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The Hidden Health Burden of Environmental Degradation: Disease Comorbidities and Dryland Salinity

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Abstract

Previous studies have linked poor mental human health with environmental degradation, but none have assessed additional diseases that may co-exist with these mental disorders. In previous work, depression was found to be associated with a major form of environmental degradation; dryland salinity. However, little is known about diseases co-morbid with depression in this environmental setting. In rural Australia, dryland salinity is a major form of environmental degradation contributing widely to deterioration and non-viability of farmland. Using georeferenced health record data, Bayesian spatial methods were used to determine the relationship between dryland salinity and a range of human health outcomes. Initial modelling found an increased relative risk for asthma, suicide and ischaemic heart disease in relation to dryland salinity (adjusted for Indigenous and socio-economic status). However, in this follow-up study, a further evaluation of the role of co-morbidities in this population revealed that: (i) the presence of depression was consistently linked to residence in areas with high salinity and (ii) the association of asthma, suicide and heart disease with salinity was most likely attributable to the co-morbidity of the conditions with depression. Given the predicted increase in dryland salinity and the elevated relative risk of depression in impacted areas, the relative risk of the co-morbid conditions can be expected to increase in rural areas in the future, further adding to the burden of disease associated with environmental degradation.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Cooperative Research Centre for the Plant Based Management of Dryland Salinity. The research was approved by the University of Western Australia’s ethics committee (RA/4/3/0492).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre of Excellence in Natural Resource Management, The University of Western Australia, PO Box 5771, Albany, WA, 6332, Australia

    Peter C. Speldewinde & Peter Davies

  2. School of Population Health, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia

    Peter C. Speldewinde, Angus Cook & Philip Weinstein

  3. Graduate Research Centre, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Philip Weinstein

Authors
  1. Peter C. Speldewinde
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  2. Angus Cook
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  3. Peter Davies
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  4. Philip Weinstein
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Correspondence to Peter C. Speldewinde.

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Speldewinde, P.C., Cook, A., Davies, P. et al. The Hidden Health Burden of Environmental Degradation: Disease Comorbidities and Dryland Salinity. EcoHealth 8, 82–92 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-011-0686-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-011-0686-x

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