News archive

The air quality in Swedish cities has improved continuously over the last twenty years, according to a research collaboration in which the Institute for Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet participates. Several thousand deaths may have been prevented every year, thanks to better air quality. However, many people are still exposed to air pollution that exceeds the World Health Organization’s recommendations.

A large international research study, COSMOS, initiated by Karolinska Institutet and Imperial College London, UK, has studied over 250,000 mobile phone users to investigate whether those who use mobile phones a lot and for a long time have a higher risk of brain tumours than others. The study, published in Environment International, found no association between long-term cell phone use and the risk of brain tumors.

While the most extreme heatwaves have the greatest short-term impact on mortality, it is the mildest heatwaves that kill most lives over time. This is because mild heatwaves are more common. This is according to a new study published in Environment International that has mapped the health risks of heat waves in India.

Taking place in Stockholm on 11-12th October the ENBEL transdisciplinary conference brought together researchers, policy makers, NGOs and private sector representatives to present and discuss climate change effects on health, as well as adaptation, societal consequences, and opportunities for climate resilient development. One of the main objects of the EU-funded project is to enhance collaboration between health, environmental and climate research.

People without a secure job contract can reduce their risk of premature death by 20 percent if they gain permanent employment, a study from Karolinska Institutet published in The Journal of Epidemiology and Community reports. According to the researchers, the results indicate that job security in the Swedish labor market needs to improve.

The podcast Riskzonen, featuring well-known KI staff members Mattis Öberg and Emma Frans, is back with a new season! The four episodes were released in May and June, and after a brief break over summer, more episodes will now be released each Monday, starting on 28 August. Each episode features the topic health crisis, in one way or another, ranging from relief efforts in war to antibiotic resistance. The new season is made in collaboration with the Centre for Health Crises.

The summer heat is here and with it questions about how we should handle high temperatures and what we should do to feel well in the heat. Cardiologist Petter Ljungman, associate professor at the Institute for Environmental Medicine and expert coordinator at the Centre for Health Crises, answers questions about health and heat.

Our newest team member Irene Wanyana joins the Department of Global Public to pursue her PhD. In her research project titled Multisectoral Approaches to Sustainable Health in Uganda, A focus on the role of climatic variabilities on maternal and child health, Irene aims to explore the linkages that exist between health and other Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in Uganda.

The Centre for Health Crises at KI has published its first annual report, covering activities at the Centre during 2022. Since it is the centre's first year in operation, the report also outline the background to the establishing of the centre, the centre's organisational structure and introduces the staff.

On January 26th, the Centre for Health Crises welcomed a distinguished panel of both national and international researchers and civil servants to the second KI Contributes seminar. The seminar featured short presentations and discussions around the complex issue of extreme heat, with a focus on how to shape and evaluate heat adaptation plans.

The world is quickly approaching a tipping point when it comes to preventing many of the devastating consequences of the climate crisis. We see the effects of it on the environment and our planet, and in recent years the discussion on the effects of climate change on human health has grown. But what do we know about the effects on children? Doctoral student Daniel Helldén, presents at the Global Child Health conference organized by University of Calgary.

Breathing in common workplace dust and fumes may increase the risk of developing severe rheumatoid arthritis, especially in combination with smoking and genetic susceptibility to the disease, suggests a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in The Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

Representatives from centres within Stockholm trio met at KI for a breakfast meeting and a chance to engage in conversations about activities and collaborations within the topic of climate and health. The collaboration group on climate and health creates spaces and opportunities for interdisciplinary cooperation in this wide and complex field.

On the 1st of September Mattias Öberg began working 20% at the Centre for Health Crises. His role is to develop the centre’s work with chemical and toxicological health crises. This will be done through, among other things, monitoring, establishing networks, identifying educational and research gaps, as well as identifying how the centre best contributes to the field.

Petter Ljungman, cardiologist, and Associate Professor at the Institute of Environmental Medicine is the new expert coordinator at the Centre for Health Crises in the field of extreme weather, climate, and health effects. Thereby the centre continues to expand its expertise in various health crises subject areas.

On September 23, the Centre for Health Crises kicked off our seminar series KI Contributes, aiming at addressing contemporary health crises, with an interactive panel discussion on the health consequences of extreme heat. The focus was addressing a multi-layered health crisis with effects on both individual and public health.

Annachiara Malin Igra researches the health effects of early-life metal exposure in children in Bangladesh. Her research provides important evidence that growth, bone health and pubertal development of children can be negatively affected by cadmium from food at exposure levels relevant for millions of children around the world. Now she wants to see a new risk assessment for metal exposure where child health is included.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have developed a tiny sensor for detecting pesticides on fruit in just a few minutes. The technique, described as a proof-of-concept in a paper in the journal Advanced Science, uses flame-sprayed nanoparticles made from silver to increase the signal of chemicals. While still at an early stage, the researchers hope these nano-sensors could help uncover food pesticides before consumption.

