The influence of environmental environmental factors on humans

The history of environmental knowledge goes back many centuries. Already primitive people needed to have certain knowledge about plants and animals, their way of life, relationships with each other and with the environment. As part of the general development of the natural sciences, there was also an accumulation of knowledge that now belongs to the field of environmental science. Ecology emerged as an independent discipline in the 19th century.

The term Ecology (from the Greek eco - house, logos - teaching) was introduced into science by the German biologist Ernest Haeckel.

In 1866, in his work “The General Morphology of Organisms,” he wrote that this is “... the sum of knowledge related to the economics of nature: the study of the totality of the relationship of an animal with its environment, both organic and inorganic, and above all its friendly or hostile relations with those animals and plants with which it directly or indirectly comes into contact. This definition classifies ecology as a biological science. At the beginning of the 20th century. the formation of a systematic approach and the development of the doctrine of the biosphere, which is a vast field of knowledge, which includes many scientific areas of both the natural and humanitarian cycles, including general ecology, led to the spread of ecosystem views in ecology. The main object of study in ecology has become the ecosystem.

An ecosystem is a set of living organisms that interact with each other and with their environment through the exchange of matter, energy and information in such a way that this single system remains stable for a long time.

The ever-increasing impact of man on the environment has required a new expansion of the boundaries of ecological knowledge. In the second half of the 20th century. scientific and technological progress has led to a number of problems that have received the status of global ones, thus, in the field of view of ecology, the issues of a comparative analysis of natural and man-made systems and the search for ways for their harmonious coexistence and development have clearly emerged.

Accordingly, the structure of ecological science was differentiated and complicated. Now it can be represented as four main branches, which are further divided: Bioecology, geoecology, human ecology, applied ecology.

Thus, we can define ecology as a science about the general laws of the functioning of ecosystems of various orders, a set of scientific and practical issues of the relationship between man and nature.

2. Environmental factors, their classification, types of effects on organisms

Any organism in nature experiences the influence of a wide variety of components of the external environment. Any properties or components of the environment that affect organisms are called environmental factors.

Classification of environmental factors. Environmental factors (environmental factors) are diverse, have a different nature and specificity of action. The following groups of environmental factors are distinguished:

1. Abiotic (factors of inanimate nature):

a) climatic - lighting conditions, temperature conditions, etc.;

b) edaphic (local) - water supply, soil type, terrain;

c) orographic - air (wind) and water currents.

2. Biotic factors are all forms of influence of living organisms on each other:

Plants Plants. Plants Animals. Plants Mushrooms. Plants Microorganisms. Animals Animals. Animals Mushrooms. Animals Microorganisms. Mushrooms Mushrooms. Fungi Microorganisms. Microorganisms Microorganisms.

3. Anthropogenic factors are all forms of activity of human society that lead to a change in the habitat of other species or directly affect their lives. The impact of this group of environmental factors is rapidly increasing from year to year.

Types of impact of environmental factors on organisms. Environmental factors have various impacts on living organisms. They may be:

Irritants that contribute to the appearance of adaptive (adaptive) physiological and biochemical changes (hibernation, photoperiodism);

Limiters that change the geographical distribution of organisms due to the impossibility of existence in these conditions;

Modifiers that cause morphological and anatomical changes in organisms;

Signals indicating changes in other environmental factors.

General patterns of action of environmental factors:

Due to the extreme diversity of environmental factors, different types of organisms, experiencing their influence, respond to it in different ways, however, a number of general laws (patterns) of the action of environmental factors can be identified. Let's look at some of them.

1. Law of optimum

2. The law of ecological individuality of species

3. Law of the limiting (limiting) factor

4. The law of ambiguous action

3. Patterns of action of environmental factors on organisms

1) Optimum rule. For an ecosystem, an organism or a certain stage of it

development there is a range of the most favorable value of the factor. Where

factors are favorable; population density is maximum. 2) Tolerance.

These characteristics depend on the environment in which the organisms live. If she

stable in its own way

yours, it has a greater chance for organisms to survive.

3) Rule of interaction of factors. Some factors may enhance or

mitigate the effect of other factors.

4) Rule of limiting factors. A factor that is deficient or

excess negatively affects organisms and limits the possibility of manifestation. strength

the action of other factors. 5) Photoperiodism. Under photoperiodism

understand the body's reaction to the length of the day. Reaction to changes in light.

6) Adaptation to the rhythm of natural phenomena. Adaptation to daily and

seasonal rhythms, tidal phenomena, solar activity rhythms,

lunar phases and other phenomena that repeat with strict frequency.

Ek. valence (plasticity) - ability to org. adapt to dep. environmental factors environment.

Patterns of the action of environmental factors on living organisms.

Environmental factors and their classification. All organisms are potentially capable of unlimited reproduction and dispersal: even species that lead an attached lifestyle have at least one developmental phase in which they are capable of active or passive distribution. But at the same time, the species composition of organisms living in different climatic zones does not mix: each of them has a certain set of animal, plant, and fungal species. This is due to the limitation of excessive reproduction and settlement of organisms by certain geographical barriers (seas, mountain ranges, deserts, etc.), climatic factors (temperature, humidity, etc.), as well as relationships between individual species.

Depending on the nature and characteristics of the action, environmental factors are divided into abiotic, biotic and anthropogenic (anthropic).

Abiotic factors are components and properties of inanimate nature that directly or indirectly affect individual organisms and their groups (temperature, light, humidity, gas composition of air, pressure, salt composition of water, etc.).

A separate group of environmental factors includes various forms of human economic activity that change the state of the habitat of various types of living beings, including man himself (anthropogenic factors). In a relatively short period of human existence as a biological species, its activities have radically changed the face of our planet, and every year this influence on nature increases. The intensity of some environmental factors may remain relatively stable over long historical periods of biosphere development (for example, solar radiation, gravity, salt composition of sea water, gas composition of the atmosphere, etc.). Most of them have a variable intensity (temperature, humidity, etc.). The degree of variability of each of the environmental factors depends on the characteristics of the habitat of organisms. For example, the temperature on the soil surface can vary significantly depending on the time of year or day, weather, etc., while in water bodies at depths of more than a few meters there are almost no temperature drops.

Changes in environmental factors can be:

Periodic, depending on the time of day, season, the position of the Moon relative to the Earth, etc.;

Non-periodic, for example, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, hurricanes, etc..;

Directed over significant historical periods of time, for example, changes in the Earth's climate associated with the redistribution of the ratio of land areas and the oceans.

Each of the living organisms constantly adapts to the whole complex of environmental factors, that is, to the environment, regulating the processes of life in accordance with changes in these factors. Habitat is a set of conditions in which certain individuals, populations, groupings of organisms live.

Patterns of influence of environmental factors on living organisms. Despite the fact that environmental factors are very diverse and different in nature, some patterns of their influence on living organisms, as well as the reactions of organisms to the action of these factors, are noted. Adaptations of organisms to environmental conditions are called adaptations. They are produced at all levels of organization of living matter: from molecular to biogeocenotic. Adaptations are not constant because they change during the historical development of individual species depending on changes in the intensity of environmental factors. Each type of organism is adapted to certain living conditions in a special way: there are no two close species that are similar in their adaptations (the rule of ecological individuality). Thus, the mole (Insectivorous series) and the mole rat (Rodents series) are adapted to exist in the soil. But the mole digs passages with the help of its forelimbs, and the mole rat digs with its incisors, throwing the soil out with its head.

Good adaptation of organisms to a certain factor does not mean the same adaptation to others (the rule of relative independence of adaptation). For example, lichens, which can settle on substrates poor in organic matter (such as rock) and withstand dry periods, are very sensitive to air pollution.

There is also the law of optimum: each factor has a positive effect on the body only within certain limits. The intensity of influence of an environmental factor that is favorable for organisms of a certain type is called the optimum zone. The more the intensity of the action of a certain environmental factor deviates from the optimal one in one direction or another, the more pronounced its inhibitory effect on organisms will be (pessimum zone). The intensity of the impact of an environmental factor, due to which the existence of organisms becomes impossible, is called the upper and lower limits of endurance (critical points of maximum and minimum). The distance between the limits of endurance determines the ecological valency of a certain species relative to a particular factor. Consequently, environmental valency is the range of intensity of the impact of an environmental factor in which the existence of a certain species is possible.

