A link between environmental pollution and civilization disorders: a mini review
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Ewa Konduracka
Abstract
Most civilization disorders have a complex etiology, involving factors such as genetics, lifestyle, and environmental pollution (EP) due to different chemicals. Among harmful chemicals, the major ones include particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heavy metals, pesticides, plasticizers, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, furans, some food additives, hormones, and antibiotics. In fact, potential pollutants are countless and most of them have never been evaluated in terms of their toxicity and health risks, especially that new chemicals emerge all the time due to interactions between the existing ones. It is almost impossible to determine the effects of these new compounds on health. Previous studies have revealed a broad spectrum of diseases related to pollution. EP has been associated with an increased incidence of some malignancies, an increased rate of all-cause mortality, development or exacerbation of cardiovascular diseases, recurrent infections, impairment of intellectual and psychomotor development in children, development of type 2 diabetes, respiratory and immune system diseases, and also brain degenerative disorders. EP is an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, generating high health care costs. Global pollution questions the common recommendation to eat vegetables, fruit, and fish regularly as part of a healthy diet, if they do not have ecological certification. Research in the fields of ecology, biology, and toxicology is needed to determine which environmental contaminants are the most hazardous to wildlife and humans and at what levels. Only an interdisciplinary cooperation and measures to raise public awareness could help improve environmental protection.
Funding source: Uniwersytet Jagiellonski Collegium Medicum
Award Identifier / Grant number: 2016/21/B/NZ7/01747
Funding statement: The work was supported by a grant from the National Science Centre Poland, Uniwersytet Jagiellonski Collegium Medicum (funder Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100009045, grant number 2016/21/B/NZ7/01747; to EK).
Conflict of interest: None declared.
Informed consent: Informed consent is not applicable.
Ethical approval: The conducted research is not related to either human or animal use.
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©2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- International scientists seek solutions for environmental problems
- Reviews
- A link between environmental pollution and civilization disorders: a mini review
- Applying community resilience theory to engagement with residents facing cumulative environmental exposure risks: lessons from Louisiana’s industrial corridor
- Mini Reviews
- Building science approaches for vapor intrusion studies
- Application of metabolomics to characterize environmental pollutant toxicity and disease risks
- Advancing science in rapidly changing environments: opportunities for the Central and Eastern European Conference on Health and the Environment to connect to other networks
- Original Articles
- Monitoring and assessment of formaldehyde levels in residential areas from two cities in Romania
- Agreement between parental and student reports on respiratory symptoms and school environment in young Romanian children – evidence from the SINPHONIE project
- Impact of plant growth regulators and soil properties on Miscanthus x giganteus biomass parameters and uptake of metals in military soils
- Community resilience and critical transformations: the case of St. Gabriel, Louisiana
- Short Communication
- The ecological risk assessment of soil contamination with Ti and Fe at military sites in Ukraine: avoidance and reproduction tests with Folsomia candida
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- International scientists seek solutions for environmental problems
- Reviews
- A link between environmental pollution and civilization disorders: a mini review
- Applying community resilience theory to engagement with residents facing cumulative environmental exposure risks: lessons from Louisiana’s industrial corridor
- Mini Reviews
- Building science approaches for vapor intrusion studies
- Application of metabolomics to characterize environmental pollutant toxicity and disease risks
- Advancing science in rapidly changing environments: opportunities for the Central and Eastern European Conference on Health and the Environment to connect to other networks
- Original Articles
- Monitoring and assessment of formaldehyde levels in residential areas from two cities in Romania
- Agreement between parental and student reports on respiratory symptoms and school environment in young Romanian children – evidence from the SINPHONIE project
- Impact of plant growth regulators and soil properties on Miscanthus x giganteus biomass parameters and uptake of metals in military soils
- Community resilience and critical transformations: the case of St. Gabriel, Louisiana
- Short Communication
- The ecological risk assessment of soil contamination with Ti and Fe at military sites in Ukraine: avoidance and reproduction tests with Folsomia candida
