Main factors affecting health. There are a number of factors that have a great impact on human health

People tend to attribute their illnesses to radiation and the harmful effects of other pollutants. environment. However, the impact of ecology on human health in Russia today is only 25–50% of the totality of all influencing factors. And only after 30–40 years, according to experts, dependence physical condition and the well-being of Russian citizens from the environment will increase to 50–70%.

The lifestyle that they lead has the greatest impact on the health of Russians (50%). Among the components of this factor:

nature of nutrition,

good and bad habits,

physical activity,

neuropsychic state (stress, depression, etc.).

In second place in terms of influence on human health is such a factor as ecology (25%), on the third - heredity, which is as much as 20%. The remaining 5% comes from medicine. However, there are cases when the effects of several of these 4 factors influencing human health at once overlap each other.

The first example: medicine is practically powerless when it comes to environmentally-related diseases. In Russia there are only a few hundred doctors specializing in diseases of chemical etiology - they will not be able to help all those affected by environmental pollution. As for ecology as a factor influencing human health, when assessing the degree of its influence it is important to take into account the scale of environmental pollution:

global environmental pollution- trouble for everything human society, however for one individual person does not pose any particular danger;

regional environmental pollution is a disaster for residents of the region, but in most cases it is not very dangerous for the health of one particular person;

local environmental pollution - represents serious danger both for the health of the population of a particular city/region as a whole, and for each individual resident of this area. Following this logic, it is easy to determine that the dependence of a person’s health on the air pollution of the specific street on which he lives is even higher than on the pollution of the area as a whole. However, the greatest impact on human health influences the ecology of his home and work area. After all, we spend approximately 80% of our time in buildings. And indoor air, as a rule, is dry, it contains a significant concentration of chemical pollutants: in terms of the content of radioactive radon - 10 times (on the first floors and in basements - perhaps hundreds of times); in terms of aeroion composition - 5–10 times.

Thus, it is extremely important for human health:

what floor does he live on (on the first floor there is a higher probability of exposure to radioactive radon),

what material is his house built from (natural or artificial),

what kind of kitchen stove does he use (gas or electric),

what the floor in his apartment/house is covered with (linoleum, carpets or a less harmful material);

what the furniture is made of (SP-contains phenols);

are they present in the home? houseplants, and in what quantity.

Atmospheric air is one of the main vital important elements environment around us. During the day, a person inhales about 12-15 m3 of oxygen and emits approximately 580 liters of carbon dioxide.

Children living near powerful power plants that are not equipped with dust collectors show changes in the lungs similar to forms of silicosis. Dust containing silicon oxides causes severe pulmonary disease- silicosis. Heavy air pollution with smoke and soot, which continues for several days, can cause poisoning of people with fatal. Air pollution has a particularly detrimental effect on humans in cases where meteorological conditions contribute to air stagnation over the city.

Harmful substances contained in the atmosphere affect human body upon contact with the surface of the skin or mucous membrane. This happens when a sweaty person (with open pores) walks along a polluted and dusty street in the summer. If, upon reaching home, he does not immediately take a warm (not hot!) shower, harmful substances have a chance to penetrate deep into his body.

Along with the respiratory system, pollutants affect the organs of vision and smell, and when affecting the mucous membrane of the larynx, they can cause spasms vocal cords. Inhaled solid and liquid particles measuring 0.6-1.0 microns reach the alveoli and are absorbed in the blood, some accumulate in the lymph nodes.

Polluted air is mostly annoying Airways, causing bronchitis, emphysema, asthma. The irritants that cause these diseases include SO2 and SO3, nitrogen vapors, HCl, HNO3, H2SO4, H2S, phosphorus and its compounds. Research conducted in the UK has shown a very strong connection between atmospheric pollution and mortality from bronchitis.

Signs and consequences of air pollutants on the human body are manifested mostly in the deterioration general condition health: headaches, nausea, feeling of weakness appear, decreased or lost ability to work.