The broad ecological valency of individuals of a certain species relative to a specific environmental factor is denoted by the prefix “eur-”. Thus, arctic foxes are classified as eurythermic animals, since they can withstand significant temperature fluctuations (within 80°C). Some invertebrates (sponges, serpentines, echinoderms) belong to eurybatherous organisms, and therefore settle from the coastal zone to great depths, withstanding significant pressure fluctuations. Species that can live in a wide range of fluctuations of various environmental factors are called eurybiontnyms. Narrow ecological valency, that is, the inability to withstand significant changes in a certain environmental factor, is denoted by the prefix “stenothermic” (for example, stenothermic, stenobiontny, etc.).

The optimum and limits of the body's endurance relative to a certain factor depend on the intensity of the action of others. For example, in dry, windless weather it is easier to withstand low temperatures. So, the optimum and limits of endurance of organisms in relation to any environmental factor can shift in a certain direction depending on the strength and in what combination other factors act (the phenomenon of interaction of environmental factors).

But the mutual compensation of vital environmental factors has certain limits and none can be replaced by others: if the intensity of the action of at least one factor goes beyond the limits of endurance, the existence of the species becomes impossible, despite the optimal intensity of the action of others. Thus, a lack of moisture inhibits the process of photosynthesis even with optimal illumination and CO2 concentration in the atmosphere.

A factor whose intensity of action exceeds the limits of endurance is called limiting. Limiting factors determine the territory of distribution of a species (area). For example, the spread of many species of animals to the north is hampered by a lack of heat and light, to the south by a lack of moisture.

Thus, the presence and prosperity of a certain species in a given habitat is due to its interaction with a whole range of environmental factors. Insufficient or excessive intensity of action of any of them makes it impossible for the prosperity and very existence of individual species.

Environmental factors are any components of the environment that affect living organisms and their groups; they are divided into abiotic (components of inanimate nature), biotic (various forms of interaction between organisms) and anthropogenic (various forms of human economic activity).

Adaptations of organisms to environmental conditions are called adaptations.

Any environmental factor has only certain limits of positive influence on organisms (the law of optimum). The limits of the intensity of the action of the factor, according to which the existence of organisms becomes impossible, are called the upper and lower limits of endurance.

The optimum and limits of endurance of organisms in relation to any environmental factor can vary in a certain direction depending on the intensity and in what combination other environmental factors act (the phenomenon of interaction of environmental factors). But their mutual compensation is limited: not a single vital factor can be replaced by others. An environmental factor that goes beyond the limits of endurance is called limiting, it determines the range of a certain species.

ecological plasticity of organisms

Ecological plasticity of organisms (ecological valence) is the degree of adaptability of a species to changes in environmental factors. It is expressed by the range of values of environmental factors within which a given species maintains normal life activity. The wider the range, the greater the environmental plasticity.

Species that can exist with small deviations of the factor from the optimum are called highly specialized, and species that can withstand significant changes in the factor are called broadly adapted.

Environmental plasticity can be considered both in relation to a single factor and in relation to a complex of environmental factors. The ability of species to tolerate significant changes in certain factors is indicated by the corresponding term with the prefix “every”:

Eurythermic (plastic to temperature)

Eurygolinaceae (salinity of water)

Euryphotic (plastic to light)

Eurygygric (plastic to humidity)

Euryoic (plastic to habitat)

Euryphagous (plastic to food).

Species adapted to slight changes in this factor are designated by the term with the prefix “steno”. These prefixes are used to express the relative degree of tolerance (for example, in a stenothermic species, the ecological temperature optimum and pessimum are close together).

Species that have broad ecological plasticity in relation to a complex of environmental factors are eurybionts; species with low individual adaptability are stenobionts. Eurybiontism and isthenobiontism characterize various types of adaptation of organisms to survival. If eurybionts develop for a long time in good conditions, then they can lose ecological plasticity and develop the traits of stenobionts. Species that exist with significant fluctuations in the factor acquire increased ecological plasticity and become eurybionts.

For example, there are more stenobionts in the aquatic environment, since its properties are relatively stable and the amplitudes of fluctuations of individual factors are small. In a more dynamic air-ground environment, eurybionts predominate. Warm-blooded animals have a broader ecological valency than cold-blooded animals. Young and old organisms tend to require more uniform environmental conditions.

Eurybionts are widespread, and stenobiontism narrows their ranges; however, in some cases, due to their high specialization, stenobionts own vast territories. For example, the fish-eating bird osprey is a typical stenophage, but in relation to other environmental factors it is a eurybiont. In search of the necessary food, the bird is able to fly long distances, so it occupies a significant range.

Plasticity is the ability of an organism to exist in a certain range of environmental factor values. Plasticity is determined by the reaction norm.

According to the degree of plasticity in relation to individual factors, all types are divided into three groups:

Stenotopes are species that can exist in a narrow range of environmental factor values. For example, most plants of moist equatorial forests.

Eurytopes are broadly flexible species capable of colonizing various habitats, for example, all cosmopolitan species.

Mesotopes occupy an intermediate position between stenotopes and eurytopes.

It should be remembered that a species can be, for example, a stenotopic according to one factor and a eurytopic according to another and vice versa. For example, a person is a eurytope in relation to air temperature, but a stenotop in terms of the oxygen content in it.

Environmental factors are properties of the environment in which we live.

Our health is influenced by climatic factors, the chemical and biological composition of the air we breathe, the water we drink, and many other environmental factors.

Environmental factors can have the following effects on the human body:

can have a beneficial effect on the human body (fresh air, moderate exposure to ultraviolet rays help to strengthen our health);
can act as irritants, thereby forcing us to adapt to certain conditions;
can provoke significant structural and functional changes in our body (for example, dark skin color in indigenous people of regions with intense sun);
able to completely exclude our habitation in certain conditions (a person will not be able to live under water, without access to oxygen).

Among the environmental factors affecting the human body, there are factors of inanimate nature (abiotic), associated with the action of living organisms (biotic) and the person himself (anthropogenic).

Abiotic factors - air temperature and humidity, magnetic fields, gas composition of air, chemical and mechanical composition of the soil, altitude and others. Biotic factors are the effects of microorganisms, plants and animals. Anthropogenic environmental factors include soil and air pollution from industrial and transport waste, the use of nuclear energy, as well as everything related to human life in society.

The beneficial effects of the sun, air and water on the human body do not need to be described for a long time. Dosed exposure to these factors improves a person’s adaptive capabilities, strengthens the immune system, thereby helping us stay healthy.

Unfortunately, environmental factors can also harm the human body. Most of them are associated with the impact of man himself - industrial waste entering water sources, soil and air, the release of exhaust gases into the atmosphere, and not always successful human attempts to curb nuclear energy (for example, the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant). We will dwell on this in more detail.

Negative impact of anthropogenic environmental factors on human health

Many harmful chemicals enter the atmospheric air of cities that have a toxic effect on the human body. Some of these substances directly or indirectly contribute to the development of cancer in humans (have a carcinogenic effect). Such substances include benzopyrene (enters the air with emissions from factories that smelt aluminum, power plants), benzene (it is emitted into the atmosphere by petrochemical and pharmaceutical enterprises, and is also released during the production of plastics, varnishes, paints, explosives), cadmium ( enters the environment during the production of non-ferrous metals). In addition, formaldehyde (emitted into the air by chemical and metallurgical enterprises, emitted from polymer materials, furniture, adhesives), vinyl chloride (emitted during the production of polymer materials), dioxins (they are emitted into the air by factories producing paper, pulp, organic chemicals) have a carcinogenic effect. substances).

Air pollution is not only fraught with the development of cancer pathologies. Diseases of the respiratory system (especially bronchial asthma), cardiovascular system, gastrointestinal tract, blood, allergic and some endocrine diseases can also arise due to air pollution. The abundance of toxic chemicals in the air can lead to congenital abnormalities in the fetus.

Not only the composition of the air, but also the soil and water have seriously changed due to human activity. Waste from various enterprises, the use of fertilizers, plant growth stimulants, and means of combating various pests contribute to this. Water and soil pollution means that many of the vegetables and fruits we eat contain various toxic substances. It is no secret that new technologies for raising slaughter cattle include the addition of various substances to the feed, which are not always safe for the human body.

