Human health and the environment Flashcards
top 5 environment and health issues
- population density
- air quality
- water quality
- extreme weather events
- infectious diseases and non infectious diseases and more complex issues like malnutrition
how are the environment and health linked
inextricably
what can the quality of out built and natural environment have direct effects on
- health and wellbeing
- behaviour
emerging threats
- climate change, extreme weather and human health
- chemical mixtures, envtly sensitive genes, vulnerable/more susceptible populations
- microbial pollution of aquatic environments
how can the environment help health and wellbeing
- diabetes and obesity can be prevented if people go outdoors and move
- good for mental health
- virtual environments
- aquatic envts are good
- good for aging populations
Cornwall and radon
- uks hotspot for radon
- naturally occurring radioactive gas
- occurs from decay of minerals like uranium
- particles go into lungs so bad for health
- igneous rocks correspond to radon
- association, but further research needed
how do we measure radon in human contact
dose
exposure
radon health effects
- risk factor for lung cancer
- cause of 3% of deaths from lung cancer in uk, most combined with smoking
- skin cancer too
skin cancer in cornwall
maybe cus they spend time outside
3 types of skin cancer
- malignant melanoma
- basal cell carcinoma
- squamous cell carcinoma
two key measures and what are they
- mortality (no. of deaths)
- morbidity (disability adjusted life years (DALYs))
what does one DALY represent
one year lived at full health lost
what do DALYs rely on for weightings
- severity of disease/disability
- value of a year of healthy life e.g. age
problem with DALYs
haven’t been created for positive states, only talk about severity of reduction on health
Environmental burden of disease
- population attributable fraction
- fraction of incidence of a disease in a population that is accounted for by exposure to hazard
