Environmental protection is health protection

Environmental diseases:

Environmental protection is health protection - A quarter of all diseases worldwide are due to environmental factors (especially pollution)

In the current issue of the magazine of the Federal Association for the Environment and Nature Conservation Germany (BUND) a topic is addressed that has been known for a long time, but has so far been little published: The relationship between diseases and environmental factors. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Union, one third to one quarter of all diseases are due to environmental factors.

Gastro-intestinal diseases rank first here, followed by diseases of the lungs and respiratory tract. Especially water and air pollution should be responsible for the diseases. The WHO estimates that around 1.8 million people in Europe die each year as a result of environmental diseases. Worldwide, even two-thirds of all cases of deceased children are said to be environmental-related, according to German Susanne Weber-Mosdorf, Vice Secretary-General of WHO.

Already in the year 1989 one became „European Charter Environment and Health“ adopted. The first principle is: „Health and well-being requires a clean and harmonious environment in which all physical, psychological, social and aesthetic factors are given the right status. The environment should be seen as the basis for better living conditions and well-being.“ The sixth point is: „The health of individuals and those of populations should clearly take precedence over economic considerations.“ (Spelling mistakes in the original).

But there are still too few scientific efforts to investigate their effects on synthetic substances and to put them into the background in the face of natural substances. A good example is the plastic additive Bisphenol A (BPA). For years, environmental associations and consumer protection organizations have suspected that this hormone-like substance has a negative effect on brain development, ejaculation and reproductive ability and a connection with the development of breast cancer. The NIH state-of-the-art American health institute reports on its presence even in animal studies that also link BPA to prostate cancer, behavioral changes, weight gain and diabetes. In a 2008 survey of the US federal healthcare institute NIH, Spiegel Online had shown that BPA severely affects the development of the disease Brain can have in fetuses and newborns. In early November 2009, the BUND announced that bisphenol A is present in baby pacifiers and from there can enter the bloodstream of babies. Immediately all manufacturers and drugstores took BPA-contaminated products out of the program, with the exception of Phillips with its AVENTIS brand. Now the English magazine publishes „Human Reproduction“ In its latest issue of November 10, 2009, a study by Chinese and American researchers indicates that workers in strong contact with BPA have serious erectile and ejaculation problems.

It would be more than desirable if more and more research took on a more important role in dealing with these synthetic substances. Three years after the Chernobyl disaster, postulating the Charter has certainly made the health problems of humans and animals, caused by environmental factors, much clearer. But it seems that the 53 member countries that have signed up to the Charter have overslept the development a little bit. Through genetically engineered products, nanotechnology, electrosmog, etc ... the relationships between environment and disease have become much more complex and difficult to detect. The awareness for this seems to be insufficient in the population and the occupational groups involved.

Global warming is expected to bring challenges such as an increased number of cardiovascular diseases and increased flowering of plants to reinforce allergic issues.
Environmental protection is certainly an important prerequisite for ensuring a better quality of life for all living beings and minimizing costs in the health sector. (Non-medical practitioner Thorsten Fischer, 15.11.2009)