Pesticides and hormones, nitrates and salts of heavy metals, antibiotics and radioactive substances - we have to consume all this with food. The result is various diseases of the digestive system, deterioration in the absorption of nutrients, a decrease in the body’s defenses, acceleration of the aging process and a general toxic effect on the body. In addition, contaminated foods can cause infertility or birth defects in children.

Modern people also have to deal with constant exposure to ionizing radiation. Mining, fossil fuel combustion products, air travel, production and use of building materials, and nuclear explosions lead to changes in background radiation.

What effect will occur after exposure to ionizing radiation depends on the dose of radiation absorbed by the human body, the time of irradiation, and the type of irradiation. Exposure to ionizing radiation can cause the development of cancer, radiation sickness, radiation damage to the eyes (cataracts) and burns, and infertility. The most sensitive to the effects of radiation are the germ cells. The result of exposure to ionizing radiation on germ cells can be various congenital defects in children born even decades after exposure to ionizing radiation.

Negative impact of abiotic environmental factors on human health

Climatic conditions can also provoke the occurrence of various diseases in humans. The cold climate of the North can cause frequent colds, inflammation of muscles and nerves. The hot desert climate can result in heat stroke, impaired water and electrolyte metabolism, and intestinal infections.

Some people do not tolerate changes in weather conditions well. This phenomenon is called meteosensitivity. People suffering from such a disorder may experience exacerbations of chronic diseases (especially diseases of the lungs, cardiovascular, nervous and musculoskeletal systems) when weather conditions change.

A comprehensive indicator of the state of human society is the level of health of the people themselves. According to modern concepts, health is the natural state of the body, which is in complete balance with the biosphere and is characterized by the absence of any pathological changes. According to the World Health Organization, health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

The state of health reflects the dynamic balance between the environment and the body. A person's health is influenced by lifestyle, genetic and environmental factors. Homeostasis is considered to be the relative dynamic constancy of the internal environment and certain physiological functions of the body in humans and animals, supported by self-regulation mechanisms in conditions of fluctuations in internal and external stimuli.

Human health, provided by the homeostasis of her body, can be maintained even with certain changes in environmental factors. Such changes cause the appearance of appropriate biological reactions in the human body, but due to adaptation processes, they do not lead to negative health consequences within certain limits of changing factors. These boundaries are individual for each person.

Adaptation is also a sphere of scientific and practical interests of human ecology. Adaptation is the adaptation of an organism at the individual and population levels to changes in environmental conditions, developed in the process of evolutionary development.

A person is affected by various natural, economic, socio-cultural, psychological factors that affect her health. In this regard, human ecology interprets adaptation to new conditions as a set of socio-biological parameters necessary for the sustainable existence of an organism in a particular ecological environment. The adaptive capabilities of the individual and the population are in real conditions that form anthropoecological stresses - the problems of the human body caused by the action of environmental factors. Its factors are socio-psychological, industrial, everyday tension, hypokinesia (impaired body functions due to limited physical activity), unhealthy diet, water and air pollution, increased noise, etc.

The study of the influence of these factors on humans is a prerequisite for the development of scientifically based environmental policy, which should cover socio-economic, technological, technical, informational, educational, organizational and other areas of activity aimed at developing the physical and mental capabilities of a person, his ability to improve, to live in harmony with yourself and the natural world.

Today, despite all the successes, man has not yet learned to purposefully change his genotype, and therefore the limits of his body’s resistance to various environmental factors have remained almost the same. For example, as tens of thousands of years ago, the following are considered optimal for humans: air temperature 18-35 ° C, atmospheric pressure 80-150 kPa, pH of drinking water 5.5-8.0, nitrate content 2-15 mg / l . However, there are fewer and fewer places on Earth where these factors are in the human optimum zone: there is a lot of water with a low nitrate content and optimal pH in the tundra or in the highlands, but the temperature, and in the mountains pressure, go beyond the optimum. And vice versa, on the plain, where both pressure and temperature are optimal, the water is increasingly becoming polluted with nitrates. Despite this, people live both on the plain and in the mountains. This is where the principle of limiting factors comes into play: if at least one of them goes beyond the tolerance range, it becomes limiting. When the value of such a factor has not yet reached the lethal limit, but has already left the optimum zone, the body experiences physiological stress: in mountainous areas it is mountain sickness, and in the plains, due to the increased content of nitrates in water, general weakness and depression.

A person, like any living being, is affected by a specific factor not by itself, but in interaction with others, and depending on the nature of this interaction, the range of tolerance may change.

For example, at a relative air humidity of 30%, an air temperature of 28 ° C corresponds to the optimum zone. But at a humidity of 70%, this same temperature goes beyond the optimum and falls into the pessimum zone: breathing speeds up, a feeling of heat and suffocation appears, depression, a person can lose consciousness.

Since the time of Hippocrates, health has been defined as the absence of disease; as a state of the body in which it is able to fully perform its functions. In this sense, health is the object of medicine. A practitioner always works with a specific person, studying the patient's health status, determines the presence of chronic diseases, analyzes the functional state of his organs and systems, individual resistance, mental and physical development, and, based on the results of the examination, makes a specific decision on treatment.

The dependence of health on heredity and environmental factors is the main aspect of the problem of human health at the population level. In this case, the object of research becomes not an individual, but a population or a set of populations - an ethnic group, a nation, humanity as a whole. Health at the population level is a more general category, since what concerns the population necessarily affects specific individuals. For example, in some areas of Polesie and Western Ukraine, a common disease is endemic goiter, which affects about half a million people. The cause of this disease is iodine deficiency in water and the high content of humic acids in it. In each specific case, the doctor prescribes medications containing iodine. However, at the population level, a more effective way to combat the disease is to correct the mineral composition of drinking water or food by adding the required amount of iodine. This procedure applies to the entire population at once and is not only therapeutic, but also preventive.

The problem of human health at the population level is dealt with by one of the new branches of ecology - medical ecology. In medical ecology, as in population ecology in general, the main indicators of the state of human populations are considered statistical. When determining the health of a population, environmental doctors analyze, first of all, fertility and mortality, life expectancy, morbidity and its structure, working capacity, and psychological indicators, such as life satisfaction. Demographic indicators (life expectancy, birth-to-mortality ratio) allow us to assess the general condition of the population. However, ecologically the most informative is the incidence and its structure. Morbidity reflects the degree of adaptation of a population to environmental conditions, and the structure of morbidity reflects the share of each disease in their total number.

Knowledge of morbidity and its structure, the causes of diseases, and the environmental conditions through which these three causes arise gives a person a powerful tool for protecting his population and each individual person from the effects of adverse environmental factors.

Morbidity is not a random phenomenon. About 50% of it is due to the lifestyle of each individual person. Bad habits, unhealthy diet, insufficient physical activity, loneliness, stress, violation of work and rest schedules contribute to the development of diseases. About 40% of the incidence depends on heredity and environmental conditions - climate, level of environmental pollution - and about 10% is determined by the current level of medical care.

Within the range of tolerance, a person adapts to environmental conditions thanks to numerous protective and adaptive (adaptive) reactions of the body, the main ones of which are maintaining the constancy of the properties of the internal environment (homeostasis), regenerative processes, immunity, and regulation of metabolism. Within the optimal framework, these reactions ensure effective functioning, high performance, and effective recovery. And if any factor moves into the pessimum zone, the effectiveness of individual adaptive systems decreases or the adaptive capacity is completely lost. Pathological changes begin in the body, which indicates a certain disease. The pathological condition under the influence of unfavorable environmental factors often results in poisoning (toxicosis), allergic reactions, malignant tumors, hereditary diseases, and congenital anomalies.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF THE RF

BELGOROD STATE TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

THEM. SHUKHOV

Department of Physical Education and Sports

ABSTRACT

On the topic: “Environmental factors affecting human health”

Completed by: student gr. TV-42

Chumakov A.V.

Checked by: Assoc. Kramskoy S.I.

Belgorod 2004

Introduction.

1. Ecology and human health:

1.1. chemical pollution of the environment and human health;

1.2. biological pollution and human diseases;

1.3. the influence of sounds on humans;

1.4. weather and human well-being;

1.5. nutrition and human health;

1.6. landscape as a health factor;

1.7. problems of human adaptation to the environment;

Conclusion.

Bibliography.

