week1 intro Flashcards
name the types of environmental factors and give examples of each
chemical - air & water pollutants, pesticides, consumer products
physical - (anything that has to do w/ the propagation of energy) radiation, noise, heat, light pollution
Biological - ( living organism/originate from living organism) - bacteria, viruses, protozoa in water, mold in food
Social/Cultural - ( socioeconomic status) - SES, ethnicity, education, neighborhoods
explain the difference between acute and chronic exposure
acute - high level, sudden (oil spill)
chronic - low-level continuous exposures that may lead to disease in the long term (radon, air pollution, smoking)
Describe 6 challenges in linking an environmental factor and disease.
1) Latency (latent period) - long time between exposure and response (e.g. 20-25 yrs for solid tumors)
2) Multi-factorial etiology - many factors influence the occurrence and severity of dz. (e.g. carcinogenesis)
3) Disease non-specificity – most dz’s have multiple causes besides environmental agents.
The dz “looks” the same (e.g. non-specific symptoms- sore throat, headache, fatigue)
4) Individual characteristics- susceptibility (genetic factors) & effect modifiers (diet, habit, health, med’s)
5) Exposure misclassification - (dose reported into wrong group low, med, high exposure. if that happens it will mask results) dose- response relationships that are “lost” in grouped epi studies, leading to heterogeneous cohorts.
6) Mixed exposures - multiple agent exposures, producing multiple dz and synergism
Define the environmental risk transitions
(5 of them)
1) changes in the environmental health risks due to economic development
2) industrialization, biological factors often controlled first, i.e. by sanction
3) industrial/agricultural development create massive dependence on man made agents-chemical and physical
4) lifestyle changes
5) shift in pattern of morbidity and mortality from infectious and communicable diseases to chronic degenerative diseases
Describe one environmental catastrophe
Although they are listed in the answer it may be wise to study in greater detail-one of them
London smog-1952-burning coal in cold winter (chemical)
(Also combo w/ stagnant air)
Minamata disease-(1953-1961)-methylmercury poisoning-(chemical)
Bhopal (1984)-16.5 tons of toxic pesticide chemical released-(chemical)
Chernobyl (1986)-nuclear reactor accident-(physical)
Milwaukee incident (1993)-cryptosporidium in drinking water (biological)
What is environmental health?
Aspects of human health, including quality-of-life, that are determined by physical, chemical, biological, and social/cultural factors in the environment
Environmental health is a multi disciplinary field. Please list the other disciplines and explain how they are relevant?
Epidemiology-look at patterns of disease
Toxicology-look at mechanisms of disease
Engineering-develop solutions/modifications to reduce exposure
Preventative medicine-reduce disease
Law-protect public
Occupational health-workplace
Behavioral sciences-why people engage in behaviors look at how to modify behaviors
Cryptospordiosis outbreak, Milwaukee details?
1993
Cryptosporidium parvum: protozoan parasite
> 400,000 sick
> 100 died
Immuno compromise people were especially susceptible
Source-public drinking water
-Possible environmental sources: runoff from dairy farms, human sewage, wildlife
Water system was not adequate to handle the level of oocytes
