Environmental Flashcards

1
Q

What is the evidence that obesity has become an epidemic?

A

1 in 2 people are now overweight or obese in OECD countries

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2
Q

an unhealthy excuse of adipose tissue

A

obesity

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3
Q

measure used to define normal weight, overweight, and obese categories

A

BMI

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4
Q

overweight BMI

A

25-29.9

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5
Q

obese BMI

A

over 30

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6
Q

total weight of fat divided by total weight

A

body fat eprcentge

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7
Q

what is the range over overweight for body fat percentage?

A

33%-39%

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8
Q

what is the range for obese for body fat percentage?

A

39%

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9
Q

considers the body fat mass and divides in by height

A

fat mass index

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10
Q

what are the limitations of BMI?

A

does not take into consideration what composes the masses of our bodies

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11
Q

What is an explanation for why higher body fat would increase risk to cancer?

A

fat tissues produce excess hormones, higher levels of IGF-1 which promote tumor development

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12
Q

What has changes in our eating habits that may be contributing to obesity?

A

people are eating out more, people are eating more fast food, sedentary life styles

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13
Q

What are some key bult enviornment constructs that impact obesity?

A

walkability indicies, food enviornment, recreational enviornment

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14
Q

which SES subgroup is more vulnerable to obesity due to built environment?

A

low SES

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15
Q

What are some key recommendations to curb childhood obesity?

A

discourage early food introductions, foster self feeding and responsive eating, discourage SSB consumption - no soda or juice

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16
Q

What are some of the underlying causes of childhood obesity?

A

childhood advertising, technology, physical activity

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17
Q

how do endocrine disrupters affect obesity

A

chemicals alter metabolic programming in early life and cause obesity/metabolic syndrome

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18
Q

What is an example of an endocrine disrupter than has been show to induce fat mass in rates?

A

polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

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19
Q

why is studying occupational exposures so crucial to environmental health?

A

much of our knowledge about exposure assessment comes from occupational settings - workers are exposed to a greater number of dangerous chemicals, and we attempt to extrapolate to the public

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20
Q

what are some occupational exposures to silica?

A

sand blasting, constriction, mining

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21
Q

what are some potential health effects of silica and coal dust exposures?

A

silicosis, lung cancer, renal damage, autoimmune disorders, desert lung disease, podoconiosis

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22
Q

responsible for worker protection from chemical and physical hazards

A

occupational safety and Health Administration

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23
Q

two major US agencies that make decisions regarding various environmental exposures

A

FDA and EPA

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24
Q

commonly referred to as the Superfund, was enacted to tax the chemical and petroleum industries and provide federal authority to respond directly to releases of threatened releases of hazardous substances that endanger the enviornment

A

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

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25
Q

What are the 4 steps of risk assessment?

A

hazard identification, dose-responses assessment and exposure assessment, and risk characterixation

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26
Q

answers: what are the health effects caused by the chemical?

A

hazard identification

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27
Q

probability of a hazard resulting in an adverse health outcome

A

risk

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28
Q

the inherent potential for something to cause harm

A

hazard

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29
Q

the amount of time or level of exposure to a hazard

A

exposure

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30
Q

the US EPA’s maximum acceptable oral dose of a toxic substance - can be consumed every day for life without any adverse effectss

A

reference dose

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31
Q

a term from the EPA to identify the risk associated with a unit dose of carcinogen

A

cancer slope factor

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32
Q

what is NOAEL?

A

no observable adverse effect level

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33
Q

what is LOAEL?

A

lowest observable adverse effect level

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34
Q

what information is needed to calculate exposure?

A

concentration, how much exposure, how often, and BMI

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35
Q

What was the first hazard identification for Coeur d-Alen?

A

Outbreak of children with lead poison within the region, looked at environmental chemical composition to analyze for contaminants

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36
Q

How was the toxicity assessment done in the coeur d-Alene clean up?

A

evaluation was conducted of the scientific evidence from animal and human epidmiologic studies for cancer and non-cancer outcomes

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37
Q

How was exposure assessment done for the coeur d-Alene clean up?

A

estimates of intakes were estimated for soil, sediment, drinking water, etc

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38
Q

How was risk characterization done for the coeur d-Alene clean up?

