Mey Akashah TweetChats on climate change and health

Climate change and human health

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Emergency Medical Response.org

Global climate change is often viewed solely as an environmental concern - a phenomenon caused by environmental changes that has environmental impacts. Rising sea levels and more frequent and intense storms and droughts immediately spring to mind when climate change is mentioned, but environmental impacts are only one part of the story. The human impacts of climate change are many and varied, but are often conveyed in abstract terms or as problems that affect "other" people. Why does this matter? Because urgent action is required to mitigate the pace of climate change, as well as to adapt to the "new normal." Action will only be taken when it is demanded. The impacts of climate change on health could serve as a lightning rod to motivate such action by highlighting and personalizing the risks of inaction to all, regardless of which country you call home.

Join Mey for a TweetChat on climate change and human health

Want to know more about how climate change affects human health? Join Mey for a TweetChat on the health impacts of climate change hosted by HCHLITSS at 8pm EST, Thursday September 13. You can also follow Mey on Wordpress and Twitter, or leave a comment below to share your thoughts on how climate change will affect health in the future.

- Mey Akashah

Mey Akashah's Harvard thesis online

Mey Akashah's Harvard thesis online at Slideshare and Wordpress

Mey Akashah's Harvard School of Public Health doctoral dissertation, Fish Consumption, Mercury Intake, and the Associated Risks to the Kuwaiti Population, can now be found online at Mey's Slideshare page and her Wordpress blog.

Topic and background

Mey's dissertation addresses health risks factors associated with mercury intake as a consequence of fish consumption among the Kuwaiti population.  Mercury is neurotoxic, and some studies have shown that it may also contribute to cardiovascular disease (Harada 1995; Grandjean 1998). As Kuwaitis eat more fish than many other nationalities, it is important to better understand how much fish Kuwaitis consume, how much mercury is in the fish being eaten, and the physiological factors affecting how much mercury is absorbed into the body. The three papers in the dissertation address each of these areas, individually.

Overview

The first paper, “Fish Consumption among Kuwaiti Nationals,” addresses the consumption patterns of the Kuwait population, including the types of fish eaten, how frequently they are consumed, and average consumption among various age, sex, and ethnic groups. “Human Health Risks from Mercury in Fish” investigates the potential health effects to the Kuwaiti population as a result of current fish consumption patterns. The third paper, “Fish Consumption as a Determinant of Hair Mercury Levels among Kuwaiti Nationals,” relates this consumption to overall body burden of mercury, allowing a better understanding of the relationship between intake of fish and mercury levels found in hair samples.

Purpose

It is hoped that the dissertation's three studies will inform future work in the areas of risk reduction and risk management, so that more accurate risk assessments may be undertaken in the future. The research may also be used to create fish consumption advisories for the Kuwaiti population and other countries in the region.

Access, download, and share

To access or download a pdf copy of Mey Akashah's Harvard School of Public Health doctoral thesis, please visit Mey at Slideshare or Mey at Wordpress - and please share and/or like the page if you believe it is important and useful!


- Mey Akashah

Related articles

• My Harvard doctoral dissertation uploaded to SlideShare and Publications page
• My blog at Wordpress