Intensive and regular fishing occurs in the marine area of the natural park “Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina” (PNSACV; SW coast of continental Portugal). In 2011, this area became a marine park with different protection levels (total, partial, and complementary). We assessed in 2011 and 2012 if partial protection (PP) in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) changed the taxa richness, abundance,...
Introduction: Available literature has found an association between firefighting and pathologic pathways leading to cardiorespiratory diseases, which have been linked with exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHs are highlighted as priority pollutants by the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative in occupational and non-occupational contexts. Methods: This cross-sectional study is the first to...
Background: Seroepidemiological studies provide estimates of population-level immunity, prevalence/incidence of infections, and evaluation of vaccination programs. We assessed the seroprevalence of protective antibodies against influenza and evaluated the correlation of seroprevalence with the cumulative annual influenza incidence rate. Methods: We conducted an annual repeated cross-sectional seroepidemiologica...
Wildland firefighters are exposed to metal(loid)s released during wildfires through vegetation combustion, which also promotes remobilization of accumulated anthropogenic metal(loid)s. Studies biomonitoring metal(loid)s exposure promoted exclusively by wildfire suppression activities are lacking. This work aimed to characterize, for the first time, the impact of real-life wildland firefighting operations on uri...
Studies evaluating the benefits and risks of green spaces on children's health are scarce. The present study aimed to examine the associations between exposure to green spaces during pregnancy and early childhood with respiratory, cardiometabolic, and neurodevelopmental outcomes in school-age children. We performed an Individual-Participant Data (IPD) meta-analysis involving 35,000 children from ten European bi...
Sleep is a vital process that impacts biological functions such as cell renewal, bone regeneration, and immune system support. Disrupted sleep can interrupt erythropoiesis, leading to fewer red blood cells, reduced haemoglobin concentration, and decreased haematocrit levels, potentially contributing to haematological disorders. This is particularly concerning for shift workers for example firefighters. While pr...
Human biomonitoring data retrieved from real-life wildland firefighting in Europe and, also, worldwide are scarce. Thus, in this study, 176 Portuguese firefighters were biomonitored pre- and post- unsimulated wildfire combating (average:12–13 h; maximum: 55 h) to evaluate the impact on the levels of urinary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons hydroxylated metabolites (OHPAH; quantified by high-performance liquid c...
The characterization of wildland firefighters' occupational exposure must consider different exposures, including those at the fire station. The present study aimed to characterize the occupational exposure of 172 Northern Portuguese wildland firefighters in fire stations during the pre-wildfire season of 2021. The biological impact of estimated inhaled doses of PM10 and PM2.5 (indoor/outdoor) was accessed thro...
Groin pain is a common injury in professional footbal and widely acknowledged as a complex medical issue. Iliopsoas pathology stands as the second‐most common cause of athletic groin injury, yet iliopsoas traumatic muscle injuries are infrequent and inadequately documented in the literature. This case report outlines a grade 2 myotendinous junction injury of the iliopsoas in a football player competing in the P...