Snapshots of Our Health & Environment

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Snapshots of Our Health

  • Asthma is among the leading causes of hospitalization for children. Researchers have found an association between increased hospital admissions for asthma and particulate matter, an outdoor air pollutant.1
  • 10% of adults in the United States are living with chronic kidney disease.2
  • Approximately 1.4 million U.S. residents are diagnosed with cancer every year, excluding non-melanoma skin cancers.3
  • Air pollution is believed to be a significant environmental factor contributing to heart disease and stroke incidence.4
  • Despite the fact that all heat-related deaths and illnesses are preventable, each year an average of about 700 people die from extreme heat.5
  • The majority of pesticide poisoning exposures are unintentional and occur in children under 6 years old or in adults over 20 years old.6
  • Over 500,000 children in this country still have blood lead levels that require health interventions.7
  • Age, genetics, medical health, socioeconomic status, behaviors, health care, and environmental exposures all affect the ability to conceive, carry, and deliver a healthy, full-term baby.8,9,10
  • Estimates of illness associated with public drinking water systems in the United States range from 4 million to 33 million cases each year. 11,12
  • Contaminated food consumed in the United States causes an estimated 48 million cases of acute gastrointestinal illness each year. 13

 

Snapshots of Our Environment

  • The design of the built environment can contribute to or discourage healthy behaviors such as physical activity. A well designed built environment can help prevent chronic diseases related to obesity such as heart disease and diabetes.14
  • The EPA has estimated that about 1 in 5 Americans, or approximately 47 million people, lives within 4 miles of a hazardous waste site.15
  • Eighty-five percent of the American public gets its water from a public water system, regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Approximately 10%–15% of the U.S. population, mostly in rural areas, relies on private, unregulated supplies of drinking water.16, 17
  • An estimated 1 in 6 Americans experiences a foodborne illness each year. Some foods are risker than others, but almost any type of food can be contaminated with a disease-causing agent.18
  • Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. Currently, the EPA estimates that 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year in the United States are radon-related.19
  • National air quality has improved since the early 1990s, but air quality problems remain and present many challenges in protecting public health and the environment.20,21

 

 

References

1 Barnett SBL, Nurmagambetov TA. Costs of asthma in the United States: 2002–2007. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2011;127(1):145–152. 

2 CDC. Diabetes Public Health Resource: National chronic kidney disease fact sheet 2014 [online]. 2014. [cited 2014 Jan 22]. Available from URL: https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/pdf/kidney_factsheet.pdfCdc-pdf

3U.S Cancer Statistics Working Group (CSWG). United States Cancer Statistics (USCS): 1999–2010 incidence and mortality web-based report [online]. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Cancer Institute. 2013. [cited 2013 Nov 13]. Available from URL       http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/uscs/cancersbyraceandethnicity.aspx.

4 Stone PH, Godleski JJ. First steps toward understanding the pathophysiologic link between air pollution and cardiac mortality. Am Heart J 1999;138(5):804–7.

5 Fowler DR, Mitchell CS, Brown A, Pollock T, Bratka LA, Paulson J, Noller AC, Mauskapf R, Oscanyan K, Radcliffe R, Vaidyanathan A, Wolkin A, Taylor EV.  Heat-related deaths after an extreme heat event — four states, 2012 and United States, 1999–2009.  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.  2013:62(22):433–436.

6 Mowry J, Spyker DA, Cantilena Jr LR, Bailey JE, Ford M. 2012 annual report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers’ National Poison Data System (NPDS): 30th annual report. Clin Toxicol [online] 2013 [cited 2014 Jun 3]; 51: 949-1229. Available from URL: https://aapcc.s3.amazonaws.com/pdfs/annual_reports/2012_NPDS_Annual_Report.pdfCdc-pdfExternal

7 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Blood Lead Levels in Children Aged 1–5 Years — United States, 1999–2010. MMWR 2013; 62 (No. 13):245-248

8 Goldenberg RL, Culhane JC. Low birth weight in the United States. Am J Clin Nutr 2007; 85(suppl):584S–90S.

9 Institute of Medicine (IOM). Preterm birth: causes, consequences, and prevention. Washington (D.C.): The National Academies Press. 2007.

10 Goldenberg RL, Culhane JF, Iams JD, Romero R. Epidemiology and causes of preterm birth. Lancet 2008;371(9606):75–84.

11 Colford JM, Roy SL, Beach MJ, Hightower A, Shaw SE, Wade TJ. A review of household drinking water intervention trials and an approach to the estimation of endemic waterborne gastroenteritis in the United States. J Water Health 2006;4(Suppl 2):71–88.

12 Messner M, Shaw S, Regli S, Rotert K, Blank V, Soller J. An approach for developing a national estimate of waterborne disease due to drinking water and a national estimate model application. J Water Health 2006;4(Suppl 2):201–40.

13 Scallan E, Hoekstra RM, Angulo FJ, et al. Foodborne illness acquired in the United States—major pathogens. Emerg Infect Dis Jan 2011;17(1):7–15.

14 Pasala SK, Rao AA, Sridhar GR. Built environment and diabetes. International Journal of Diabetes in Developing Countries. 2010;30(2):63-68. doi:10.4103/0973-3930.62594.

15 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Geospatial Data Access [cited 2013 Nov 5]. Available from URL: http://www.epa.gov/enviro/geo_data.htmlExternal

16 EPA. Drinking Water and Ground Water Statistics for 2011 [online]. 2013. [cited Oct 24]. Available from URL: http://water.epa.gov/scitech/datait/databases/drink/sdwisfed/upload/epa816r13003.pdfCdc-pdfExternal    

17 EPA. Private drinking water wells [online]. 2010. [cited 2011 Jun 20]. Available from URL: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/privatewells/index2.htmlExternal

18 Scallan E, Hoekstra RM, Angulo FJ, et al. Foodborne illness acquired in the United States— major pathogens. Emerg Infect Dis Jan 2011;17(1):7–15.

19 EPA. Radon. Health risks [online]. 2010 Mar 1.[cited 2010 Jun 17]. Available at URL: http://www.epa.gov/radon/healthrisks.htmlExternal.

20 American Lung Association (ALA). State of the air 2013 [online]. 2013. [cited 2013 Aug 14]. Available from URL: http://www.lung.org/healthy-air/outdoor/protecting-your-health/impacts-on-your-health/External

21 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Our Nation’s Air—Status and Trends Through 2010 [online]. Feb 2012. [Cited] Available from URL:  http://www.epa.gov/airtrends/2011/index.htmlExternal.

Page last reviewed: June 24, 2016
Content source: National Center for Environmental Health