Introduction

All processes in the biosphere are interconnected. Humanity is only a small part of the biosphere, and man is only one of the types of organic life - Homo sapiens (reasonable man). Reason separated man from the animal world and gave him enormous power. For centuries, man has sought not to adapt to the natural environment, but to make it convenient for his existence. Now we have realized that any human activity has an impact on the environment, and the deterioration of the biosphere is dangerous for all living beings, including humans. A comprehensive study of man, his relationship with the outside world has led to the understanding that health is not only the absence of disease, but also the physical, mental and social well-being of a person. Health is a capital given to us not only by nature from birth, but also by the conditions in which we live.

1. Ecology and human health.

1.1. Chemical pollution of the environment and human health.

Currently, human economic activity is increasingly becoming the main source of pollution of the biosphere. Gaseous, liquid and solid industrial wastes are entering the natural environment in increasing quantities. Various chemicals found in waste, entering the soil, air or water, pass through ecological links from one chain to another, ultimately ending up in the human body.

It is almost impossible to find a place on the globe where pollutants are not present in varying concentrations. Even in the ice of Antarctica, where there are no industrial productions and people live only at small scientific stations, scientists have discovered various toxic (poisonous) substances from modern industries. They are brought here by atmospheric currents from other continents.

Substances that pollute the natural environment are very diverse. Depending on their nature, concentration, and time of action on the human body, they can cause various adverse effects. Short-term exposure to small concentrations of such substances can cause dizziness, nausea, sore throat, and cough. The entry of large concentrations of toxic substances into the human body can lead to loss of consciousness, acute poisoning and even death. An example of such an action could be smog that forms in large cities in calm weather, or emergency releases of toxic substances into the atmosphere by industrial enterprises.

The body's reactions to pollution depend on individual characteristics: age, gender, health status. As a rule, children, elderly and sick people are more vulnerable.

When the body systematically or periodically receives relatively small amounts of toxic substances, chronic poisoning occurs.

Signs of chronic poisoning are a violation of normal behavior, habits, as well as neuropsychological abnormalities: rapid fatigue or a feeling of constant fatigue, drowsiness or, conversely, insomnia, apathy, decreased attention, absent-mindedness, forgetfulness, severe mood swings.

In chronic poisoning, the same substances in different people can cause different damage to the kidneys, hematopoietic organs, nervous system, and liver.

Similar signs are observed during radioactive contamination of the environment.

Thus, in areas exposed to radioactive contamination as a result of the Chernobyl disaster, the incidence of disease among the population, especially children, increased many times.

Highly biologically active chemical compounds can cause long-term effects on human health: chronic inflammatory diseases of various organs, changes in the nervous system, effects on the intrauterine development of the fetus, leading to various abnormalities in newborns.

Doctors have established a direct connection between the increase in the number of people suffering from allergies, bronchial asthma, cancer, and the deterioration of the environmental situation in this region. It has been reliably established that industrial wastes such as chromium, nickel, beryllium, asbestos, and many pesticides are carcinogens, that is, they cause cancer. Even in the last century, cancer in children was almost unknown, but now it is becoming more and more common. As a result of pollution, new, previously unknown diseases appear. Their causes can be very difficult to establish.

Smoking causes enormous harm to human health. A smoker not only inhales harmful substances, but also pollutes the atmosphere and puts other people at risk. It has been established that people who are in the same room with a smoker inhale even more harmful substances than the smoker himself.

1.2.Biological pollution and human diseases

In addition to chemical pollutants, there are also biological pollutants in the natural environment that cause various diseases in humans. These are pathogenic microorganisms, viruses, helminths, and protozoa. They can be found in the atmosphere, water, soil, and in the body of other living organisms, including the person himself.

The most dangerous pathogens are infectious diseases. They have different stability in the environment. Some are able to live outside the human body for only a few hours; being in the air, in water, on various objects, they quickly die. Others can live in the environment from a few days to several years. For others, the environment is their natural habitat. For others, other organisms, such as wild animals, provide a place for conservation and reproduction.

Often the source of infection is the soil, in which pathogens of tetanus, botulism, gas gangrene, and some fungal diseases constantly live. They can enter the human body if the skin is damaged, with unwashed food, or if hygiene rules are violated.

Pathogenic microorganisms can penetrate groundwater and cause infectious diseases in humans. Therefore, water from artesian wells, wells, and springs must be boiled before drinking.

Open water sources are especially polluted: rivers, lakes, ponds. There are numerous cases where contaminated water sources have caused epidemics of cholera, typhoid fever, and dysentery.

In airborne infection, infection occurs through the respiratory tract by inhaling air containing pathogens.

Such diseases include influenza, whooping cough, mumps, diphtheria, measles and others. The causative agents of these diseases get into the air when sick people cough, sneeze, and even when talking.

A special group consists of infectious diseases transmitted through close contact with a patient or through the use of his things, for example, a towel, handkerchief, personal hygiene items and others that were used by the patient. These include sexually transmitted diseases (AIDS, syphilis, gonorrhea), trachoma, anthrax, and scab. Man, invading nature, often violates the natural conditions for the existence of pathogenic organisms and becomes a victim of natural eye diseases.

People and domestic animals can become infected with natural outbreak diseases when they enter the territory of a natural outbreak. Such diseases include plague, tularemia, typhus, tick-borne encephalitis, malaria, and sleeping sickness.

Other routes of infection are also possible. Thus, in some hot countries, as well as in a number of regions of our country, the infectious disease leptospirosis, or water fever, occurs. In our country, the causative agent of this disease lives in the organisms of common voles, which are widespread in meadows near rivers. The disease leptospirosis is seasonal, more common during heavy rains and hot months (July - August). A person can become infected if water contaminated with rodent secretions enters their body.

Diseases such as plague and psittacosis are transmitted by airborne droplets. When in areas of natural eye diseases, special precautions must be taken.

Man has always lived in a world of sounds and noise. Sound refers to such mechanical vibrations of the external environment that are perceived by the human hearing aid (from 16 to 20,000 vibrations per second). Vibrations of higher frequencies are called ultrasound, and vibrations of lower frequencies are called infrasound. Noise is loud sounds merged into a discordant sound.

For all living organisms, including humans, sound is one of the environmental influences.

In nature, loud sounds are rare, the noise is relatively weak and short-lived. The combination of sound stimuli gives animals and humans the time necessary to assess their character and formulate a response. Sounds and noises of high power affect the hearing aid, nerve centers, and can cause pain and shock. This is how noise pollution works.

The quiet rustling of leaves, the murmur of a stream, bird voices, the light splash of water and the sound of the surf are always pleasant to a person. They calm him down and relieve stress. But the natural sounds of the voices of Nature are becoming increasingly rare, disappearing completely or are drowned out by industrial transport and other noise.

Long-term noise adversely affects the hearing organ, reducing sensitivity to sound.

It leads to disruption of the heart and liver, and to exhaustion and overstrain of nerve cells. Weakened cells of the nervous system cannot clearly coordinate the work of various body systems. This is where disruptions in their activities arise.

The noise level is measured in units expressing the degree of sound pressure - decibels. This pressure is not perceived infinitely. A noise level of 20-30 decibels (dB) is practically harmless to humans; it is a natural background noise. As for loud sounds, the permissible limit here is approximately 80 decibels. A sound of 130 decibels already causes

a person experiences pain, and 150 becomes unbearable for him. It is not for nothing that in the Middle Ages there was execution “by the bell.” The roar of the bells tormented and slowly killed the condemned man.

The level of industrial noise is also very high. In many jobs and noisy industries it reaches 90-110 decibels or more. It’s not much quieter in our home, where new sources of noise are appearing - the so-called household appliances.

For a long time, the influence of noise on the human body was not specifically studied, although already in ancient times they knew about its harm and, for example, in ancient cities rules were introduced to limit noise.

Currently, scientists in many countries around the world are conducting various studies to determine the effect of noise on human health. Their research showed that noise causes significant harm to human health, but absolute silence also frightens and depresses him. Thus, employees of one design bureau, which had excellent sound insulation, within a week began to complain about the impossibility of working in conditions of oppressive silence. They were nervous and lost their ability to work. And, conversely, scientists have found that sounds of a certain strength stimulate the thinking process, especially the counting process.

Each person perceives noise differently. Much depends on age, temperament, health, and environmental conditions.

Some people lose their hearing even after short exposure to relatively reduced intensity noise.

