Impact of environmental factors on psychic disorders and somatic diseases in Lithuania

Abstract

Human health is influenced by a complex interaction of different factors, including the environmental parameters. The impact of anomalous rates of different geo-factors is well known (e.g., natural and man-made geochemical anomalies), whereas the influence of the background rates of environmental parameters receives little acknowledgement. This paper discusses the statistical relationship of the different environmental factors to selected human diseases on a countrywide-scale in Lithuania. Five groups of geo-factors are analyzed: (1) gravity and magnetic fields, (2) concentrations of geochemical elements in the soil, (3) sub-soil lithologies, (4) relief and some landscape features, (5) drinking water chemistry. Environmental factors were correlated with the spatial variations of the schizophrenia, alcoholic psychosis, suicides, cancer, infection, cardiovascular, respiratory diseases. The statistical approach was applied to ensure an objective identification of the interacting factors. The different formats of data were unified using GIS techniques that enabled scaling of geological databases to 45 administrative regions of Lithuania. Some strong correlations were identified that imply the importance of the living environment on the human health and psychic disorders.