A

each segment of the population had its exposures to 7 metals estimates, and a hazard index was calculated

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39
Q

the study of adverse effects of chemical agents on people and animals

A

toxicology

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40
Q

widely used for many applications, but caused skin conditions, fatigue, headache, and poor cognition in children

A

PCBs

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41
Q

What is the source of PCBs?

A

liquid insulators, transformers, capacitors, coolants

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42
Q

the process by which toxic substances accumulate in the tissues of living organisms

A

bioaccumulation

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43
Q

fat soluble chemicals are ___ likely to bioaccumulate

A

more

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44
Q

____ chemicals are not readily metabolized, so they are more likely to accumulate

A

chlorinated

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45
Q

the change in health effect with a change in dose of a substance

A

dose response

46
Q

what is the challenge with low doses?

A

it’s possibly the biggest challenge in environmental toxicology - vast majority of human exposures are in this area, and extrapolation is required

47
Q

what are the 4 dose response curve shapes?

A

sigmoidal, linear, supra linear, sublinear

48
Q

Why do we chose to flourodiate water sources?

A

fluoride makes us less likely to develop cavities

49
Q

what are P=450s?

A

enzymes that metabolize drugs, toxicants making them more water soluble and facilitating their eliminations

50
Q

What is an example of a CYp450 inducer and inhibitor?

A

rifampin and ondansetron (herb rosemary, grapefruit juice)

51
Q

Where was lead historically used in the US?

A

building materials, ceramics, pipes, decorative fixtures, paints

52
Q

What was the early evidence that gasoline and leaded paint were a major source of exposure?

A

researchers could look at the cumulative effect, including with teeth, and were able to correlative high lead levels to lower cognitive ad social function

53
Q

What is the current acceptable blood lead level in children?

A

5 micro grams/dl

54
Q

What is the major mode of action of lead?

A

compromises the blood brain barrier?

55
Q

What treatments reduce lead burden in individuals?

A

2,3 - dimercaptosuccinic acid

56
Q

what are 5 examples of evidence that a consistent global warming is happening?

A

1.1C rise is US avg temp over the last 50 years, 8 inch sea level rise, oceans are 30% more acidic, increases in heavy downpours, atlantic seas surface temp is 2 degrees celsius above average, destructive atlantic tropical storms have increased

57
Q

some of the infrared radiation passes through the atmosphere, but most is absorbed and reemitted in all directions by been house gas molecules and clouds, which warms the early temperatures are the lower atmosphere

A

greenhouse effect

58
Q

name the 6 green house gases of concern?

A

carbon dioxide, ozone, nitrous oxide, methane, water vapor, halocarbons

59
Q

what are 3 human causes of global warming?

A

increased beef and methane, little change before industrial era, global mean temps are rising faster with time

60
Q

what are some examples of environmental changes that were predicted and came true

A

norfolk VA sea level rise, NYC sea level rise, rising floods in bangladesh

61
Q

what health effects will be exacerbated by climate change?

A

allergies, extreme storms, heat stress, food and waterborne diseases, infectious disease, air pollution and asthma

62
Q

linking models for global and regional climate, land use and cover, and air quality to examine the potential public c health impacts of heat and air pollution under alternative scenarios of climate change and regional land use in the future in the NYC metropolitan region

A

The New Yrok Climate and Health Project

63
Q

interventions to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases

A

mitigation

64
Q

initiatives to reduce the vulnerability of natural systems against expected effects of climate change

A

adaptation

65
Q

What are some example son mitigation options?

A

GHG laws and regulation, energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, biological carbon sequestration, waste management, decarbonization

66
Q

What are some key elements to global warming preparedness?

A

identifying vulnerabilities, tracking, climate smart design, public education

67
Q

What makes DDT such a big problem, compared to modern pesticides?

A

chlorinated, so it doesn’t degrade in the environment, and has a very long half-life

68
Q

What mechanism makes organophosphate insecticides a neurotoxicant?

A

inhibits acetylcholinesterase, which breaks down acetylcholine, leading to too much acetylcholine and a hyper stimulation of the nerve cell

69
Q

What country in New york has the highest pesticide use?

A

manhattan, because of rats

70
Q

what is the effect of chlorpyrifos on children?

A

mental and motor delays, attentions problems, ADHD, pervasive developmental disorder

71
Q

why are children at greater risk with respect to exposure of neurotoxins and pesticides?

A

breathe more, eat more, hand to mouth activity, and closer to the ground

72
Q

what is some evidence that mercury is a toxicant?

