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Your Health
Presented
by University Health Services Manoa
Environmental Health: A Broad and
Evolving Field
Health and disease are the result of many interacting factors. In the last few
decades the environment has been recognized as one factor that has a crucial
impact on health. Environmental health has become a major area of focus for research
and prevention.
In 1966 the National Institutes of Health established a Division of Environmental
Health Sciences, now the National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to guide and fund research in
this area. The mission of NIEHS is “to reduce the burden of human illness
and dysfunction from environmental causes by understanding [environmental factors,
individual susceptibility, and age] and how they interrelate.”
Also, the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention includes a National
Center for Environmental Health, which applies the findings from basic environmental
health research. The center seeks to “promote health and quality of life
by preventing or controlling those diseases or deaths that result from interactions
between people and their environment.”
Environmental health involves research and prevention on a huge range of threats,
including natural disasters, air and water pollution, chemical weapons, algae
and mold, toxic metals such as lead and mercury, noise, radiation and dangerous
work environments. Among recent research highlights reported by NIEHS are the
following:
• exposure to soot and dust from cars, power
plants and factories can be as dangerous as exposure to second-hand
smoke
• children playing outdoor sports where
ozone levels are high may be far more likely to develop asthma
than children in those areas who don’t play outdoor sports
• early smoking may alter a young person’s
DNA to increase the risk of lung cancer many years later
• mothers’ mercury exposure during
pregnancy has been statistically linked to their children’s
performance on neurological tests
Other studies continue the investigation of connections between environmental
toxins and Alzheimer’s disease; pesticides and certain types of cancer;
power lines and negative health effects.
Environmental health research findings led to public policies that have greatly
reduced the most obvious man-made environmental health threats. The outgoing
director of NIEHS, Kenneth Olden, reports, “For most Americans, high-dose
exposure is no longer a reality. We have cleaned up most of the “big dirties” of
the 1950’s and 1960’s.”
However, Olden notes that we don’t know much about ongoing low-level exposure.
Some studies are attempting to determine just what chemicals we are exposed to
and how much of these we actually are absorbing. Other research is looking at
the interaction between human genetic variation and susceptibility to harmful
effects; for example, one child may develop asthma while another in the same
neighborhood or household has no problems, or a chemistry factory worker may
become infertile while a fellow worker has many healthy children. Still another
area of research involves health disparities. Poor people are more likely to
be exposed to environmental hazards; how much of the variation in rates of disease
can be attributed to environmental factors rather than culture, race, or access
to health care?
Clearly, the field of environmental health has become involved with very complex
issues requiring a wide range of professional expertise, from physicians, physiologists,
chemists, biologists, statisticians, epidemiologists, educators and policy developers.
However, the American public has been and continues to be the major force behind
the environmental health movement. The
National Institutes of Health Get Involved website allows users to join an NIEHS
news e-mail list, provide public comment on research plans and budget priorities,
nominate chemicals for review as possible carcinogens; participate in a clinical
trial, or join private organizations such as the American Lung Association or
the National Association of Physicians for the Environment.
As the issues become more complex, it behooves everyone to learn more about the
impact of the environment on their health. See the Get
Involved at NIEHS website for ways to be involved and further links.
University
Health Services Manoa serves
UH Manoa students, faculty and staff. The health service provides
walk-in medical services and referrals for specialty care to
in-house or community physicians.
This
article is for educational purposes only. Do not rely on this
information for diagnosis or treatment and/or in place of personal
medical attention. If you feel you have a medical problem, you
should consult with a health care professional as soon as possible.
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