Health And Environment: Local And Global Perspectives Flashcards
Environmental health encompasses ___________ of those environmental factors that can potentially affect health.
assessment and control
What are the immediate factors affecting man according to the conceptual framework?
(1) health behaviors and lifestyle
(2) socioeconomic characteristics
(3) features of the society
(4) built environment
(5) natural environment
(6) global ecosystem
Impact of a health problem measured in financial cost, mortality, morbidity, or other significant indicators
Burden of disease
Measure of overall burden of disease (gap between current and ideal health status)
Daily adjusted life years (cumulative number of years lost due to ill health, disabilities, or early death)
Diseases with largest absolute burden from environmental exposure
Diarrhea
Lower respiratory infections
Malaria
The burden of disease causes fall disproportionately on
Poor people and children
Why is the number of DALYs about five times greater in children ≤5 years than in the total population?
Children are not aware of the environmental hazards around them
Exposure response paradigm
Hazards > Exposure pathway > Dose response > Health effects
Source of arsenic exposure in bangladesh
Tube wells
Other options for safe water
Treated surface water
Rainwater
Treated groundwater
Deep aquifers
Source of diarrhea outbreak in bilibid
Contaminated water from deep wells
Categories of quality of water
Microbiological Quality of Water (usual source of outbreaks and epidemics)
Chemical Quality of Water (generally of lower importance) Ex. Arsenicosis
Why does asia and africa remain the modt vulnerable to water related diseases?
Greater rate of urbanization in these areas
Decreased urban water supply coverage
(81% of Asians and 64% of Africans have access to safe drinking-water sources)
Urban populations in the developing world will double in the next 25 years
Characteristics of high risk water source
Uncovered/unprotected
Latrines are located near the water source and/or on higher ground
Solid waste pits, animal excreta, and other pollution sources are located near the water source
Presence of stagnant water within five meters of the water source (Contaminants may leach)
Containers used for sample collection are unclean
Differentiate water borne, water washed, waterbased and water vectored
- Water-borne (transmission: ingestion of contaminated water, carrier of the infectious agent or pathogen: water• Associated with diarrheal diseases • Ex. cholera, typhoid fever, hepatitis A and E, amoebiasis, cryptosporidiosis)
- Water-washed (Transmission depends on the quantity of water used, rather than the quality. Types: a. Infection carried by lice Ex. Louse-born epidemic typhus b. Infection of the skin or eyes Ex. Scabies, fungal infections, trachoma)
- Water-based (Agent spends part of its life cycle in water (ex. snail or other aquatic animals) Transmission: contact with water Ex. Schistosomiasis)
- Water-vectored (Spread by insects which breed in water or bite near water, contact with water is not needed for infection to occur • Ex. Malaria, dengue fever, filariasis)
How can the chemistry of water lead to disease?
- absence or lack of necessary constituent
2. Excess of a harmful chemical
These chemicals come from fertilizers and run off into bodies of water. They can cause methemoglobinemia among infants when reduced.
Nitrates (hazardous above 45 mg/L)
an inorganic substance which causes poor growth of bones and teeth in the young when deficient and mottling of tooth enamel when in excess (above 2 mg/L) and stiffness and pain in the joins and skeletal deformities when chronically exposed (4mg/L)
Fluoride
**Fluorosis
inorganic substance which is a heavy metal produced from industrial wastes and causes itai-itai disease which leads to osteomalacia and osteoporosis (Toyama Prefecture, Japan, 1950)
Cadmium
Examples of organic substances found in water
chlorinated hydrocarbons, carbamates, organophosphates
How can we prevent imbalance of chemicals in water?
proper implementation of policies (i.e.: Enivronmental Compliance Certificate and Environmental Health Impact Assessment: companies to submit plans, profile of area, waste disposal)
What are some physical characteristics of water?
Turbidity (blurrness due to contaminants; common in surface water)
Color
Odor
What is the environmental health significance of water?