Constant exposure to loud noise can not only negatively affect your hearing, but also cause other harmful effects - ringing in the ears, dizziness, headaches, and increased fatigue.

Very noisy modern music also dulls hearing and causes nervous diseases.

Noise has an accumulative effect, that is, acoustic irritation, accumulating in the body, increasingly depresses the nervous system.

Therefore, before hearing loss from exposure to noise, a functional disorder of the central nervous system occurs. Noise has a particularly harmful effect on the neuropsychic activity of the body.

The process of neuropsychiatric diseases is higher among people working in noisy conditions than among people working in normal sound conditions.

Noises cause functional disorders of the cardiovascular system; have a harmful effect on the visual and vestibular analyzers, reduce reflex activity, which often causes accidents and injuries.

Research has shown that inaudible sounds can also have harmful effects on human health. Thus, infrasounds have a special impact on the human mental sphere: all types of

intellectual activity, mood deteriorates, sometimes there is a feeling of confusion, anxiety, fright, fear, and at high intensity

feeling of weakness, as after a great nervous shock.

Even weak infrasound sounds can have a significant impact on a person, especially if they are long-lasting. According to scientists, it is infrasounds, silently penetrating through the thickest walls, that cause many nervous diseases in residents of large cities.

Ultrasounds, which occupy a prominent place in the range of industrial noise, are also dangerous. The mechanisms of their action on living organisms are extremely diverse. The cells of the nervous system are especially susceptible to their negative effects.

Noise is insidious, its harmful effects on the body occur invisibly, imperceptibly. Violations in the human body against noise is practically defenseless.

Currently, doctors are talking about noise disease, which develops as a result of exposure to noise with primary damage to the hearing and nervous system.

1.4. Weather and human well-being

Several decades ago, it never occurred to almost anyone to connect their performance, their emotional state and well-being with the activity of the Sun, with the phases of the Moon, with magnetic storms and other cosmic phenomena.

In any natural phenomenon around us, there is a strict repeatability of processes: day and night, ebb and flow, winter and summer. Rhythm is observed not only in the movement of the Earth, Sun, Moon and stars, but is also an integral and universal property of living matter, a property that penetrates all life phenomena - from the molecular level to the level of the whole organism.

In the course of historical development, man has adapted to a certain rhythm of life, determined by rhythmic changes in the natural environment and the energy dynamics of metabolic processes.

Currently, many rhythmic processes in the body, called biorhythms, are known. These include the rhythms of the heart, breathing, and bioelectrical activity of the brain. Our whole life is a constant change of rest and active activity, sleep and wakefulness, fatigue from hard work and rest.

In the body of every person, like the ebb and flow of the sea, a great rhythm eternally reigns, arising from the connection of life phenomena with the rhythm of the Universe and symbolizing the unity of the world.

The central place among all rhythmic processes is occupied by circadian rhythms, which are of greatest importance for the body. The body's response to any impact depends on the phase of the circadian rhythm (that is, on the time of day). This knowledge led to the development of new directions in medicine - chronodiagnostics, chronotherapy, chronopharmacology. They are based on the proposition that the same drug at different times of the day has different, sometimes directly opposite, effects on the body. Therefore, to obtain a greater effect, it is important to indicate not only the dose, but also the exact time of taking the medication.

It turned out that studying changes in circadian rhythms makes it possible to identify the occurrence of some diseases at the earliest stages.

Climate also has a serious impact on human well-being, influencing it through weather factors. Weather conditions include a complex of physical conditions: atmospheric pressure, humidity, air movement, oxygen concentration, the degree of disturbance of the Earth's magnetic field, and the level of atmospheric pollution.

Until now, it has not yet been possible to fully establish the mechanisms of the human body’s reactions to changes in weather conditions. And she often makes herself felt by violations of cardiac activity, nervous disorders. With a sharp change in the weather, physical and mental performance decreases, diseases become aggravated, the number of errors, accidents and even deaths increases.

Most of the physical factors of the environment, in interaction with which the human body has evolved, are of an electromagnetic nature.

It is well known that near fast-flowing water, the air is refreshing and invigorating. It contains many negative ions. For the same reason, it seems to us clean and refreshing air after a thunderstorm.

On the contrary, the air in cramped rooms with an abundance of various kinds of electromagnetic devices is saturated with positive ions. Even a relatively short stay in such a room leads to lethargy, drowsiness, dizziness and headaches. A similar picture is observed in windy weather, on dusty and humid days. Experts in the field of environmental medicine believe that negative ions have a positive effect on health, while positive ions have a negative effect.

Weather changes do not equally affect the well-being of different people. In a healthy person, when the weather changes, physiological processes in the body are timely adjusted to the changed environmental conditions. As a result, the protective reaction is enhanced and healthy people practically do not feel the negative influence of the weather.

In a sick person, adaptive reactions are weakened, so the body loses the ability to quickly adapt. The influence of weather conditions on a person’s well-being is also associated with age and individual susceptibility of the body.

1.5 Nutrition and human health

Each of us knows that food is necessary for the normal functioning of the body.

Throughout life, the human body continuously undergoes metabolism and energy. The source of the building materials and energy necessary for the body are nutrients coming from the external environment, mainly with food. If food does not enter the body, a person feels hungry. But hunger, unfortunately, will not tell you what nutrients and in what quantities a person needs. We often eat what is tasty, what can be prepared quickly, and do not really think about the usefulness and good quality of the products used.

Doctors say that nutritious nutrition is an important condition for maintaining the health and high performance of adults, and for children it is also a necessary condition for growth and development.

For normal growth, development and maintenance of vital functions, the body needs proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and mineral salts in the quantities it needs.

Irrational nutrition is one of the main causes of cardiovascular diseases, diseases of the digestive system, diseases associated with metabolic disorders.

Regular overeating and consumption of excess carbohydrates and fats are the cause of the development of metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

They cause damage to the cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive and other systems, sharply reduce the ability to work and resistance to diseases, reducing life expectancy by an average of 8-10 years.

Rational nutrition is the most important indispensable condition for the prevention of not only metabolic diseases, but also many others.

The nutritional factor plays an important role not only in the prevention, but also in the treatment of many diseases. Specially organized nutrition, the so-called therapeutic nutrition, is a prerequisite for the treatment of many diseases, including metabolic and gastrointestinal diseases.

Medicinal substances of synthetic origin, unlike food substances, are foreign to the body. Many of them can cause adverse reactions, such as allergies, so when treating patients, preference should be given to the nutritional factor.

In products, many biologically active substances are found in equal and sometimes higher concentrations than in the drugs used. That is why, since ancient times, many products, primarily vegetables, fruits, seeds, herbs, have been used in the treatment of various diseases.

Many food products have bactericidal action, inhibiting the growth and development of various microorganisms. So, apple juice delays the development of staphylococcus, pomegranate juice inhibits the growth of salmonella, cranberry juice is active against various intestinal, putrefactive and other microorganisms. Everyone knows the antimicrobial properties of onions, garlic and other foods. Unfortunately, all this rich medical arsenal is not often used in practice.

But now a new danger has appeared - chemical contamination of food. A new concept has also appeared - environmentally friendly products.

Obviously, each of us had to buy large, beautiful vegetables and fruits in stores, but, unfortunately, in most cases, after tasting them, we found out that they were watery and did not meet our taste requirements. This situation occurs if crops are grown using large amounts of fertilizers and pesticides. Such agricultural products can not only have poor taste, but also be hazardous to health.

Nitrogen is an integral part of compounds vital for plants, as well as for animal organisms, such as proteins.

In plants, nitrogen comes from the soil, and then through food and feed crops it enters the bodies of animals and humans. Nowadays, agricultural crops almost completely obtain mineral nitrogen from chemical fertilizers, since some organic fertilizers are not enough for nitrogen-depleted soils. However, unlike organic fertilizers, chemical fertilizers do not freely release nutrients under natural conditions.

This means that there is no “harmonious” nutrition of agricultural crops that satisfies the requirements of their growth. As a result, excess nitrogen nutrition of plants occurs and, as a result, accumulation of nitrates in it.

Excess nitrogen fertilizers leads to a decrease in the quality of plant products, a deterioration in their taste properties, and a decrease in plant tolerance to diseases and pests, which, in turn, forces the farmer to increase the use of pesticides. They also accumulate in plants. An increased content of nitrates leads to the formation of nitrites, which are harmful to human health. Consumption of such products can cause serious poisoning and even death in humans.

