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Introduction to Environmental Health

Introduction to Environmental Health. KEMU 2014. Overview. Birth, Life, Death and Environment - First appearance of humans Life Expectancy 30-40 years

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Introduction to Environmental Health

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  1. Introduction to Environmental Health KEMU 2014

  2. Overview • Birth, Life, Death and Environment - First appearance of humans Life Expectancy 30-40 years - To survive the first humans had to cope with . The constant search for food and drinking water . Avoid natural toxins , infections and parasites . Injuries from falls, fires and animal attacks . Cold and hot temperatures, rain, snow , natural disasters and other adverse conditions

  3. Traditional Hazards vs Modern hazards • Increase in LE due to environmental quality , better nutrition and medical care • Some points to ponder - how many children are born in our country every year and how many of them die? - Are there any environmental factors behind these deaths? - what will be the main health problems in next 20-30 years for adults in our country? - Will any of these be related to environment?

  4. Health and Environment • Health – • Environment : All which is external to the individual human host, Can be divided into Physical, biological , social , cultural etc., any or all of which can influence the health status of a population (1995) • Environmental Health : comprises those aspects of human health including quality of life that are determined by physical , social , biological and psychological factors in the environment. It also refers to the theory and practice of assesssing , correcting , controlling and preventing those factors in the environment that can potentially effect adversely the health of present and future generations (WHO )

  5. Basic Requirements for a Healthy Environment • Clean Air • Safe and Sufficient Water • Adequate and Safe food • Safe and peaceful settlements • Stable global environment

  6. Link b/w Environmental and Occupational Health • 100 million workforce injuries and 200.000 occupational deaths are reported in addition to millions of cases of illnesses due to chronic exposure to Noise , Infectious agents , Biochemical hazards, and toxic chemicals (ILO Encyclopedia of Occupational health and safety) • Link b/w environment and occupational health - Source of hazard is often the same • Environmentally inappropriate substitutes eg. Chlourofluoro carbons instead of ammonia in refrigerators

  7. LINK contd. • OHE has been used to calculate the risk to wider community • - Lead , mercury , asbestos, arsenic and nickel • ( WHO set criteria for Air quality in work place and General environment ) lead exposure 8 hrs. mean 30-60 ug/m3 , mercury 50, NO2 900 • - 1942, Cadmium in french alkaline batteries, lead to osteomalacia and multiple fractures in factory workers • - Itai- Itai disease in Japan ( Osteomalacia + renal pathology )

  8. Contributors to the environment • Chemical - air pollutants, toxic wastes, pesticides • Biologic - disease organisms present in food, water and air • Physical - noise, ionizing and non ionizing radiation • Socioeconomic - socioeconomic status, ethnicity

  9. Facets of Environmental Health • Environmental Epidemiology - association between exposure to environmental agents and subsequent development of disease • Environmental Toxicology - causal mechanisms between exposure and subsequent development of disease • Environmental Engineering - factors that govern and reduce exposure

  10. Preventive Medicine - factors that govern and reduce disease development • Law - development of appropriate legislation to protect public health

  11. Qs • Do you think that environmental issues are among the top three public health issues in this country?

  12. The ‘Right’ first Qs • what criteria do you use to identify an important public health issue? • Health Status - Mortality - Morbidity - Life Expectancy - Functional status and capacity - Quality of life

  13. Health indicator: A variable that is susceptible to direct measurement , that reflects the state of health of persons in a community - examples: Infant mortality rates, incidence rates based on notifiable cases of disease, disability days • Incidence and Prevalence - Incidence: no. of new cases/ persons at risk - Prevalence: no. of cases present/ total population

  14. Choices for Metric for life • Mortality Rate - fraction of deaths in a population • Years of potential life lost: - difference bw expected age of death and actual age of death, summed across all deaths

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