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PH 161 > Chapter 1 > Flashcards

Chapter 1 Flashcards

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1
Q

What is environmental health? Page 4 book

A

•Environmental health

–“Addresses all the physical, chemical, and biological factors external to the person, and all the related factors impacting behaviors.” (WHO)

–Aims to prevent disease

Promote health for all through a healthy environment

Page 4 book

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2
Q

What is the difference between environmental health and environmental science and environmental toxicology?

A
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3
Q

Environmental Quality

A

•Maintaining environmental quality is a pressing task for the 21st century.

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4
Q

Healthy People 2020 Goals (1 of 2)

A

•Goal number 8, Environmental Health: “Promote health for all through a healthy environment.”

–Institute of Medicine, 1988 (the Bible of Public Health), Federal Government derives Healthcare policies from it.

•Goal number 8, Environmental Health: “Promote health for all through a healthy environment.”

–Institute of Medicine, 1988 (the Bible of Public Health), Federal Government derives Healthcare policies from it.

•Goal number 8 objectives

–Outdoor air quality

–Water quality

–Toxics and wastes

–Healthy homes and healthy communities

–Infrastructure and surveillance

–Global environmental health

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5
Q

Environmental Health Threats

A
  • Trash that fouls our beaches
  • Hazardous wastes (including radioactive wastes) leaching from disposal sites
  • Continuing episodes of air pollution
  • Exposures of toxic chemicals
  • Destruction of the land through deforestation
  • Global warming
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6
Q

Population and Environment:
The Three P’s

A

•Principal determinants of health worldwide

–Pollution

–Population

-Poverty

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7
Q

Pollution

A

•Combustion of fossil fuels

–Petroleum

–Coal

•Dispersement of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere

–Global warming

–Change in distribution of insect vectors

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8
Q

Population

A

•Overpopulation in developing nations

–Human population exceeding the carrying capacity of the planet

•World population of 10–12 billion during the 21st century?

–Related to urban crowding

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9
Q

Infectious Disease Epidemics:
A Consequence of Crowding?

A

•Avian influenza A (H5N1) virus: outbreaks on poultry farms in Asia

–Virus mutation, enabling human-to-human transmission

–Resulting pandemic

•Swine flu (H1N1 influenza): spread through North America to other parts of the globe

Declared pandemic by WHO

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10
Q

Poverty

A
  • Linked to population growth
  • One of the well-recognized determinants of adverse health outcomes
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11
Q

Significance of the Environment for Human Health

A

•Role of hazardous agents

–Account for many of the forms of environmentally associated morbidity and mortality

•Examples

–Microbes

–Toxic chemicals and metals

–Pesticides

–Ionizing radiation

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12
Q

Scope of Environmental
Health Problems

A
  • Elevated blood lead levels in the United States
  • 8% prevalence rate of asthma in the United States (2009)
  • Links to neurodevelopmental toxicity
  • Degrading air quality worldwide
  • Thought to be significant contributing factor for the development of cancer
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13
Q

Environmental Risk Transition

A
  • Changes in environmental risks that happen as a consequence of economic development in the less developed regions of the world
  • Before transition occurs, poor quality of:

–Food

–Air

–Water

  • After the transition, a new set of environmental problems take hold.
  • Examples include the release of:

–Acid rain precursors

–Ozone-depleting chemicals

Greenhouse gases

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14
Q

Population Growth

A
  • Increasing at an exponential rate
  • Threatens to overwhelm available resources
  • May cause periodic food scarcity and famine in some areas of the world
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15
Q

Causes of Population Growth

A
  • Increases in fertility
  • Reductions in mortality
  • Migration
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16
Q

Causes of Population Growth

A

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17
Q

Trends in Population Growth

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A
  • 6 billion people worldwide in 1999
  • 7.5 billion people worldwide in 2017
  • Estimated to reach 8 billion people between 2018 and 2028
  • Some projections of stabilization around 10 billion people
18
Q

Population Dynamics

Study These Flashcards
A

•Ever-changing interrelationships among:

–Variables that influence demographic makeup of populations

–Variables that influence the growth and decline of population sizes

19
Q

Population Dynamics

20
Q

Fertility

Study These Flashcards
A

•Total fertility rate (TFR)

–Number of children a woman has given birth to by the end of childbearing

  • US fertility rate: about 2.0 births per woman in 2012
  • Estimated natural population replacement rate: 2.1
21
Q

Fertility Trends

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A

•Countries at or below the replacement rate

–North America: United States, Canada

–Asia: Japan, South Korea, Thailand, China

–Europe: many countries

•Countries with rate of 4.0 births per woman

–Many Asian, Latin American, and African countries

22
Q

Demographic Transition

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A
  • Alterations over time in a population’s fertility, mortality, and make-up
  • Developed societies have progressed through three stages that affected age and sex distributions.
23
Q

The demographic transition in three stages of age and sex composition: stage 1 (left), stage 2 (middle), and stage 3 (right).

