EPA: Progress on clean air thwarted by climate changeLevels of air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and lead have declined significantly since 1990 in the U.S., thanks mainly to federal regulation of power sources, industry and transportation. But some air pollutants have recently spiked because of climate change, eating into progress on clean air, according to a new assessment from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.Wildfires, dust storms and other natural disasters are worsening and becoming more frequent because of increasing temperatures, releasing pollutants into the air. Since 2022, fine-particle pollution, carbon monoxide and ground-level ozone have all increased because of climate change, EPA said in its annual report, released Aug. 16.While unhealthy air days in the U.S. have fallen dramatically over the past 20 years, they jumped in 2023 as much of the nation was blanketed with smoke from U.S. and Canadian wildfires. Climate changes in temperature, precipitation and drought are affecting both the severity and timing of wildfires. In the Western U.S., wildfire season has grown from about five months in the 1970s to as much as seven months today, with more fires starting earlier in the year. California has experienced more than 5,300 wildfires already this year, with about 827,000 acres burned. Women in US have worse health than their international peersThe health of women in the U.S. continues to lag behind other high-income nations on a wide range of measures, a new Commonwealth Fund issue brief finds. Released Aug. 15, the brief found that women in the U.S. had lower life expectancy, less access to affordable and more maternal deaths than their peers in 2023. The research compared the U.S. to 14 other high-income countries — including Canada, the U.K., France, Sweden and Australia — with the highest rate of avoidable deaths found among American women. Women in the U.S. also experienced greater racial and ethnic health disparities.While the U.S. spends more on health care than any other nation, women in the country skipped needed care because of costs at a higher rate than all comparison nations. About 10 million working-age women lack health insurance in the U.S., and copayments, coinsurance and deductibles present barriers for some who do have it.Limited access to primary care and inadequate coordination of health services also pose problems for women, the brief said.Compared to women in the other high-income nations, women in the U.S. also:• had the lowest life expectancy, averaging 80 years; • had high rates of unmet mental health and social needs, such as having a safe place to live or stable job;• experienced the highest rate of maternal deaths;• were more likely to die of heart disease, averaging double the rate of Japan; • were more likely to take multiple prescriptions daily; and• were less likely to have a regular source of health care.Chemicals in sunscreen, makeup linked to pregnancy hypertensionCommon personal care products contain a range of chemicals that can raise blood pressure in pregnant women, new research shows. Published Aug. 14 in Environmental Health Perspectives, the study found exposure to a mixture of phenol and paraben chemicals was associated with higher blood pressure during pregnancy, especially at 24 to 28 weeks of gestation. Study participants experienced both mild and severe levels of hypertension.Chemicals in the mixture — including bisphenol A, triclocarbon, triclosan, methyl paraben and benzophenone — are found in products such as sunscreen, makeup, soap and mouthwash. Some of the chemicals are used to preserve products, prevent mold growth and protect them from exposure to UV light. Previous research has detected phenol and paraben chemicals in about 90% of people in the U.S.High blood pressure during pregnancy can lead to stroke or preeclampsia in women and reduce blood flow to the fetus, resulting in low birthweight and premature birth. Rates of high blood pressure during pregnancy have doubled in the U.S., with about 70,300 women experiencing the condition in 2021, a recent study found.The research team for the new study — which was led by scientists at Northeastern University, Emory University and the University of Michigan —called for better labeling of products to warn about exposures as well as increased product safety. Deaths for Black drivers accelerateDeath rates for Black drivers have soared in the U.S. in recent years, a new study says.From 2014 to 2020, the per capita death rate for Black drivers rose by more than 50%, according to the research in JAMA Surgery. While deaths among white drivers also rose, the increase was not nearly as rapid or high. If the death rate for Black drivers had stayed level after 2014, there would have been about 9,300 fewer deaths among the population, said the study, which was published as a research letter on Aug. 14. The largest jump in deaths among Black drivers was from 2019 to 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers attributed the increase to changes in driving behavior rather than with shifts in the built environment or car engineering.Black drivers who died during the study period were more likely to be younger and driving later at night. Rates of speeding, unlicensed operation of a vehicle and driving without a seatbelt increased among the drivers who died, as did positive blood test results for alcohol, cannabis and opioids.While the research did not speculate as to what contributed to the change in behaviors in 2020, the year was one of significant strife. Employment declined by a record-setting amount in 2020, with highest unemployment rates among people of color. People of color also experienced more COVID-19 cases and deaths in 2020. And in May of that year, the police murder of Minneapolis resident George Floyd drew attention to ongoing racism and injustice against Black Americans, sparking nationwide protests.Other recent public health news of note includes:• When landowners decline to allow hydraulic fracturing on their property, companies sometimes use legalized compulsion to conduct it without their consent, a study in Nature Energy finds.• Women referred to additional breast cancer screening after a mammography may have to travel nearly three times as far as their initial appointment, limiting access for those who can need it most, according to research in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.• A study in PLOS One says homicide rates are a major reason for the gap in life expectancy between Black and white men.• Deficiencies in action by Mississippi health leaders and inadequate oversight by EPA contributed to the drinking water crisis in Jackson, which left 160,000 people without safe drinking water, according to a report from the federal agency’s Office of Inspector General. • The shipping industry has cut sulfur emissions, helping reduce air pollution near ports. But because those emissions created “track clouds” that helped cool the atmosphere, ending them has increased global warming, reports research in Geophysical Research Letters.The Watch is written by Michele Late, who has more than two decades of experience as a public health journalist.