Household Energy Insecurity and COVID-19 Have Independent and Synergistic Health Effects on Vulnerable Populations.

Household energy insecurity (HEINS) is detrimental to the health of the poor and most vulnerable in resource-poor settings. However, this effect amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and the uneven implementation of restrictions can create a synergistic burden of diseases and health risks for the most vulnerable in low- and middle-income countries, exacerbating the health equity gap. Based on existing literature, this paper develops three key arguments: (1) COVID-19 increases the health risks of energy insecurity; (2) HEINS increases the risk of spreading COVID-19; and (3) the co-occurrence of COVID-19 and HEINS will have compounding health effects.

The Increasing Prevalence in Intersex Variation from Toxicological Dysregulation in Fetal Reproductive Tissue Differentiation and Development by Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals.

An increasing number of children are born with intersex variation (IV; ambiguous genitalia/hermaphrodite, pseudohermaphroditism, etc.). Evidence shows that endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in the environment can cause reproductive variation through dysregulation of normal reproductive tissue differentiation, growth, and maturation if the fetus is exposed to EDCs during critical developmental times in utero.