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Soils: their implications to human health.

P W Abrahams1

  • 1Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, UK. pwa@aber.ac.uk

The Science of the Total Environment
|August 2, 2002
PubMed
Summary

Human health is significantly impacted by soil composition and quality, affecting nutrient intake, disease transmission, and environmental interactions. Further research is crucial to understand and mitigate these soil-health connections.

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Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Soil Science
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Human health is intricately linked to the world's soils, an association often underappreciated.
  • Soils provide essential functions for human sustenance, including plant growth, water cycling, and structural support.
  • Soil components can impact health directly through ingestion, inhalation, or dermal absorption.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the multifaceted ways in which soil influences human health.
  • To highlight both direct and indirect pathways of soil-health interactions.
  • To underscore the need for multidisciplinary research and improved understanding of soil-health relationships.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of existing studies on soil-human health connections.
  • Analysis of direct exposure routes: ingestion, inhalation, and dermal absorption.
  • Examination of indirect pathways: environmental interactions and food chain transfer.

Main Results:

  • Soil ingestion can lead to geohelminth infections and exposure to essential minerals or potentially harmful elements (PHEs).
  • Inhalation of soil components can cause cancers (e.g., from fibrous minerals, radon gas).
  • Dermal contact with soil can result in diseases like tetanus, hookworm, and podoconiosis.
  • Indirect effects include the redistribution of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and the contamination of water resources.
  • Transfer of nutrients and PHEs through the food chain impacts human health.

Conclusions:

  • Soil quality and composition have profound, yet often underestimated, effects on human health.
  • Establishing definitive soil-health links requires further investigation due to emerging risks and complexities.
  • A multidisciplinary research approach and effective knowledge dissemination are essential for addressing soil-related health issues.

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