By Karen Best Wright, B.S., Community Health Education
Pathway to Healthy Living
Environmental elements affect our health everyday. Along with eating healthy food and exercising, breathing clean air contributes to health and vitality, and polluted air contributes to diseases.
According to a recent study by environmental researcher and economist Mary E. Davis, PhD., an adjunct faculty member in the University of Main School of Economics, childhood illnesses caused by exposure to toxic chemicals and other pollutants (Not counting second hand smoke from cigarettes) cost Maine about $350 million in healthcare costs per year.
The costs of lead poisoning, asthma, childhood cancer and neurobehavioral disorders such as autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and mental retardation are analyzed in a this study. In addition to Mary Davis's work at the University of Maine, she is an assistant professor at the Department of Environmental and Urban Planning at Tufts University and holds a joint appointment at the Harvard School of Public Health. (May I brag that Mary is my niece?)
I am sure that Maine is not the only state in our country where the environment contributes to diseases. I know on a personal level it is much more cost effective to prevent illness than to treat it.
As individuals we may not be able to control the total environment, but we do have some control of the air we breathe in our homes, cars, and the places we visit. If you have central heat and air, clean and/or replace the filters often. For homes that do not have central heat and air (and even those that do), quality air purifiers help clean out the toxins that collect in our homes, and by all means do not let anyone smoke in your home or car.
To read more about Mary Davis, PhD. and her studies about children's illnesses and the environment, visit the article http://bangornews.com/detail/98887.html or read her complete study "An Economic Cost Assessment of Environmentally - Related Childhood Diseases in Maine."
Karen Wright, B.S. Community Health Education
Pathway to Healthy Living
www.RaisingYourGrandchildren.com
www.grandparentingblog.com
www.SeniorPro.com
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