A

minimal, and other contamination disasters showed neuropsychological outcomes

73
Q

what disease does prenatal methyl mercury exposure result in?

A

MInimata disease (malformations and/or mental retardation)

74
Q

What is the evidence that the environment plays a role in idiopathicparkinson’s disease?

A

MPTP causes similar effects as parkinson because it causes cell death

75
Q

how does manganeseaffect the nervous system differently then MDTP?

A

mdtp causes cell death, manganese does not cause death but rather inhibits dopamine

76
Q

what is the current population, and where is it headed?

A

7 billion, headed up with more than 85% of all population growth in the last 200 years

77
Q

What are the growth drivers of population change?

A

local agriculture, global agriculture, public health, improved health care and sanitation

78
Q

What are the decline drivers of population change?

A

fertility control, wars, diseases, hunger

79
Q

What is total fertility rate?

A

average number of children per woman per lifetime

80
Q

why is the ideal TFR set at 2.1?

A

to have 100 girl babies the earlier generation has to produce 2016 babies, but some will die before reproducing, so they must bear 210 babies to replace themselves

81
Q

How has contraception affected growth of the population, and what unmet need is there?

A

slowed population increase in developed countries, but there is little birth control in developing countries

82
Q

What happens to TFR when women are educated?

A

start having children later, have fewer children, and enhance the survival of the children they have

83
Q

What are some of the current drivers for population increase trends?

A

infant mortality rates are declining, life expectancy is increasing

84
Q

What does the myth of overpopulation argue?

A

we could fit everyone in the land size of texas

85
Q

How is overpopulation harming the environment?

A

at the limit carrying capacity, have just enough land to sustain where we are, but arable land is decreasing due to overarming

86
Q

What is the overpopulation impact on fish?

A

overfishing - some species are becoming endangered

87
Q

How much land is used for livestock?

A

30%

88
Q

How is co2 affectiong out oceans?

A

making it more acidic, killing off some species like coral reefs

89
Q

What is happening to our fish water supplied?

A

decreasing

90
Q

What are the 2 suggestions for controlling future population growth?

A

contraception and maternal health services, feed the most vulnerable, education

91
Q

what happened with the donors for?

A

main industry was to produce zinc, but thermal inversion trapped a pocket of cool air, toxic gasses began to build up, many died or became sick

92
Q

what happened in the great london smog?

A

thermal inversion happened and 4,000 people died from respiratory tract infections

93
Q

what is the clean air act?

A

required the EPA to set and enforce limits for six criteria pollutants

94
Q

what are the 6 criteria pollutants

A

sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, participates, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, lead

95
Q

harmful substance that is emitted directly into the atmosphere

A

primary air pollutant

96
Q

harmful substance formed in the atmosphere when a primary air pollutant reacts with substances normally found in the atmosphere

A

secondary air pollutant

97
Q

warm air near the surface traps cool air, and an pollution released into this pocket of trapped cool air

A

thermal inversion

98
Q

is sulfur dioxide primary or secondary

A

primary

99
Q

is smog a primary or secondary pollutant

A

secondary - formed when sunlight reacts with air pollution

100
Q

why is carbon dioxide so dangerous

A

directly interferes with ability of blood cells to transport oxygens

101
Q

how does particulate size affect human health?

A

the smaller they ae the more likely they are to be inhaled nd loved in the bronchial tissue

102
Q

is ozone a primary or secondary pollutant

A

secondary

103
Q

chemicals that react with nitrous oxide in the presence of sunlight, converting o2 to ozone

A

volatile organic compounds

104
Q

what are some sources of VOCs?

A

paints, paint strippers, and car exhausts

105
Q

how does the clean air act affect businesses?

A

encourages the use of market based principles to push the use of cleaner fuels and promotes energy conservation

106
Q

what is the best epidemiological approach to investigate air pollution health effects?

A

cohort studies - ecological level

107
Q

what are some commonly used biomass fuels?

A

agricultural waste, wood, etc

108
Q

what are some health effects attributable to indoor biomass burning?

A

stroke, heart ceases, cold, lung cancer

109
Q

why is biomass a low efficiency energy system?

A

incomplete combustion, which is hazardous to health

110
Q

what populations are most affected by biomass combustion?

A

children, women, and poor

111
Q

what strategies are the ghana randomized air pollution health study using?

A

biotite stoves, LPG stoves