The negative effect of fertilizers and pesticides is especially pronounced when growing vegetables in closed ground. This happens because in greenhouses, harmful substances cannot evaporate freely and be carried away by air currents. After evaporation, they settle on plants.

Plants are capable of accumulating almost all harmful substances. This is why agricultural products grown near industrial enterprises and major highways are especially dangerous.

1.6. Landscape as a health factor

A person always strives to go to the forest, to the mountains, to the shore of the sea, river or lake.

Here he feels a surge of strength, vivacity. No wonder they say that it is best to relax in the bosom of nature. Sanatoriums and rest houses are built in the most beautiful corners. This is not an accident. It turns out that the surrounding landscape can have different effects on the psycho-emotional state. Contemplation of the beauty of nature stimulates vitality and calms the nervous system. Plant biocenoses, especially forests, have a strong healing effect.

The craving for natural landscapes is especially strong among the inhabitants of the city. Back in the Middle Ages, it was noticed that the life expectancy of city dwellers was shorter than that of rural residents. The lack of greenery, narrow streets, small courtyards, where sunlight practically did not penetrate, created unfavorable conditions for human life. With the development of industrial production, a huge amount of waste has appeared in the city and its surroundings, polluting the environment.

In cities, a person comes up with thousands of tricks for the convenience of his life - hot water, telephone, various modes of transport, roads, services and entertainment. However, in large cities, the shortcomings of life are especially pronounced - housing and transport problems, an increase in the level of morbidity. To a certain extent, this is due to the simultaneous impact on the body of two, three or more harmful factors, each of which has an insignificant effect, but in the aggregate leads to serious troubles for people.

So, for example, saturation of the environment and production with high-speed and high-speed machines increases stress, requires additional efforts from a person, which leads to overwork. It is well known that an overworked person suffers more from the effects of air pollution, infections.

Polluted air in the city, poisoning the blood with carbon monoxide, causes the same harm to a non-smoker as a smoker smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. A serious negative factor in modern cities is the so-called noise pollution.

Considering the ability of green spaces to favorably influence the state of the environment, they need to be brought as close as possible to the place where people live, work, study and relax.

It is very important that the city be a biogeocenosis, even if not absolutely favorable, but at least not harmful to people’s health. Let there be a zone of life here. To do this, it is necessary to solve a lot of urban problems. All enterprises that are unfavorable from a sanitary point of view must be moved outside the cities.

Green spaces are an integral part of a set of measures to protect and transform the environment. They not only create favorable microclimatic and sanitary-hygienic conditions, but also increase the artistic expressiveness of architectural ensembles.

A special place around industrial enterprises and highways should be occupied by protective green zones, in which it is recommended to plant trees and shrubs that are resistant to pollution.

In the placement of green spaces, it is necessary to observe the principle of uniformity and continuity to ensure the flow of fresh country air into all residential areas of the city. The most important components of the city’s greening system are plantings in residential neighborhoods, on the sites of child care institutions, schools, sports complexes, etc.

The urban landscape should not be a monotonous stone desert. In city architecture, one should strive for a harmonious combination of social (buildings, roads, transport, communications) and biological aspects (green areas, parks, public gardens).

A modern city should be considered as an ecosystem in which the most favorable conditions for human life are created. Consequently, it is not only comfortable housing, transport, and a diverse range of services. This is a habitat favorable for life and health; clean air and green urban landscape.

It is no coincidence that ecologists believe that in a modern city a person should not be cut off from nature, but, as it were, dissolved in it. Therefore, the total area of green spaces in cities should occupy more than half of its territory.

1.7.Problems of human adaptation to the environment

In the history of our planet (from the day of its formation to the present), grandiose processes on a planetary scale have continuously occurred and are occurring, transforming the face of the Earth. With the advent of a powerful factor - the human mind - a qualitatively new stage in the evolution of the organic world began. Due to the global nature of human interaction with the environment, it becomes the largest geological force.

Human production activity influences not only the direction of evolution of the biosphere, but also determines its own biological evolution.

The specificity of the human environment lies in the complex interweaving of social and natural factors. At the dawn of human history, natural factors played a decisive role in human evolution. The impact of natural factors on modern man is largely neutralized by social factors. In new natural and industrial conditions, a person is now often influenced by very unusual, and sometimes excessive and harsh environmental factors, for which he is not yet evolutionarily ready.

Humans, like other types of living organisms, are capable of adapting, that is, adapting to environmental conditions. Human adaptation to new natural and industrial conditions can be characterized as

a set of socio-biological properties and characteristics necessary

for the sustainable existence of an organism in a specific ecological environment.

The life of each person can be seen as a constant adaptation, but our ability to do this has certain limits. Also, the ability to restore one’s physical and mental strength is not endless for a person.

Currently, a significant part of human diseases are associated with the deterioration of the ecological situation in our environment: pollution of the atmosphere, water and soil, poor-quality food, and increased noise.

Adapting to unfavorable environmental conditions, the human body experiences a state of tension and fatigue. Tension is the mobilization of all mechanisms that ensure certain activities of the human body. Depending on the magnitude of the load, the degree of preparation of the body, its functional-structural and energy resources, the ability of the body to function at a given level is reduced, that is, fatigue occurs.

When a healthy person gets tired, a redistribution of possible reserve functions of the body can occur, and after rest, strength will reappear. Humans are capable of withstanding the harshest natural conditions for relatively long periods of time. However, a person who is not accustomed to these conditions, who finds himself in them for the first time, turns out to be much less adapted to life in an unfamiliar environment than its permanent inhabitants.

The ability to adapt to new conditions varies from person to person. Thus, many people, during long-distance flights with rapid crossing of several time zones, as well as during shift work, experience such unfavorable symptoms as sleep disturbances and decreased performance. Others adapt quickly.

Among people, two extreme adaptive types of people can be distinguished. The first of them is a sprinter, characterized by high resistance to short-term extreme factors and poor tolerance to long-term loads. The reverse type is a stayer.

It is interesting that in the northern regions of the country, people of the “stayer” type predominate among the population, which was apparently the result of long-term processes of formation of a population adapted to local conditions.

The study of human adaptive capabilities and the development of appropriate recommendations is currently of great practical importance.

Conclusion

The topic seemed very interesting to me, since the problem of ecology worries me very much, and I want to believe that our offspring will not be as susceptible to negative environmental factors as they are currently. However, we still do not realize the importance and globality of the problem that humanity faces regarding environmental protection. All over the world, people strive to minimize environmental pollution; the Russian Federation has also adopted, for example, a criminal code, one of the chapters of which is devoted to establishing punishment for environmental crimes. But, of course, not all ways to overcome this problem have been solved and we should take care of the environment ourselves and maintain the natural balance in which humans are able to exist normally.

Bibliography:

1. “Take care of yourself from diseases.”/ Maryasis V.V. Moscow. - 1992 - pp. 112-116.

2. Nikanorov A.M., Khoruzhaya T.A. Ecology./ M.: Prior. Publishing House - 1999.

3. Petrov V.V. Environmental law of Russia / Textbook for universities. M. - 1995

4. “You and Me.” Publisher: Young Guard. / Editor-in-chief Kaptsova L.V. - Moscow. - 1989 - pp. 365-368.

5. Environmental crimes. - Commentary on the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation./ Publishing house “INFRA M-NORMA”, Moscow, 1996, p.586-588.

6. Ecology. Textbook. E.A. Kriksunov./ Moscow. - 1995 - pp. 240-242.

Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution

higher professional education

"Russian State Vocational and Pedagogical

university"

Faculty of Physical Education

Department of Physical Education

Abstract on the discipline “Physical Education”

on the topic of:

ECOLOGICAL FACTORS AND THEIR IMPACT ON HEALTH

Completed by: Kochetova V.A.

Checked:

Ekaterinburg 2015

PLAN-TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

1. Environmental factors

2. Impact of environmental factors on the body

5.2. The effect of vibration on humans

6. Biological contamination

7. Food

9. Results of the impact of environmental factors on the human body.

10. Landscape as a health factor

11. Problems of human adaptation to the environment conclusion

List of used literature

INTRODUCTION

When starting to consider the issues of the influence of environmental factors on public health, it is necessary to dwell on the concepts: ecology and health.

