Ch. 7 Guided Notes

-Compare life expectancies and infant mortality rates in highly developed and developing countries.
Life expectancy and infant mortality are health indicators that vividly demonstrate the contrasts in health among different nations. In a highly developed country, the average life expectancy is high, and the infant mortality rate is low. In a less developed country, the average life expectancy is low, and the infant mortality is high.
What are the leading causes of death in:
Highly Developed Countries: 1- Cardiovascular Diseases (of the heart and blood vessels)2- Cancer 3- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (of the lungs). [all noninfectious]
Developing Countries: 1- (children) malnutrition, lower respiratory tract infections, diarrheal diseases and malaria.

To calculate BMI: Multiply your weight by 740, then divide that number by your height in inches, squared.
Emerging Diseases: (not previously found in humans, jump from an animal host to the human species)
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) 20 million died from it already, 38 million living with it jumped from primates to humans 60-70 years ago when humans were exposed to contaminated monkey neat. Others include Lyme disease, West Nile Virus, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (the human equivalent of mad cow disease), severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Ebola virus, and monkey pox.
Reemerging Diseases: infectious diseases that existed in the past and are increasing in evidence or geographical range. Tuberculosis (associated with poverty) (also coming back because of antibiotic-resistant strains), yellow fever, malaria, and dengue fever.
Main factors in the emergence of reemergence of diseases:
- Evolution in the infection organisms so they can move from animal to human hosts.
- Evolution of antibiotic resistance in the infectious organisms.
- Urbanization, associated with overcrowding and poor sanitation.
- A growing population of elderly people who are more susceptible to infection.
- Pollution, environmental degradation, and changing weather patterns.
- Growth of international trade and commerce.
- Poverty and social inequality.






















Endocrine Disruptors: chemicals that mimic or interfere with the actions of the endocrine system in humans and wildlife. Can mimic estrogen n males and females altering reproductive development in males and females if various species.

LD50 – is the dose lethal to 50% of a population of test animals. Usually reported in milligrams
Ed50 – is the effective dose, and causes 50% of a population to exhibit whatever response is under study.
LD50 Values for Selected Chemicals
Chemical LD50 (mg/kg)*
Aspirin 1750.0
Ethanol 1000.0
Morphine 500.0
Caffeine 200.0
Heroin 150.0
Lead 20.0
Cocaine 17.5
Sodium cyanide 10.0
Nicotine 2.0
Strychnine 0.8


Children are more susceptible to most chemicals then adults are because their bodies are still developing and are not as effective in dealing with toxicants. Children are also more susceptible to chemicals because they weigh substantially less than adults, and their lethal dose is much lower.

Dilution Paradigm – meant that you could discard pollution into the environment and it would be diluted sufficiently and cause no harm. (a paradigm is a generally accepted pattern) (Love Canal)
Boomerang Paradigm- “what you throw away will come back and hurt you” (DDT causing birds to have weak shells) ------ accepted today!

4 Steps of Risk Assessment
Step 1 Hazard identification –Does exposure to substance cause increased likelihood of adverse health effect such as cancer or birth defects?
Step 2 Dose-response assessment- What is relationship between amount of exposure (dose) and seriousness of adverse health affect? A person exposed to a low dose may have no symptoms, whereas a high dose may result in illness.
Step 3 Exposure Assessment – How much, how often, and how long are humans exposed to substance in question? Where humans live relative to emissions is also considered.
Step 4 Risk Characterization – What is probability if individual of population having adverse health effect? Risk characterization evaluates data from dose-response assessment and exposure assessment (steps 2 & 3). Risk characterization indicates that Mexican-Americans, many of which are agricultural workers, are more vulnerable to pesticide exposure than other groups. (see graph)