Study These Flashcards
A

Figure 1.6 The demographic transition in three stages of age and sex composition: stage 1 (left), stage 2 (middle), and stage 3 (right).

24
Q 
Three Stages of
Demographic Transition (1 of 2)
Study These Flashcards
A

•Stage 1

–Mostly young population

–High fertility and mortality rates

–Small population

•Stage 2

–Decreasing mortality rates

–High fertility rates

–Rapid increase in population

•Stage 3

–Decreasing fertility rates

–More even distribution of population according to sex and age

25
Epidemiologic Transition
•Shift in the pattern of morbidity and mortality –Before shift: causes primarily related to infectious and communicable diseases –After shift: causes associated with chronic, degenerative diseases
26
Examples of Epidemiologic Transition
* Cardiovascular diseases * Cancer * Neuropsychiatric conditions * Injuries
27
Consequences of Population Increases
* Urbanization * Overtaxing carrying capacity * Food insecurity * Loss of biodiversity ![]() ![]()
28
Urbanization
•Increase worldwide in proportion of urban residents –About 5% in 1800 –About 50% in 2000 –Expected to reach about 66% by 2030
29
Factors That Lead to Urbanization
* Industrialization * Food availability * Employment opportunities * Lifestyle considerations * Escape from political conflict
30
Hazards of the Urban Environment
* Biological pathogens or pollutants * Chemical pollutants –Industrial wastes •Chemical agents –Present in the environment independent of human activities * Reduced availability, increased cost and lowered quality of natural resources * Physical hazards –Flooding –Mud slides •Aspects of the built environment with negative consequences on physical or psychosocial health –Overcrowding –Inadequate protection against noise –Inadequate provision of infrastructure –Others •Natural resource degradation –Soil and water quality •National/global environmental degradation
31
Carrying Capacity
* Population that can be supported without undergoing environmental deterioration * Tends to limit population size * Factors that keep animal populations in check –Food availability –Reproductive behavior –Infectious diseases
32
Population Crashes
•If components of the human life support system are disrupted by overpopulation of the planet, the species Homo sapiens could suffer a population crash
33
•Environment
–“The complex of physical, chemical, and biotic factors … that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival”
34
•Ecological model ![]() Figure 1.9 The ecological model of population health. Modified and reproduced with permission from Who Will Keep the Public Healthy? Educating Public Health Professionals for the 21st Century, © 2003 by the National Academy of Sciences, Courtesy of the National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., p. 33; and from Dahlgren G, Whitehead M. Policies and Strategies to Promote Social Equity in Health. Stockholm, Sweden: Institute for Futures Studies; 1991.
–Proposes that the determinants of health interact and are interlinked over the life course of individuals
35
•Ecological system (ecosystem)
–“Dynamic complex of plant, animal, and microorganism communities and the nonliving environment interacting as a functional unit.”
36
•Environmental health
–“Addresses all the physical, chemical, and biological factors external to the person, and all the related factors impacting behaviours.” (WHO) –Aims to prevent disease
37
Historical Background: Hippocrates
* Greek philosopher * Lived between 460 and 370 BCE * Often referred to as “the father of medicine” * Emphasized influence of the environment on people’s health * Promoted doctrine of maintaining equilibrium among the body’s four humors
38
Historical Background: Ancient Romans
•Developed first infrastructure for maintaining public health –Transport of water and sewage –Heating devices for water and for rooms –Communal baths
39
Historical Background: Occupational and Environmental Health
•Occupational –Increased recognition of the contribution of occupationally related exposures to adverse health conditions •Environmental –Awareness of effect of environment on health –Pubic health reforms –Increased legislation and regulation
40
Current Hot Topics
* Environmental justice * Global warming/global climate change * Nuclear power * Pesticides and herbicides * War and terrorism
41
Careers in Environmental Health
***_•Industrial hygienist_*** –Responsible for control of hazards that may affect workers and the community –Involved with the design and installation of control systems ***_•Toxicologist_*** –Specializes in the effects of toxic chemicals on the environment and living creatures –Occupational and industrial toxicologists investigate the effects of workplace chemicals on the health of workers. •***_Environmental health inspector_*** –Monitors and enforces government regulations –Includes pollution inspectors, noise inspectors, and water quality inspectors •***_Food inspector/food safety specialist_*** –Involved with the cleanliness and safety of foods and beverages consumed by the public •***_Vector control specialist_*** –Enforces various public health laws, sanitary codes, and regulations related to the spread of disease by vectors •***_Researcher/research analyst_*** –Conducts basic research on the risks associated with exposures to certain specific hazards –Conducts statistical analyses of impact on humans •***_Occupational health physician/occupational health nurse_*** –Involved with the prevention and treatment of occupationally related illnesses and injuries –Investigates hazards in the work environment –Develops procedures for abatement of hazards –Conducts health education programs •***_Environmental lawyer_*** –Provides input to government agencies –Assists in the formulation of environmental policies –May be involved in litigation concerning environmental health problems

PH 161 (4 decks)

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