Health
Evidence is increasing from multiple scientific fields that exposure to the natural environment can improve human health.
In a new study by the U.S. Forest Service, the presence of trees was associated with human health.
For Geoffrey Donovan, a research forester at the Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station, and his colleagues, the loss of 100 million trees in the eastern and midwestern United States was an unprecedented opportunity to study the impact of a major change in the natural environment on human health.
In an analysis of 18 years of data from 1,296 counties in 15 states, researchers found that Americans living in areas infested by the emerald ash borer, a beetle that kills ash trees, suffered from an additional 15,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease and 6,000 more deaths from lower respiratory disease when compared to uninfected areas.
When emerald ash borer comes into a community, city streets lined with ash trees become treeless.
The researchers analyzed demographic, human mortality, and forest health data at the county level between 1990 and 2007.
The data came from counties in states with at least one confirmed case of the emerald ash borer in 2010.
The findings – which hold true after accounting for the influence of demographic differences, like income, race and education – are published in the current issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
“There's a natural tendency to see our findings and conclude that, surely, the higher mortality rates are because of some confounding variable, like income or education, and not the loss of trees,” said Donovan. “But we saw the same pattern repeated over and over in counties with very different demographic makeups.”
Although the study shows the association between loss of trees and human mortality from cardiovascular and lower respiratory disease, it did not prove a causal link. The reason for the association is yet to be determined.
The emerald ash borer was first discovered near Detroit, Michigan, in 2002. The borer attacks all 22 species of North American ash and kills virtually all of the trees it infests.
The study was conducted in collaboration with David Butry, with the National Institute of Standards and Technology; Yvonne Michael, with Drexel University; and Jeffrey Prestemon, Andrew Liebhold, Demetrios Gatziolis, and Megan Mao, with the Forest Service's Southern, Northern, and Pacific Northwest Research Stations.
The Pacific Northwest Research Station – headquartered in Portland, Ore. – generates and communicates scientific knowledge that helps people make informed choices about natural resources and the environment. Learn more online at http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw .
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Every 30 seconds somebody in the world is amputated as a consequence of foot complication due to diabetes.
A new study at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, confirms that shoe inserts, podiatry, regular checkups and other simple interventions can reduce the number of amputations by more than 50 percent.
Orthotic researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, have studied diabetic foot complications ever since 2008.
They have focused on protecting the foot from overloading the foot sole in order to minimize the risk of ulcers, which may eventually lead to amputation.
The researchers have now completed a study of 114 Swedish patients with diabetes at risk of developing such ulcers.
The results show that shoe inserts, podiatry, information and regular checkups can prevent ulcers, which would reduce the number of amputations by more than 50 percent.
The participants in the study – to be presented at the International Conference on Prosthetics and Orthotics in Hyderabad, India this February – have an averaged 58 years of age and 12 years since their initial diagnosis of diabetes.
The participant wore one of three different types of shoe inserts over a period of two years.
Only 0.9 percent of the participants developed new foot ulcers during the first year, as opposed to the figure of 3 to 8 percent that has been reported for similar diabetic populations.
“We found that good shoes and inserts can reduce pressure on the foot by 50 percent compared with going barefoot,” doctoral student Ulla Tang said. “Our conclusion at the end of one year is that all three types of inserts effectively distribute pressure under the sole in order to minimize the risk of ulcers.”
The study also revealed that only 67 percent of diabetes patients had been offered podiatry despite the fact that 83 percent had calluses.
“An insert costs anywhere from SEK 850 to SEK 1,450,” Ms. Tang says. “Healing a diabetic foot ulcer averages SEK 70,000, while an amputation demands up to SEK 1 million in social and health care resources. Ulcer prevention is not only a way of relieving suffering but a sound financial investment.”
The researchers also are planning to introduce a new digital tool that they have developed in collaboration with the Västra Götaland region. With the digital tool assessment of the risk for foot ulcer will be easier and reliable.
The idea is that orthotist will use the instrument as a basis for the prescription of suitable shoes and insoles.
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