Recently, the word “ecology” is most often used when talking about the unfavorable state of the nature around us.

The term ecology is derived from two Greek words (oikos house, dwelling, homeland, and logos science), literally “the science of habitat.” In a more general sense, ecology is a science that studies the relationships of organisms and their communities with their environment (including the variety of their relationships with other organisms and communities).
A community or population (from the Latin populus people, population) cannot exist in isolation from the environment, since the relationships between populations are carried out through elements of inanimate nature or are strongly dependent on it.

The natural living space occupied by a community forms an ecological system, and the totality of ecosystems forms a biosphere.

All processes in the biosphere are interconnected. Humanity is only a small part of the biosphere, and man is only one type of organic life. Reason separated man from the animal world and gave him enormous power. For centuries, man has sought not to adapt to the natural environment, but to make it convenient for his existence. This desire became especially acute after the consequences of unreasonable economic activity, leading to the destruction of the natural environment, became obvious.

Starting to consider the issues of the influence of environmental factors on the health of the population, it is necessary to dwell on the concept of health.

According to the WHO (World Health Organization) definition, health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Relevance of the topic: the impact of environmental factors has led to significant changes in the health indicators of the population, which consist in the fact that new patterns are observed in the distribution and nature of human pathology, otherwise demographic processes proceed.

The purpose of the study: to determine the dependence of the state of human health on environmental factors.

Research objectives:

Study of factors influencing human health;

Consideration of the results of the influence of these factors on the human body.

1. ECOLOGICAL FACTORS.

Environmental factors properties of the environment that have any effect on the body. Indifferent elements of the environment, for example, inert gases, are not environmental factors.

Environmental factors exhibit significant variability in time and space. For example, temperatures vary greatly on the surface of the land, but are almost constant at the bottom of the ocean or in the depths of caves.

The same environmental factor has different significance in the life of co-living organisms. For example, the salt regime of the soil plays a primary role in the mineral nutrition of plants, but is indifferent to most terrestrial animals. The intensity of illumination and the spectral composition of light are extremely important in the life of phototrophic organisms (most plants and photosynthetic bacteria), and in the life of heterotrophic organisms (fungi, animals, a significant part of microorganisms) light does not have a noticeable effect on life activity.

2. impact of environmental factors on the body

The structure of the environment can be conditionally divided into natural (mechanical, physical, chemical and biological) and social elements of the environment (work, life, socio-economic structure, information). The conventionality of this division is explained by the fact that natural factors act on a person in certain social conditions and are often significantly changed as a result of people’s production and economic activities.

The properties of environmental factors determine the specific influence on a person. Natural elements influence their physical properties: hypobaria, hypoxia; increased wind conditions, solar and ultraviolet radiation; changes in ionizing radiation, electrostatic voltage of air and its ionization; fluctuations in electromagnetic and gravitational fields; increasing climate severity with altitude and geographic location, precipitation dynamics; frequency and variety of natural phenomena.

Natural geochemical factors influence humans by anomalies in the qualitative and quantitative ratio of microelements in soil, water, air, and, consequently, by a decrease in diversity and anomalies in the ratio of chemical elements in locally produced agricultural products. The action of natural biological factors is manifested in changes in macrofauna, flora and microorganisms, the presence of endemic foci of diseases of the animal and plant world, as well as the emergence of new allergens of natural origin.

The group of social factors also has certain properties that can affect living conditions and health. So, if we talk about the influence of working conditions, we should highlight the following groups of factors that shape these conditions: socio-economic, technical, organizational and natural.

The first group of factors is decisive and is determined by production relations. This includes regulatory factors (Labor Law, rules, norms, standards and practices of state and public control over their compliance); socio-psychological factors that can be characterized by the employee’s attitude to work, specialty and its prestige, the psychological climate in the team; economic factors, such as material incentives, a system of benefits and compensation for work in unfavorable conditions.

The second group of factors has a direct impact on the creation of material elements of working conditions. These are means, objects and tools of labor, technological processes, organization of production, applied work and rest regimes.

The third group of factors characterizes the impact on workers of the climatic, geological and biological features of the area where work takes place. In real conditions, this complex set of factors that shape working conditions is united by diverse mutual connections.

Everyday life has an impact through housing, clothing, food, water supply, the development of infrastructure in the service sector, the provision of recreation and the conditions for its implementation, etc. The socio-economic structure affects a person through the socio-legal status, material security, level of culture, education. Information impact is determined by the volume of information, its quality, and accessibility to perception.

The above structure of factors shaping the environment clearly shows that changes in the levels of exposure to any of the listed factors can lead to health problems. In addition, the simultaneous change in several factors of a natural nature or social environment, the difficulty in determining the connection of a disease with a specific factor is also due to the fact that the formation of one of the three functional states of the body from the point of view of the theory of functional systems, i.e. normal, borderline or pathological, may be disguised.

The human body can react in the same way to a variety of influences. Changes in the state of the body of similar severity can be caused in one case by the action of harmful, most often anthropogenic, environmental factors; in another case, such a factor is excessive physical or mental stress; in the third case, a deficiency of motor activity with increased neuro-emotional stress. Moreover, depending on specific conditions, factors can have an isolated, combined, complex or joint effect on the body.

A combined effect is understood as the simultaneous or sequential effect on the body of factors of the same nature, for example, several chemical substances through the same route of entry (with air, water, food, etc.).

A complex effect occurs when the same chemical substance is simultaneously introduced into the body in different ways (from water, air, food).

A joint effect is observed with the simultaneous or sequential action of factors of different nature (physical, chemical, biological) on the human body.

Finally, we must remember that in the development of pathological processes in the body, various environmental pollution can play the role of risk factors, which are understood as factors that are not the direct cause of a particular disease, but which increase the likelihood of its occurrence.

The influence of factors also depends on the state of the organism, therefore they have a different effect on both different species and on one organism at different stages of its development: low temperatures are tolerated without harm by adult conifers of the temperate zone, but are dangerous for young plants.

Factors can partially replace each other: when illumination decreases, the intensity of photosynthesis will not change if the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air increases, which usually happens in greenhouses.

Environmental factors can act as irritants that cause adaptive changes in physiological functions; as limiters that make it impossible for certain organisms to exist under given conditions; as modifiers that determine morpho-anatomical and physiological changes in organisms.

Organisms are influenced not by static, unchanging factors, but by their regimes - a sequence of changes over a certain time.

3. Technogenic factors and environmental pollution affecting public health

It should be taken into account that pollution is understood as a condition when a pollutant is present in an environmental object in quantities exceeding the maximum permissible concentration and can have an adverse effect on human health and sanitary living conditions. According to the UN definition, pollution refers to exogenous chemicals occurring in the wrong place, at the wrong time and in the wrong amount.

The main man-made factors that have a negative impact on health are chemical and physical.

4. Chemical pollution of the environment and human health

It is almost impossible to find a place on the globe where pollutants are not present, in varying concentrations. Even in the ice of Antarctica, where there are no industrial productions and people live only at small scientific stations, scientists have discovered various toxic (poisonous) substances from modern industries. They are brought here by atmospheric currents from other continents.

The body's reactions to pollution depend on individual characteristics: age, gender, health status. As a rule, children, elderly and sick people are more vulnerable.

When relatively small amounts of toxic substances are systematically or periodically introduced into the body, chronic poisoning occurs.

In chronic poisoning, the same substances in different people can cause different damage to the kidneys, hematopoietic organs, nervous system, and liver.

Similar signs are observed during radioactive contamination of the environment.

Doctors have established a direct connection between the increase in the number of people suffering from allergies, bronchial asthma, cancer, and the deterioration of the environmental situation in a particular region. It has been reliably established that industrial wastes such as chromium, nickel, beryllium, asbestos, and many pesticides are carcinogens, that is, they cause cancer. Even in the last century, cancer in children was almost unknown, but now it is becoming more and more common. As a result of pollution, new, previously unknown diseases appear. Their causes can be very difficult to establish.

5. Physical pollution of the environment

The main physical environmental factors that have a negative impact on human health include noise, vibration, electromagnetic radiation, and electric current.

5.1. The effect of sound on humans

Long-term noise adversely affects the hearing organ, reducing sensitivity to sound.

Each person perceives noise differently. Much depends on age, temperament, health, and environmental conditions.