It can be concluded that greatest number pollutants enter the human body through the lungs. Indeed, most researchers confirm that every day, from 15 kg of inhaled air, more penetrates into the human body harmful substances than with water, with food, with dirty hands, through the skin. Wherein inhalation route The entry of pollutants into the body is also the most dangerous. Due to the fact that:

the air is polluted by a wide range of harmful substances, some of which can enhance the harmful effects of each other;

pollution entering the body through the respiratory tract bypasses such a protective biochemical barrier as the liver - as a result of their toxic effects turns out to be 100 times stronger than the influence of pollutants penetrating through gastrointestinal tract;

the absorption of harmful substances entering the body through the lungs is much higher than that of pollutants that enter with food and water;

from atmospheric pollutants hard to hide: they affect human health 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The main causes of death caused by air pollution are cancer, congenital pathologies, and work impairment. immune system human body.

Inhaling air containing combustion products (thin diesel exhaust), even for a short time, for example, increases the risk of coronary heart disease.

Industrial plants and vehicles emit black smoke and greenish-yellow dioxide, which increase the risk early death. Even relatively low concentrations of these substances in the atmosphere cause from 4 to 22 percent of deaths before the age of forty.

Exhausts road transport, as well as emissions from coal-burning plants, saturate the air with tiny particles of pollution that can cause increased blood clotting and blood clots. circulatory system person. Polluted air also leads to increased pressure. This is because air pollution causes changes in the part of the nervous system that controls blood pressure levels. Due to air pollution in major cities approximately five percent of hospitalizations occur.

Large industrial cities are often covered by thick fog - smog. This is very strong air pollution, which is a thick fog with impurities of smoke and gas waste or a veil of caustic gases and aerosols of high concentration. This phenomenon is usually observed in calm weather. This is very a big problem large cities, which negatively affects human health. Smog is especially dangerous for children and elderly people with weakened bodies and heart disease. -vascular diseases and diseases of the respiratory system. The highest concentration of harmful substances in the surface air is observed in the morning; during the day, smog rises under the influence of rising air currents.

Very dangerous symptom for humanity is that air pollution increases the likelihood of having children with developmental defects. The prohibitive concentration of harmful substances in the atmosphere causes premature birth, newborns are low weight, and sometimes stillborn babies are born. If a pregnant woman breathes air containing high concentrations of ozone and carbon monoxide, especially in the second month of pregnancy, she is three times more likely to give birth to a child with a birth defect such as cleft lip, cleft palate, defects of cardiac origin. The future of humanity depends on clean air, water, and forests. Only right attitude to nature will allow future generations to be healthy and happy.

Human activity over the past few millennia has been able to influence the Earth. As reality shows, it becomes the only source of pollution in the environment. Because of what is observed: a decrease in soil fertility, desertification and land degradation, deterioration in air and water quality, and the disappearance of ecosystems. In addition to this, there is bad influence on human health and life expectancy. According to modern statistics, more than 80% of diseases are associated with what we breathe, what kind of water we drink and what soil we walk on. Let's look at this in more detail.

The negative impact of the environment on human health occurs due to industrial enterprises which are located near residential areas. As a rule, these are powerful sources of harmful emissions into the atmosphere.

Various solid and gaseous substances enter the air every day. It's about about carbon oxides, sulfur, nitrogen, hydrocarbons, lead compounds, dust, chromium, asbestos, which can poison the breath, mucous membranes, vision and smell).

The impact of environmental pollution on human health contributes to the deterioration of general condition. As a result, nausea appears, headaches and a feeling of weakness occur, and ability to work decreases.

The Earth also has a negative impact. Diseases transmitted through contaminated sources cause deterioration and often death. As a rule, the most dangerous are ponds, lakes and rivers, in which pathogenic microorganisms and viruses actively multiply.

Polluted drinking water, which comes from the water supply, contributes to the development of cardiovascular and renal pathologies, the emergence of various diseases.

Consequently, as a result of the fact that man constantly creates a large number of conveniences for your life, scientific progress “does not stand still.” Due to the implementation of most of his achievements, a the whole complex harmful and unfavorable factors for life. This is about elevated level radiation, toxic substances, combustible fire hazardous materials and noise.

In addition, it can be noted psychological impact per person. For example, due to the fact that large settlements saturated with machines, it is carried out not only Negative influence transport on the environment, but also stress and overwork.

The impact of the environment on human health occurs through the soil, the sources of pollution of which are enterprises and residential buildings. Thanks to human activity, not only chemicals enter it (mercury, lead, arsenic, etc.), but also organic compounds. From the soil they penetrate into groundwater, which is absorbed by plants, and then through plants, meat and milk into the body.

So it turns out that the influence of the environment on human health, as a living environment, turns out to be negative.

Healthy lifestyle (sometimes abbreviated as healthy lifestyle)- one of the important components normal life person.

Many people have heard that a healthy lifestyle allows you to look young and remain productive throughout your life. But few people know what exactly it is?

1. Human lifestyle: his diet, regime, nature of work and rest, presence/absence bad habits(tobacco, alcohol), sports, material and living conditions. The condition of our body depends approximately 60% on these characteristics.
2. The external environment around us, climatic conditions and the state of the ecology in the territory of residence have a 20% significance for human health.
3. Genetic predisposition, hereditary factors occupy approximately 10% on the scale of importance.
4. The same degree of significance for the quality and life expectancy has level of healthcare in the country.
As can be seen from this list, the most significant factor is a person’s healthy lifestyle. This, in addition to the listed components, includes hygiene and hardening of the body.

Sport

Exercising is beneficial not only for muscles: correctly dosed physical activity has a positive effect on a person’s state of mind. In this case, the type of sport does not matter, it is only important that you like it, give a feeling of pleasure and cheerfulness, and provide an opportunity to take a break from stress and emotional overload, which are so common in modern world.

The habit of a healthy lifestyle is formed in childhood. If the parents explained in time and by example proved to the child the importance proper nutrition, compliance standard rules hygiene and so on, then, becoming an adult, a person will also comply with these guidelines.

However, we should not forget that a healthy lifestyle is not just a list of certain rules, but also the style of your life, your thoughts, actions and deeds.

It is on this that, first of all, not only your health and your life expectancy will depend, but also your mood and the nature of communication with the people around you. Thus, a healthy lifestyle will help you strengthen your body and spirit, and become more

Studying public health carried out on the basis of various criteria. However, criteria alone are not enough to study public health. They must be used in conjunction with factors affecting health. These factors can be roughly grouped into 4 groups:

• 1) biological factors- gender, age, constitution, heredity,
• 2) natural - climatic, heliogeophysical, anthropogenic pollution, etc.,
• 3) social and socio-economic - legislation on protecting the health of citizens, working conditions, living conditions, recreation, nutrition, migration processes, level of education, culture, etc.,
• 4) medical factors or organization medical care.

All of these 4 groups of factors affect both human health and the health of the entire population, and they are interrelated with each other. But the influence of these factors on health is not the same.

The leading (main) importance in the formation of health belongs to social factors. This is confirmed by differences in the level of public health depending on the degree of socio-economic development of the country. As practice shows, the higher the level of economic development of a country, the higher the indicators of public health and the health of individual citizens, and vice versa. An example of the leading influence of social conditions on health is the decline and crisis of the Russian economy.

As a result, the health of the population has fallen sharply, and the demographic situation is characterized by a crisis. Thus, we can talk about the social conditioning of health. This means that social conditions (factors) through conditions and lifestyle, state natural environment, the state of health care shapes individual, group, and public health. Kuchma V.R. Megapolis: some hygienic problems / V.R. Kuchma. - M.: Publisher RCCD RAMS. - 2006. - p. 280.

Work and health

During life, 1/3 of the total time a person participates in labor activity. Therefore, it is important that there is no deterioration in health under the influence of work. To this end:

• 1) improve or minimize adverse production factors;
• 2) improve equipment, technology, etc.;
• 3) improve the organization of the workplace;
• 4) reduce the share of physical labor;
• 5) reduce neuropsychic tension.

The main unfavorable production factors are:

gas pollution; dust; noise; vibration; monotone; neuropsychic stress; uncomfortable working posture.

To prevent disease and ensure high labor productivity, it is necessary to maintain optimal temperature, humidity, air speed, eliminate drafts. Also, the health status of workers has an important influence psychological climate at the enterprise, the rhythm of the enterprise’s work.

However, failure to implement these measures to improve working conditions can lead to the following social consequences:

• 1) general morbidity,
• 2) occurrence of occupational morbidity,
• 3) occurrence of injuries,
• 4) disability, disability
• 5) mortality.

Today, about 5 million workers work in unfavorable production conditions, which is 17% of all workers. Of these in harmful conditions 3 million women work, and 250 thousand work in particularly harmful ones.

It should be noted that in modern conditions the employer has become interested in improving working conditions, but it is poorly implemented.

At the same time, many more problems need to be solved so that work is truly a factor of health and not pathology.

Consciousness and health

The consciousness that is inherent in man, unlike animals, encourages him to pay certain attention to health. In this regard, health care should be a top priority for most people. In reality, due to the low level of consciousness in the majority of the population, this has not yet been observed. The result of this is that the dominant part of the population does not comply with the elements healthy image life. Examples confirming the influence of consciousness on attitudes towards health include:

• -- low level consciousness in drinkers who literally destroy their health (offspring - gene pool);
• - persons who do not comply with the regime and prescriptions of doctors;
• -- untimely application for medical help.

Age and health

There is a certain relationship between age and a person’s state of health, which is characterized by the fact that as age increases, health gradually fades away. But this dependence is not strictly linear, it has the form of a figurative curve. This is how one of the indicators of public health changes - mortality. Along with mortality in old age, mortality also occurs in young people age groups. Most high levels Mortality rates are observed at the age of up to 1 year and in old age over 60 years. After 1 year, the mortality rate decreases and reaches a minimum at the age of 10-14 years. For this group, the age-specific mortality rate is minimal (0.6%). At later ages, mortality increases gradually and especially rapidly after 60 years.

It should be emphasized that health must be protected from a young age, since, firstly, most children are still healthy, and some have initial signs diseases that can be eliminated; secondly, children's and adolescence has a number of anatomical and physiological features, psychophysical features, is characterized by the imperfection of many functions and hypersensitivity To unfavorable factors environment. That is why, from childhood, it is necessary to teach a child to maintain a healthy lifestyle and other health promotion activities. Moroz M.P. Express diagnostics functional state and human performance // Methodical manual- St. Petersburg. - 2005-с38.

Nutrition and lifespan

When assessing the role of nutrition in human longevity, the following should be considered:

• 1) the relationship of its role, like any environmental factor, with hereditary factors longevity, as well as significant genetic heterogeneity of the human population;
• 2) participation of nutrition in the formation of the adaptive background that determines the state of health;
• 3) the relative contribution to longevity compared with other health factors;
• 4) assessment of nutrition as a factor involved in the adaptation of the body to the environment.

The diet of centenarians is characterized by a pronounced dairy-vegetable orientation, low consumption of salt, sugar, vegetable oil, meat, fish. Also high content in the diet of grain legumes (corn, beans), fermented milk products, spicy seasonings, a variety of vegetable sauces, spices.

The diet of the population with low life expectancy was characterized by low consumption of milk and fermented milk products, vegetables (except potatoes), and fruits. However, consumption is significantly higher lard, pork meat, vegetable oil, and in general the nutrition was carbohydrate-fat oriented.

Culture and health

The level of culture of the population is directly related to its health. Culture in this case is understood broadly (i.e. culture in general) and medical culture - as part of universal human culture. Specifically, the influence of culture on health comes down to the fact that the lower the level of culture, the higher the likelihood of diseases, the lower other health indicators. Direct and most important the following elements of culture have health benefits:

• · food culture,
• · culture of residence, i.e. maintaining housing in appropriate conditions,
• · culture of organization of leisure (rest),
• · hygienic (medical) culture: compliance with the rules of personal and public hygiene depends on a person’s culture (a cultural person observes them, and vice versa).