Residential exposure to ambient air pollutants is linked to an elevated risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection, an observational study of young adults in Stockholm, Sweden shows. The study was conducted by researchers from Karolinska Institutet and is published in JAMA Network Open.

Global warming is likely to increase the number of people requiring hospitalization due to critically low sodium levels in the blood, a condition known as hyponatremia. A new study from Karolinska Institutet projects that a temperature rise of 2 degrees Celsius would increase the burden on hospitals from hyponatremia by almost 14 percent. The findings are published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Every day, people are exposed to large number of pollutants, but the problem of how to assess the dangers of the chemical “cocktail effect” has long frustrated both scientists and public authorities. A collaborative study involving researchers from Karolinska Institutet published in the journal Science now presents a new strategy that combines population studies with experiments using cell and animal models.

The COP26 agreement keeps the 1.5C goal alive and for the first time mentions the role of fossil fuels. The climate transition is about the future of humankind, but medical researchers say it can also have immediate health benefits here and now.

Prolonged exposure to air pollution can be linked to an increased risk of stroke and coronary heart disease, even when levels are below the limits specified by the EU and WHO. This has been shown, among others, by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Helmholtz Zentrum München in a large European study published in The Lancet Planetary Health.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet found industrial chemicals in the organs of fetuses conceived decades after many countries had banned the substances. In a study published in the journal Chemosphere, the researchers urge decision makers to consider the combined impact of the mix of chemicals that accumulate in people and nature.

The ability of our skin to protect us from chemicals is something we inherit. Some people are less well-protected which could imply an increased risk of being afflicted by skin disease or cancer. A new study from Karolinska Institutet that has been published in Environmental Health Perspectives shows how the rate of uptake of common chemicals is faster in people with a genetically weakened skin barrier.

Early-life events, such as the exposure to air pollutants, increases the risk of chronic lung disease in young adulthood, according to new results by researchers at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, published in the European Respiratory Journal and Thorax. The studies add to the growing evidence that chronic lung disease in adulthood can be traced back to childhood.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a new method that can make it easier for public authorities to assess the health risks of hormone-disrupting chemicals in the environment.

People continuously exposed to air pollution are at increased risk of dementia, especially if they also suffer from cardiovascular diseases, according to a study at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in the journal JAMA Neurology. Therefore, patients with cardiovascular diseases who live in polluted environments may require additional support from care providers to prevent dementia, according to the researchers.

High levels of traffic exhaust at one’s residence increases the risk of stroke even in low-pollution environments, according to a study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and other universities in Sweden. The study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, suggests that it is mainly black carbon from traffic exhaust that increases the risk for stroke, and not particulate matter from other sources.

People with atopic eczema have many more Staphylococcus aureus bacteria in their skin than those with healthy skin or psoriasis, according to a study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of Helsinki in Finland. The study, published in the Nature Communications, shows how the S. aureus bacteria displaced other potentially health-promoting bacteria. The discovery may be important for future treatments of the skin disease.

Children are more likely to have higher systolic blood pressure by age six if their mom used the Swedish powdered tobacco product snus during pregnancy. This according to a new study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Drivers, factory workers, and cleaners are three times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than teachers and physiotherapists. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have studied how the occurrence of diabetes differs between occupations in Sweden. The results are being published in the scientific journal Diabetologia and are also presented at the European diabetes conference in Barcelona in September.

People who carry genes that make them more susceptible to developing multiple sclerosis (MS) are at much greater risk of developing the disease if they have been exposed to paint, varnish and other solvents, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in the journal Neurology. If they have also been smokers, the risk of developing MS is multiplied.

In a review of existing research, commissioned by a committee of the European Parliament, a group of European researchers has identified benefits of organic food production for human health. The researchers recommend the parliament to consider giving priority to certain organic production practices and their use also in conventional agriculture.

A recently published study from the Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM) at Karolinska Institutet shows that exposure to noise during pregnancy can damage the child’s hearing, with an 80 percent increase in risk in occupational environments with particularly high decibel levels. The results strongly indicate that pregnant women should not be exposed to loud noise.

Studies conducted at Karolinska Institutet and Uppsala University show that some indigenous groups in the Andes of northern Argentina have increased resistance to arsenic. The researchers also identified the gene that underlies the altered metabolism and protects against exposure to arsenic. This study is the first to show that some humans have genetically adapted to a polluted environment.