Annals of Global Health is a peer-reviewed, fully open access, online journal dedicated to publishing high quality articles dedicated to all aspects of global health. The journal's mission is to advance global health, promote research, and foster the prevention and treatment of disease worldwide. Its goals are to improve the health and well-being of all people, advance health equity, and promote wise stewardship of the earth's environment. The latest journal impact factor is 2.90. Annals of Global Health is supported by the Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good at Boston College. It was founded in 1934 by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai as the Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine. It is a partner journal of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health. From time to time, Annals of Global Health publishes Special Collections, a series of articles organized around a common theme in global health. Recent Special Collections have included "Local evidence and strategies in addressing NCDs Non-Communicable Diseases in Tanzania", "Universal Health Coverage through Integrated Care", and "The Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health". Global health workers interested in developing a Special Collection are strongly encouraged to contact the Managing Editor in advance to discuss the project.

Background: Cooking activities generate pollutants that can cause adverse health effects to occupants. This study aims to characterize the indoor air environment in small and medium food enterprises (SMEs), as studies in this area are scarce. Methods: A series of field measurements were conducted to investigate the IAQ at 14 SMEs selected in Pulau Pinang for three different cooking methods (frying, boiling, and baking). Data on environmental perception and health symptoms were obtained from 76 workers by using a validated questionnaire. Boosted regression tree (BRT) analysis and parametric tests were performed to evaluate the impact of the IAQ on the prevalence of disease symptoms. Results: The results showed that CO₂, temperature, and relative humidity were higher than the standard limits, while PM_2.5 and TVOC were below the standard limits. Using BRT analysis, CO₂ was indicated as the highest pollutant to cause complaints by workers (41.55%), followed by CO (21.93%), relative humidity (11.81%), temperature (10.66%), PM_2.5 (7.07%), and TVOC (6.99%). This study indicated that workers in SMEs food industries are affected by the indoor air quality at their workplace in which CO₂ was the main parameter influencing their health. This study suggests that future research focuses on boiling and frying SMEs with CO₂, CO, temperature, and relative humidity to be afforded emphasis.

This bibliometric study employs a rigorous approach to scrutinize and visually represent the existing body of literature on indoor air quality (IAQ). Utilizing the Scopus collection database, we conducted an exhaustive exploration of published research literature in the IAQ field. The study involves a thorough visual analysis using Harzing's Publish and Perish and VOSviewer software programs, examining parameters such as citations, publication year, journals, authors, research institutions, countries, and research topics. A total of 1729 pieces of literature related to IAQ research from 2018 to 2023 were retrieved. The dominant formats were articles and conference papers, underscoring their significance in IAQ documentation. Primary subject areas included “Engineering” and “Environmental Science,” highlighting the multidisciplinary nature of IAQ studies. The upward trend in IAQ publications, reaching 330 articles in 2023, emphasizes the growing importance of this field. However, citation impact varied, emphasizing the need to assess research quality alongside quantity. Global distribution identified leading countries, including the United States, China, and the United Kingdom, which were also top contributors in co‐authorship and country‐level analyses. The top journals were “ Building and Environment ” and “ Sustainable Cities and Society ,” showcasing varying publication and citation powers. Notable impactful articles in the IAQ domain were led by Agarwal et al. and Van Tran, Park, and Lee. Keyword co‐occurrence analysis identified thematic clusters, with keywords such as “Indoor Air Quality (IAQ),” “Air Quality,” and “Indoor Air Pollution” dominating the literature. Through a comprehensive analysis of published literature, this study provides a visual representation of studies with significant contributions to the IAQ field, offering insights into its development and changes from 2018 to 2023. The findings also guide future IAQ research directions.

Sick building syndrome (SBS) encompasses a range of non-specific symptoms experienced by occupants, commonly associated with poor indoor air quality (IAQ). This study investigated the associations between IAQ parameters and SBS symptoms among 124 office workers across six bank offices in Malaysia. Indoor PM2.5, PM10, CO2, TVOC, formaldehyde, temperature and relative humidity were measured using validated instruments, while SBS symptoms were assessed using standardized questionnaire adapted from the Industry Code of Practice of Indoor Air Quality (ICOPIAQ) 2010. Findings revealed that banks using split-unit air conditioning (AC) ventilation had higher concentration of PM2.5 and CO2, exceeding the recommended standards, compared to those using air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation (ACMV) ventilation type. The most prevalent symptoms were headache (47.6 %), cough (44.4 %), irritated and stuffy nose (38.7 %), irritation of eyes (35.5 %), fatigue (25 %), dizziness (25 %), feeling heavy-headed (24.2 %), and skin rash or itchiness (24.2 %). Among these, dizziness was significantly associated with PM2.5, PM10, CO2, and formaldehyde levels. These findings highlight the need for improved ventilation and IAQ management in bank offices. Public policies and interventions at organizational level are essential to mitigate SBS risks and safeguard worker health.

Workers in SME food industries are exposed to emissions from cooking processes that cause adverse health effects. This study evaluated the association of IAQ parameters in SME food industries with perceived IAQ symptoms. The most reported symptoms were fatigue, heavy-headedness, and headache. The study revealed significant associations between CO2 with fatigue symptoms (p = 0.0340), temperature with itching or burning eyes (p = 0.0111), and humidity with hoarse or dry throat symptom (p = 0.0013). The findings underscore the importance of addressing IAQ in SMEs cooking food industries to improve workers’ health and working conditions.

Introduction: Bushfire smoke (BFS) is an escalating global health concern, with increasing bushfire frequency due to climate change. Exposure to BFS significantly impacts public health due to worsening respiratory and cardiovascular conditions, causing increased of hospitalizations and mortality. While BFS exposure is linked to morbidity of these conditions, the underlying biological mechanisms, particularly oxidative stress and inflammation, remain unclear. Content: This systematic review (PROSPERO ID: CRD42024554409) synthesized evidence on oxidative stress and inflammatory biomarkers from BFS exposure. Comprehensive searches of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, and Cochrane Library were conducted. Fourteen studies met inclusion criteria, encompassing occupational and non-occupational populations. Risk of bias was assessed using NIH tools, and findings were synthesized narratively due to study heterogeneity. Commonly examined biomarkers included IL-8, IL-6, TNF- α , 8-isoprostane, malondialdehyde (MDA), and 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG). Summary: IL-8 emerged as the most consistent inflammatory biomarker, with a pooled random-effects analysis of three firefighter studies showing an acute post-shift increase in blood IL-8 (mean difference 9.76 pg/mL, 95 % CI –8.26 to 27.79), though with substantial heterogeneity. Other inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers showed mixed or inconsistent associations with BFS exposure. Small sample sizes, heterogeneous exposure assessment, inconsistent exposure metrics, and unadjusted confounding limited generalizability. Outlook: This review identifies IL-8 as the most consistent short-term biomarker of BFS exposure in occupational settings but highlights inconsistent evidence for other biomarkers. Future research should use standardized biomarker protocols, larger sample size, longitudinal designs, and include vulnerable populations to clarify biomarker responses to BFS and strengthen the evidence base for public health and occupational safety measures.