Preventing disease through healthy environments: towards an estimate of the environmental burden of disease

How much disease could be prevented through better management of our environment? Alongside a comprehensive literature review, this report summarises the results of a consultation with more than 100 health experts, who were questioned as to how much how much environmental risk factors contribute to the disease burden of 85 diseases.

This analysis in this report boosts understanding of interactions between environment and health. The results reflect how much illness and disability could be avoided every year as a result of reduced human exposures to environmental hazards.

The report shows that environmental risk factors play a role in more than 80% of the diseases regularly reported by the World Health Organization. The findings have important policy implications, because the environmental risk factors that were studied largely can be improved through cost-effective interventions. The interventions promote equity by benefiting everyone in the society, while addressing the needs of those most at risk.

Key conclusions are:

• nearly one quarter of the global disease burden is attributable to the environment
• the environmental disease burden is not distributed evenly across the world, and some regions carry a disproportionately heavy burden for specific diseases
• children suffer a disproportionate share of the environmental health burden
• interventions can be cost-effective and have benefits that go well beyond health, and contribute to the overall well-being of communities
• reducing the disease burden of environmental risk factors will contribute significantly to the Millennium Development Goals

Some of the more immediate measures that can be taken include: