intensity, duration, and frequency) and all cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality. Design Two stage time series analysis. Setting 645 locations across 34 countries or regions. Population Daily mortality data, comprising a total of 109 954 744 all cause, 3...

Introduction: Wildfires are a growing concern due to their significant impact on wildlife, air quality, and health, and are increasing under climate change. Although several systematic reviews have explored the relationship between wildfire smoke and human health outcomes, a comprehensive overview of the overall epidemiological evidence remains nee...

Despite the substantial evidence on the health effects of short-term exposure to ambient fine particles (PM 2.5 ), including increasing studies focusing on those from wildland fire smoke, the impacts of long-term wildland fire smoke PM 2.5 exposure remain unclear. We investigated the association between long-term exposure to wildland fire smoke PM...

The rising humid heat is regarded as a severe threat to human survivability, but the proper integration of humid heat into heat-health alerts is still being explored. Using state-of-the-art epidemiological and climatological datasets, we examined the association between multiple heat stress indicators (HSIs) and daily human mortality in 739 cities...

Background Studies suggest biologic mechanisms for gestational exposure to radiation and impaired fetal development. We explored associations between gestational radon exposure and term low birthweight, for which evidence is limited. Methods We examined data for 68,159 singleton full-term births in Connecticut, USA, 2016–2018. Using a radon spatio...

Background Wildfire activity is an important source of tropospheric ozone (O 3) pollution. However, no study to date has systematically examined the associations of wildfire-related O 3 exposure with mortality globally.

Background Previous studies have linked exposure to concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) with various health outcomes. However, relatively few studies evaluated the impacts of CAFOs on adverse birth outcomes, despite significant public health concerns regarding maternal and child health. Objectives This cross-sectional study investigated...

Background The association between nonoptimal temperatures and cardiovascular mortality risk is recognized. However, a comprehensive global assessment of this burden is lacking. Objectives The goal of this study was to assess global cardiovascular mortality burden attributable to nonoptimal temperatures and investigate spatiotemporal trends. Meth...

Defining the effect of an exposure of interest and selecting an appropriate estimation method are prerequisites for causal inference. Current understanding of the ways in which an association between heat waves (ie, consecutive days of extremely high temperature) and an outcome depends on whether adjustment was made for temperature and how such adj...

Background Accurate assessments of current and future fertility-including overall trends and changing population age structures across countries and regions-are essential to help plan for the profound social, economic, environmental, and geopolitical challenges that these changes will bring. Estimates and projections of fertility are necessary to i...

This appendix provides detailed information on the methods for the paper “Global fertility in 204 countries and territories, 1950–2021 with forecasts to 2100: a comprehensive demographic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021”

Background Understanding the health consequences associated with exposure to risk factors is necessary to inform public health policy and practice. To systematically quantify the contributions of risk factor exposures to specific health outcomes, the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 aims to provide comprehensiv...

Background The regional disparity of heatwave-related mortality over a long period has not been sufficiently assessed across the globe, impeding the localisation of adaptation planning and risk management towards climate change. We quantified the global mortality burden associated with heatwaves at a spatial resolution of 0.5°×0.5° and the temporal...

Background Long-term exposure to PM2.5 has been linked to increased mortality risk. However, limited studies have examined the potential modifying effect of community-level characteristics on this association, particularly in Asian contexts. This study aimed to estimate the effects of long-term exposure to PM2.5 on mortality in South Korea and to e...

Dynamic gridded population data are crucial in fields such as disaster reduction, public health, urban planning, and global change studies. Despite the use of multi-source geospatial data and advanced machine learning models, current frameworks for population spatialization often struggle with spatial non-stationarity, temporal generalizability, an...

BACKGROUND: Extreme temperatures contribute significantly to global mortality. While previous studies on temperature and stroke-specific outcomes presented conflicting results, these studies were predominantly limited to single-city or single-country analyses. Their findings are difficult to synthesize due to variations in methodologies and exposur...

