Fifteen years of health-and-environment research in Slovenia

Carli, Tanja (author), Kukec, Andreja (author), Zaletel-Kragelj, Lijana (author), Eržen, Ivan (author)

The environment in which we are born, live, work, and age is an important determinant of human health. This review summarises key epidemiological studies conducted over the past 15 years at the Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, in collaboration with experts in public health, clinical medicine, and other health and environmental disciplines. Methodological approaches for linking health and environmental data, including advanced spatial epidemiological methods to assess the impact of ambient air pollutants on respiratory diseases and diabetes, were highlighted. Considering the observed health outcomes among children and adolescents, new tools were developed and validated to estimate the prevalence of asthma and sleep-related problems among youths. In adults, the review examines the lifetime prevalence of first and recurrent systemic allergic reactions to bee venom among beekeepers, emphasising the need for effective risk-management strategies. Overall, the studies demonstrated the value of integrating health and environmental data to better understand and address public health challenges in Slovenia. The findings underscore the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in developing evidence-based public health policies to mitigate environmental health risks and promote a high quality of life for present and future generations.

• Language: English
• Keywords: environmental medicine, epidemiology, methods, research
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.03 - Other scientific articles
• Organization: MF - Faculty of Medicine
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: 4 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 65, no. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-186380
• UDC: 614
• ISSN on article: 0351-0026
• DOI: 10.2478/sjph-2026-0001
• COBISS.SI-ID: 270729731
• Publication date in RUL: 31.08.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Slovenian journal of public health
• Publisher: Zavod LRS za zdravstveno varstvo, Republiški zdravstveni center, Zavod LRS za zdravstveno varstvo, Republiški zdravstveni center, Nacionalni inštitut za javno zdravje, Inštitut za varovanje zdravja Republike Slovenije, Univerzitetni zavod za zdravstveno in socialno varstvo
• ISSN: 0351-0026
• COBISS.SI-ID: 3287810

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Petnajst let raziskovanja na področju zdravja in okolja v Sloveniji

Abstract

Okolje, v katerem se rodimo, živimo, delamo in staramo, je pomembna determinanta zdravja. Namen prispevka je predstaviti ključne epidemiološke raziskave s področja zdravja in okolja v zadnjih 15 letih, zasnovane in izvedene na Katedri za javno zdravje, Medicinske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani, v sodelovanju s strokovnjaki s področja javnega zdravja, klinične medicine ter drugih zdravstvenih in okoljskih ved. Izpostavljeni so metodološki pristopi za povezovanje zdravstvenih in okoljskih podatkov z uporabo naprednih prostorskih epidemioloških metod za ocenjevanje vpliva onesnažil v zunanjem zraku na bolezni dihal in sladkorno bolezen. V populacijski skupini otrok in mladostnikov pomemben metodološki doprinos predstavlja razvoj in validacija novih orodij za oceno prevalence astme in motenj spanja. V odrasli populaciji pregled izpostavlja nacionalno raziskavo med slovenskimi čebelarji, kjer je bila z razvojem in validacijo novega orodja ocenjena prevalenca prve in ponovne sistemske alergijske reakcije po piku čebele. Raziskave dokazujejo pomembnost povezovanja zdravstvenih in okoljskih podatkov z namenom boljšega razumevanja in reševanja izzivov na področju javnega zdravja. Ugotovitve poudarjajo pomembnost interdisciplinarnega sodelovanja pri oblikovanju na dokazih temelječih javnozdravstvenih politik za zmanjšanje okoljskih tveganj in spodbujanja visoke kakovosti življenja sedanjih in prihodnjih generacij.

• Keywords: okoljska medicina, epidemiologija, metode, raziskovanje