Subject to the specified hygiene measures the health indicator will be higher.

Housing (living) conditions and health

A person spends the bulk of his time (2/3 of the total time) outside of production, i.e. in everyday life, while being in housing and in nature. Therefore, the comfort and convenience of housing has great importance to restore functionality after working day, to maintain health at the proper level, to improve cultural and educational levels, etc.

At the same time, the housing problem in the Russian Federation is very acute. This is manifested both in a large shortage of housing and in the low level of its amenities and comfort. The situation is aggravated by the general economic crisis of the country, as a result of which the free provision of public housing has ceased to exist, and construction at the expense of personal savings due to their deficit is extremely poorly developed.

Therefore, for these and other reasons, most of the population lives in poor housing conditions. IN rural areas Heating problems have not been resolved everywhere. 21% of the population considers the poor quality of housing to be the main reason for the deterioration of their health. When asked what is needed to improve their health, 24% of respondents answered: improving living conditions. WITH low quality housing is associated with the occurrence of diseases such as tuberculosis and bronchial asthma. Especially adverse influence provides low temperature housing, dust, gas pollution. Low mechanization of living conditions (household work) has a negative impact on health. As a result, citizens, and especially women, spend a large amount of time, effort and health on fulfilling homework. There is less or no time left for rest, improvement of educational level, activities physical culture, to perform other elements of a healthy lifestyle. . Kuchma V.R. Guidelines for hygiene and health protection: for medical and teaching staff, educational institutions, medical and preventive institutions, sanitary and epidemiological service / Kuchma V.R. Serdyukovskaya G.N., Demin A.K. M.: Russian Association public health, 2008. - 152 p.

Rest and health

Of course, to preserve and strengthen human health rest is needed. Rest is a state of rest or a type of activity that relieves fatigue and helps restore performance. The most important condition good rest is its logistics, which includes diverse categories. These include: improvement of living conditions, an increase in the number of theaters, museums, exhibition halls, the development of television and radio broadcasting, expansion of the network of libraries, cultural centers, parks, health resort institutions, etc.

In modern production conditions, when the growth of automation and mechanization processes, on the one hand, leads to a decrease motor activity, and on the other - to an increase in the share mental labor or work related to neuropsychic stress, the effectiveness of passive rest is insignificant.

Moreover, forms of passive rest often have an adverse effect on the body, primarily on the cardiovascular and respiratory system. Consequently, the value increases active rest. The effect of active rest is manifested not only in relieving fatigue, but also in improving the functional state of the central nervous system, coordination of movements, cardiovascular, respiratory, and other systems, which undoubtedly contributes to the improvement physical development, improving health and reducing morbidity. Katsnelson B.A. On the methodology of studying the dependence of population health on a complex of hygienic and other factors / B.A. Katsnelson, E.V. Polzik, N.V. Nozhkina, etc. // Hygiene and Sanitation. - 2005. - No. 2. - P.30-32.

The health of an individual and society as a whole is determined by a number of factors that affect the human body, both positively and negatively. According to expert opinions World Organization healthcare, four main groups of factors determining human health have been identified, each of which has a positive and negative impact, depending on the points of application:

• Genetic inheritance;
• Medical support;
• Lifestyle;
• Environment.

The influence of each factor on human health is also determined by age, gender, individual characteristics body.

Genetic factors determining human health

A person’s capabilities are largely determined by his genotype - the totality of hereditary traits, embedded in the individual DNA code long before birth. However, genotypic manifestations do not appear without certain favorable or unfavorable conditions.