Aesthetics (undesirable=undrinkable)
Filterability (more difficult and costly: reverse osmosis)
Disinfection (agent maybe incased in particles present)
__% of the world’s population has no access to sanitation facilities
42 (2.6 billion people; 75% in asia)
In developing countries, there is a low perecentge of wastewater treated
14% in Latin America and the Caribbeans
34% in Asia
Practically no treatement in Africa
Fecal pollution of drinking water can lead to diseases such as
Cholera, typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever
Salmonellosis, shigellosis, giardiasis
hepatitis, poliomyelitis
Some barriers to progress in sanitation
- inadequate and poorly used resources (1 toilet for every 25 people)
- inappropriate approaches
- the low importance given to women and children
What is the most significant factor affecting indoor air quality in rural areas of developing countries?
emissions from combustion of biomass fuels and coal used for cooking and heating
People from the present generation spend __% of time indoors
75-90%
T or F: indoor environments trap pollutants
true (levels may be 2-5x higher indoors)
air pollution primarily affects which organ systems
respiratory, circulatory and olfactory systems
(Sensitive subpopulations to air pollution)
Adults that are biomass users may develop _______
chronic bronchitis
(Sensitive subpopulations to air pollution)
Adults that are COAL users may develop ________
lung cancer
(Sensitive subpopulations to air pollution)
Children are susceptible to
lower respiratory tract illnesses
molds which have allergic effects leading to persistent rhinitis, sneezing and eye irritation
Exposure to this may lead to irritation and inflammation of the upper and lower respiratory tract leadin to rhinitis, cough, wheezing, worsening of asthma
inhalable particles in wood smoke
Characteristics of impact of air pollution on humans
synergistic
air pollutants may settle on surfaces or food so the routes of entry can be through the skin or ingestion
Syndrome wherein building occupants experience acute health effects that appear to be linked to time spent in that building (usu airconditioned)
Sick building syndrome
Sick building syndrome is usually caused by:
poor ventilation
contaminants (chemical and biological)
inadequate temperature and humidity
Symptoms involved in sick building syndrome
dry, itchy skin headaches dizziness, nausea difficulty concentrating, fatigue eyes, nose, throat irritation dry cough
What are the various environmental changes now occurring worldwide?
extreme weather events
thermal stress
higher UV radiation in middle to high latitudes
food and water shortages
toxic persistent organic pollutatnts (POPs)
Change in world climate comes from what
alteration of lower atmosphere properties brought by the recent rapid increase in human-induced greenhouse gas emissions
Some health effects involved in global climate change are
heat stroke
drowning, dehydration, diarrheal disease, psychological trauma
malnutrition, growth retardation, developmental delay
malaria, dengue fever, other VB diseases
at least how many years must be ovserved to actually consider the presence of global climate change?
30 years
In the Philippines, regions with high temperature spikes experience what?
drought (i.e.: Isablea province in Cagayan Valley)
What are some concerns regarding exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals?
- Adverse effects in certain wildlife, fish and ecosystems
- Increased incidence of certain endocrine-related human diseases
- Endocrine disruption observed in lab animals exposed to certain environmental chemicals
What are some examples of potential endocrine disrupting chemicals?
Persistent organic pollutants
Natural and synthetic hormones
Plant constituents
Compounds used in plastic industry and consumer products
Other industrial by-products and pollutants
Pesticides
Personal care products may have small amounts
What are some characteristics of EDCs?
often pervasive
Often widely dispersed in the environment
some are persistent
others are rapidly degraded in the environenment or human body or may be present for only short periods of time
(trees)
T or F: EDCs can cause reproductive disorders (male repro tract abnormalities, decreased semen, early menarche, altered sex ratio) and certain hormone related cancers (breast, testicular)
true
What are some methods of taking action in environmental problems mentioned?
- Interventon implementation
- Communication and Public Awareness
- Advocacy and Public Policy
- Research
- Education
What is the focus of clinical intervention model?
diagnosis and treatment of sick person (to avoid death)
What is the focus of public health intervention model?
attaining safe environment and preventing exposure to pollutants
The strategies involved in PH intervention model are:
Environmental modification
Policy implementation
health education and promotion
immunization