Background. Temperature variability (TV) is associated with increased mortality risk. However, it is still unknown whether intra-day or inter-day TV has a higher effect. Objectives. We aimed to assess the association of intra-day TV and inter-day TV with all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality. Methods. We collected data on total, card...

Background Detailed, comprehensive, and timely reporting on population health by underlying causes of disability and premature death is crucial to understanding and responding to complex patterns of disease and injury burden over time and across age groups, sexes, and locations. The availability of disease burden estimates can promote evidence-base...

Fine-mode particulate matter (PM2.5) is a highly detrimental air pollutant produced in large quantities from wildfires, which are increasing with climate change. Leveraging advanced chemical measurements in conjunction with source apportionment and health risk assessments, we quantified the stark pollution enhancements during Canadian wildfire smok...

Background Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important follow...

Background Accurate assessments of current and future fertility-including overall trends and changing population age structures across countries and regions-are essential to help plan for the profound social, economic, environmental, and geopolitical challenges that these changes will bring. Estimates and projections of fertility are necessary to i...

Background Estimates of demographic metrics are crucial to assess levels and trends of population health outcomes. The profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on populations worldwide has underscored the need for timely estimates to understand this unprecedented event within the context of long-term population health trends. The Global Burden of D...

Wildfires can have a significant impact on air quality in Australia during severe burning seasons, but incomplete knowledge of the injection heights of smoke plumes poses a challenge for quantifying smoke exposure. In this study, we use two approaches to quantify the fractions of fire emissions injected above the planetary boundary layer (PBL), and...

Self-reported distances to industrial sources have been used in epidemiology as proxies for exposure to environmental hazards and indicators of awareness and perception of sources. Unconventional oil and gas development (UOG) emits pollutants and has been associated with adverse health outcomes. We compared self-reported distance to the nearest UOG...

Metabolic Syndrome presents a significant public health challenge associated with an increased risk of noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular conditions. Evidence shows that green spaces and the built environment may influence metabolic syndrome. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies published through...

Psychological theories on heat-aggression relationship have existed for decades and recent models suggest climate change will increase violence through varying pathways. Although observational studies have examined the impact of temperature on violent crime, the evidence for associations is primarily limited to coarse temporal resolution of weather...

Background Odors are a documented environmental justice challenge in Denver County, Colorado, USA. Complaints are an important modality through which residents express their concerns. Objective We investigated disparities in environmental justice related-variables based on home and workplace census block groups (race/ethnicity, education-levels, re...

Background. Climate change can directly impact temperature-related excess deaths and might subsequently change the seasonal variation in mortality. In this study, we aimed to provide a systematic and comprehensive assessment of potential future changes in the seasonal variation, or seasonality, of mortality across different climate zones. Methods....

Short-term exposure to ground-level ozone in cities is associated with increased mortality and is expected to worsen with climate and emission changes. However, no study has yet comprehensively assessed future ozone-related acute mortality across diverse geographic areas, various climate scenarios, and using CMIP6 multi-model ensembles, limiting ou...

Background Residential mobility can introduce exposure misclassification in pediatric epidemiology studies using birth address only. Objective We examined whether residential mobility varies by sociodemographic factors and urbanicity/rurality among children with cancer. Methods Our study included 400 children born in Pennsylvania during 2002–2015...

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38092509/#full-view-affiliation-41

The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) is a multinational collaborative research study with >10,000 collaborators around the world. GBD generates a time series of summary measures of health, including prevalence, cause-specific mortality (CSMR), years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disabi...

Metabolic Syndrome presents a significant public health challenge associated with an increased risk of noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular conditions. Evidence shows that green spaces and the built environment may influence metabolic syndrome. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies published through...

Numerous studies have used air quality models to estimate pollutant concentrations in the Metropolitan Area of São Paulo (MASP) by using different inputs and assumptions. Our objectives are to summarize these studies, compare their performance, configurations, and inputs, and recommend areas of further research. We examined 29 air quality modeling...

The escalating concern over the presence and health implications of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in drinking water has underscored the need for rigorous risk assessments. Our study aimed to quantify both the non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks associated with exposure to selected PTEs—namely arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), and cadmium...