Some people lose their hearing even after short exposure to relatively reduced intensity noise.

Constant exposure to loud noise can not only negatively affect your hearing, but also cause other harmful effects, such as ringing in the ears, dizziness, headaches, and increased fatigue.

Very noisy modern music also dulls hearing and causes nervous diseases.

Noise has an accumulative effect, that is, acoustic irritation, accumulating in the body, increasingly depresses the nervous system.

Therefore, before hearing loss from exposure to noise, a functional disorder of the central nervous system occurs. Noise has a particularly harmful effect on the neuropsychic activity of the body.

The process of neuropsychiatric diseases is higher among people working in noisy conditions than among people working in normal sound conditions.

Noises cause functional disorders of the cardiovascular system; have a harmful effect on the visual and vestibular analyzers, reduce reflex activity, which often causes accidents and injuries.

Research has shown that inaudible sounds can also have harmful effects on human health. Thus, infrasounds have a special impact on the mental sphere of a person: all types of intellectual activity are affected, mood deteriorates, sometimes there is a feeling of confusion, anxiety, fright, fear, and at high intensity, a feeling of weakness, as after a strong nervous shock.

5.2. The influence of vibration on humans.

Vibration is a complex oscillatory process with a wide range of frequencies, resulting from the transfer of vibrational energy from some mechanical source. In cities, the sources of vibration are primarily transport, as well as some industries. In the latter, prolonged exposure to vibration can cause the occurrence of an occupational disease - vibration disease, which is expressed in changes in the vessels of the extremities, neuromuscular and musculoskeletal systems.

5.3. The influence of electromagnetic radiation on humans

Sources of electromagnetic radiation include radar, radio and television stations, various industrial installations, and devices, including household ones.

Systematic exposure to the electromagnetic field of radio waves at levels exceeding permissible levels can cause changes in the central nervous system, cardiovascular, endocrine and other systems of the human body.

5.4. The influence of the electric field on humans

The electric field has a significant harmful effect on humans. Based on the nature of the impact, three levels are distinguished:

direct effect manifested when staying in an electric field; the effect of this influence increases with increasing field strength and time spent in it;

exposure to pulse discharges (pulse current) that occurs when a person touches structures isolated from the ground, bodies of pneumatic machines and mechanisms and extended conductors, or when a person isolated from the ground touches plants, grounded structures and other grounded objects;

the impact of current passing through a person in contact with objects isolated from the ground - large objects, machines and mechanisms, extended conductors.

6. Biological pollution.

Pathogenic microorganisms can penetrate groundwater and cause infectious diseases in humans. Therefore, water from artesian wells, wells, and springs must be boiled before drinking.

Open water sources are especially polluted: rivers, lakes, ponds. There are numerous cases where contaminated water sources have caused epidemics of cholera, typhoid fever, and dysentery.

In airborne infection, infection occurs through the respiratory tract by inhaling air containing pathogens.

Such diseases include influenza, whooping cough, mumps, diphtheria, measles and others. The causative agents of these diseases get into the air when sick people cough, sneeze, and even when talking.

In some hot countries, as well as in a number of regions of our country, the infectious disease leptospirosis, or water fever, occurs. In our country, the causative agent of this disease lives in the organisms of common voles, which are widespread in meadows near rivers. Leptospirosis is a seasonal disease and is more common during heavy rainfall and hot months. A person can become infected if water contaminated with rodent secretions enters their body.

7. Food

The source of the building materials and energy necessary for the body are nutrients coming from the external environment, mainly with food. If food does not enter the body, a person feels hungry. But hunger, unfortunately, will not tell you what nutrients and in what quantities a person needs.

A nutritious diet is an important condition for maintaining the health and high performance of adults, and for children it is also a necessary condition for growth and development.

For normal growth, development and maintenance of vital functions, the body needs proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and mineral salts in the quantities it needs.

Irrational nutrition is one of the main causes of cardiovascular diseases, diseases of the digestive system, diseases associated with metabolic disorders.

Regular overeating and consumption of excess carbohydrates and fats are the cause of the development of metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

They cause damage to the cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive and other systems, sharply reduce the ability to work and resistance to diseases, reducing life expectancy by an average of 8-10 years.

Rational nutrition is the most important indispensable condition for the prevention of not only metabolic diseases, but also many others.

A new danger has emerged - chemical contamination of food, which occurs if crops are grown using large amounts of fertilizers and pesticides. Such agricultural products can not only have poor taste, but also be hazardous to health.

Plants are capable of accumulating almost all harmful substances. This is why agricultural products grown near industrial enterprises and major highways are especially dangerous.

A new concept has also appeared - environmentally friendly products.

8. Weather, rhythmic processes in nature

In any natural phenomenon around us, there is a strict repeatability of processes: day and night, ebb and flow, winter and summer.

Rhythm is observed not only in the movement of the Earth, Sun, Moon and stars, but is also an integral and universal property of living matter, a property that penetrates all life phenomena - from the molecular level to the level of the whole organism.

This knowledge made it possible to reveal that the same drug at different times of the day has different, sometimes directly opposite, effects on the body. Therefore, to obtain a greater effect, it is important to indicate not only the dose, but also the exact time of taking the medication.

Climate also has a serious impact on human well-being, influencing it through weather factors.

Most of the physical factors of the environment, in interaction with which the human body has evolved, are of an electromagnetic nature.

At the same time, in a healthy person, when the weather changes, physiological processes in the body are timely adjusted to the changed environmental conditions. As a result, the protective reaction is enhanced and healthy people practically do not feel the negative influence of the weather.

9. Results of the impact of environmental factors on the human body.

The result of the influence of factors depends on the duration and repetition of their extreme values throughout the life of the organism and its descendants: short-term influences may not have any consequences, while long-term ones lead to qualitative changes through the mechanism of natural selection.

Features of the impact of environmental factors have led to significant changes in population health indicators, which consist in the fact that new patterns are observed in the prevalence and nature of human pathology, and demographic processes proceed differently.

Changes in health indicators are significantly influenced by the changed environment and incorrect attitude towards one’s health. According to some data, up to 77% of all cases of disease and more than 50% of deaths, as well as up to 57% of cases of abnormal physical development, are associated with the action of these factors.

10. Landscape as a health factor.

A person always strives to go to the forest, to the mountains, to the shore of the sea, river or lake.

The craving for natural landscapes is especially strong among the inhabitants of the city.

Considering the ability of green spaces to favorably influence the state of the environment, they need to be brought as close as possible to the place where people live, work, study and relax.

It is very important that the city is, if not absolutely favorable, but at least not harmful to people’s health. Let there be a zone of life here. To do this, it is necessary to solve a lot of urban problems. All enterprises that are unfavorable from a sanitary point of view must be moved outside the cities.

A special place around industrial enterprises and highways should be occupied by protective green zones, in which it is recommended to plant trees and shrubs that are resistant to pollution.

The most important components of the city’s greening system are plantings in residential neighborhoods, on the sites of child care institutions, schools, sports complexes, etc.

11. Problems of human adaptation to the environment

In the history of our planet, grandiose processes on a planetary scale have continuously occurred and are ongoing, transforming the face of the Earth. With the advent of a powerful factor - the human mind - a qualitatively new stage in the evolution of the organic world began. Due to the global nature of human interaction with the environment, it becomes the largest geological force.

Humans, like other types of living organisms, are capable of adapting, that is, adapting to environmental conditions. Human adaptation to new natural and industrial conditions can be characterized as a set of socio-biological properties and characteristics necessary for the sustainable existence of an organism in a specific ecological environment.

CONCLUSION.

The fate of nature and society, all humanity, our planet should concern everyone. Indifference and irresponsibility can lead to unpredictable and irreversible consequences. The earth is our home, and everyone is responsible for its safety.

The duty of science and society is to stop the process of deterioration of the biosphere, to return to nature the ability to self-regulate based on natural processes.

LIST OF REFERENCES USED.

V.F.Protasov, A.V.Molchanov. Ecology, health and environmental management in Russia. M.: Finance and Statistics, 1995.

E.A.Kriksunov, V.V.Pasechnik. Ecology. M.: Bustard, 2007.

E.A.Rustamov. Nature management. M.: Publishing house "Dashkov and K", 2000.

A.M. Prokhorov. Soviet encyclopedic dictionary. M.: “Soviet Encyclopedia”, 1988.