Dear Colleagues,

The relevance of the effects of environmental pollution on the health of ecosystems is a global concern. Regarding human health, WHO estimates that polluted air is responsible for 7 million premature deaths, determined by a growing incidence of respiratory and cardiovascular pathologies. The impressive burden of disease related to air pollution—both in terms of new onset and worsening of existing pathologies—includes acute respiratory infections, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, stroke, heart disease, and neurological disorders. The adverse health outcomes are more severe in vulnerable groups of the population such as children and elderly people.

Recently, several studies have shown that an increase in drug prescriptions can be associated with air pollution, in particular for certain classes of medicinal products (e.g., respiratory and cardiovascular, according to Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification).

On the other hand, the same pharmaceuticals, although necessary to prevent and cure diseases, may in turn become a new and important threat for the environment, reaching surface waters and groundwater through domestic, hospital and industrial effluents where the excreted active ingredients and the disposal of unused drugs are collected.

This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive, multidisciplinary and updated view of the research focused on these two closely connected and challenging issues: the impact of environmental pollution on public health in terms of use of pharmaceuticals and the impact of pharmaceuticals on the health of the environment.

Prof. Giuliana Drava
Prof. Gabriele Caviglioli
Guest Editors

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• air quality
• disease burden
• environmental pollution
• health indicators
• medicinal prescriptions
• pharmaceutical waste