The critical periods of fetal development are caused by violations of its genetic apparatus during the formation of organs and body systems:

• 7 weeks pregnant: the cardiovascular system– manifested by the formation of heart defects;
• 12-14 weeks: nervous system – incorrect formation neural tube leads to congenital pathology, most often as a result of neuroinfection - cerebral palsy, demyelinating diseases ( multiple sclerosis, BASF);
• 14-17 weeks: musculoskeletal system– dysplasia hip joints, myotrophic processes.

In addition to genetic changes, epigenomic mechanisms are of great importance as factors determining human health after birth. In these cases, the fetus does not inherit the disease, but, being exposed harmful effects, perceives them as the norm, which subsequently affects his health. The most common example similar pathology serves as maternal hypertension. Increased arterial pressure in the “mother-placenta-fetus” system promotes the development vascular changes, preparing a person for living conditions with increased blood pressure, that is, the development of hypertension.

Hereditary diseases are divided into three groups:

• Genetic and chromosomal abnormalities;
• Diseases associated with impaired synthesis of certain enzymes under conditions requiring increased production;
• Hereditary predisposition.

Gene and chromosomal abnormalities, such as phenylketonuria, hemophilia, Down syndrome, appear immediately after birth.

Enzymopathies, as factors that determine human health, begin to affect only in cases where the body cannot cope with increased load. This is how diseases associated with metabolic disorders begin to manifest themselves: diabetes, gout, neuroses.

Hereditary predisposition appears under the influence of factors external environment. Unfavorable environmental and social conditions contribute to development hypertension, stomach ulcers and duodenum, bronchial asthma and other psychogenic disorders.

Social factors of human health

Social conditions largely determine people's health. An important place is occupied by the level of economic development in the country of residence. Sufficient quantity money plays a dual role. On the one hand, a rich person has access to all types of medical care, on the other hand, concern for health is replaced by other matters. Low-income people, oddly enough, have a better chance of strengthening their immunity. Thus, a person’s health factors do not depend on his financial situation.

The most important component of a healthy lifestyle is the correct psychological attitude aimed at long life expectancy. People who want to be healthy exclude factors that destroy human health, considering them incompatible with the norms. Regardless of place of residence, ethnicity, income level, everyone has the right to choose. Being isolated from the benefits of civilization, or using them, people are equally capable of observing basic rules personal hygiene. In hazardous industries there are provisions necessary measures personal safety, compliance with which leads to positive results.

The social factors of human health include the well-known concept of acceleration. A child of the 21st century is far superior in level of development to his peers of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Acceleration of development has a direct connection with achievements technical progress. The abundance of information encourages early development intelligence, skeleton and muscle mass. In this regard, adolescents experience delayed vascular growth, which leads to early diseases.

Natural factors of human health

In addition to hereditary and constitutional characteristics, human health is influenced by environmental factors.

Natural influences on the body are divided into climatic and urban. The sun, air and water are far from the most important components of the environment. Energy effects are of great importance: from electromagnetic field earth before radiation.

People living in areas with harsh climates have a greater margin of safety. However, costs vital energy in the struggle for survival among northerners are not comparable with those people who live in conditions where favorable conditions are combined natural factors human health, such as the effect of sea breezes, for example.

Environmental pollution due to industrial development can have an impact at the genetic level. And this action is almost never beneficial. Multiple factors that destroy human health contribute to shortening life, despite the fact that people try to live correct image life. Exposure to harmful environmental substances is today the main health problem for residents of megacities.

Constitutional factors of human health

A person’s constitution refers to a feature of their physique that determines their susceptibility to certain diseases. In medicine, the following types of human constitution are distinguished:

The most favorable body type is normosthenic.

People with an asthenic type of constitution are more often susceptible to infections and are weakly resistant to stress, so they more often develop diseases associated with innervation disorders: peptic ulcer, bronchial asthma.

Individuals of the hypersthenic type are more susceptible to developing cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders.

According to WHO, the main (50-55%) factor influencing human health is his lifestyle and living conditions. Therefore, preventing morbidity in the population is not only a task medical workers, but also government agencies, ensuring the standard and life expectancy of citizens.