A weekly roundup of public health news
High heat harms during pregnancy vary by neighborhood
Women who experience high temperatures during their pregnancies are at greater risk for health harms — and where they live can worsen their risks, a recent study says.
Published in the Journal of Climate Change and Health, the research linked high heat exposure in the first trimester of pregnancy to greater risks for high blood pressure, preeclampsia and genitourinary infections, all of which can harm a woman and her fetus.
High heat exposure later in pregnancy posed dangers as well, the researchers found: Women who experienced high temperatures in their third trimester also had higher risks for preeclampsia, a condition that can lead to stroke, preterm birth or other pregnancy complications.
Conducted in New York City, the study also found risks varied by location. Women who lived in neighborhoods at greater risk of high heat were more likely to have complications. City neighborhoods scant on parks and vegetation and heavy on concrete and structures are often hotter than other neighborhoods, a condition known as the urban heat island effect.
Human-caused climate change is worsening heat in U.S. cities, which are home to about 80% of the nation’s populations. City residents who live in heat island neighborhoods are subject to temperatures that are 8 degrees higher on average than surrounding areas, according to Climate Central.
U.S. cities where more than 80% of residents experience heat island effects include Newark, New Jersey; Detroit, Michigan; New York City; Dallas and San Antonio, Texas; and Spokane, Washington.
Silicosis deaths among countertop workers continues to rise
Nearly two dozen laborers who worked with engineered stone have died in California since 2019 from an industry-linked lung disease.
Almost 300 confirmed cases of silicosis occurred among California workers from 2019 to 2024, 82% of which were linked to exposure to engineered stone, a material used in countertops, a new study confirms. A quarter of the engineered stone workers were so ill they were referred for lung transplants, with half of them receiving the procedure, according to the findings in the American Journal of Public Health.
While 15 engineered stone-related silicosis deaths were confirmed in the state during the study period, the death count has since increased to 22, according to a California Department of Public Health surveillance dashboard.
As is often the case with silicosis in the industry, the sickened laborers were overwhelmingly male, Hispanic and born outside the U.S. The average age at time of diagnosis was 46.
Engineered stone has increased in popularity in U.S. kitchens, bathrooms and beyond because of its lower cost, durability and appearance. The product, which is created by mixing quartz pieces with resin, contains three times the silica content of natural stone. When the stone is cut, ground or polished, silica dust is released, potentially exposing workers to dangerous levels of air contamination.
The first known U.S. case of silicosis from engineered stone work was identified in Texas in 2014. The California Department of Health began surveillance for the disease in the state in 2019 after a case was found there. As the U.S. lacks standardized, mandatory requirements for reporting silicosis deaths from engineered stone work, California’s surveillance system has served as a bellwether.
While measures to protect engineered stone workers such as dust suppression, protective equipment and monitoring have been stepped up —and new standards and awareness campaigns have been put in place — they are sometimes overlooked or ignored by employers.
Given the lag time between exposure and diagnosis, the study team, which included health department and University of California researchers, said it expects more engineered stone-linked silicosis cases to be found in the future.
U.S. death rate fell last year, but stark disparities persist
The U.S. death rate fell 3.8% in 2024, according to a new brief from the National Center for Health Statistics.
More than 3 million people in the U.S. died in 2024, with a death rate of 722 per 100,000 people, according to the vital statistics brief, which was released Sept. 10. Death rates were highest for people over age 85 and lowest for children, both of which saw decreases. Death rates for infants under age 1 failed to decline, however.
Black Americans continued to have the nation’s highest death rate, at 884 deaths per 100,000 people, followed by American Indian and Alaska Native people, at about 781 deaths per 100,000. In comparison, Asian Americans had a death rate of 396 per 100,000; Hispanic Americans, 531; Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Americans, 682; and white people, 753.
Heart disease, cancer and unintentional injuries were the three leading causes of U.S. deaths last year, followed by stroke, chronic lower respiratory diseases and Alzheimer’s disease.
COVID-19 — which was the third leading cause of U.S. deaths in 2020 and 2021 — dropped from the top 10 causes of death in 2024, which was the first time the disease did not make the list since the pandemic began. With nearly 48,700 deaths in 2024, suicide moved up to 10th place in the list, placing just below chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, kidney disease, and diabetes.
Other recent public health news of note:
• A 2015 leak at a natural gas storage area in northern Los Angeles doubled low birthweight rates in the area. A Sept. 12 study in Science Advances found babies born to women who were exposed to fumes and fine-particle pollution from the Aliso Canyon gas leak during their third trimester of pregnancy had significantly lower weights at time of birth. Hundreds of thousands of residents were subject to high levels of pollution during the leak, which lasted almost four months.
• Air pollution exposure accelerates the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, new research in JAMA Neurology finds. People with the disease experienced faster memory loss, impaired judgment and difficulty with personal care when they were exposed to high concentrations of air pollution.
• Fossil fuel and cement production are major contributors to rising heat waves around the globe, according to a new review in Nature. The two industries accounted for 60% of human carbon dioxide emissions from 1850 to 2023, with the remainder attributable mainly to land use activities.
• A new study in Occupational and Environmental Medicine finds rotating overnight shift work in factories is linked with a range of health risks. Workers who experienced the schedule had higher risks for weight increase, inflammation, arterial stiffness and cardiovascular disease measures.
• Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have announced plans for a new tool that will provide personalized results on exposure to “forever chemicals.” The web-based exposure burden calculator will allow health workers to input data on levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in a patient’s blood and receive a PFAS exposure score that can be compared to the general U.S. population.
The Watch is written by Michele Late, who has more than two decades of experience as a public health journalist.