Trees Help Resist Cardiovascular Disease Reports US Forest Service
Will the Emerald Ash Borer Increase Cardiovascular and Respiratory Deaths in NYS?
With the emerald ash borer
devastating ash trees across the country research is showing that areas struck
by the ash borer have seen a significant rise in cardiovascular disease and
pneumonia. So reports the US Forest Service in “The Relationship Between Trees
and Human Health.”
It noted that “[t]here is
increasing evidence from multiple scientific fields that exposure to the
natural environment can improve human health.”
Researchers concluded
that;
"There was an
increase in mortality related to cardiovascular and lower-respiratory-tract
illness in counties infested with the emerald ash borer. The magnitude of this
effect was greater as infestation progressed and in counties with above-average
median household income. Across the 15 states in the study area, the borer was
associated with an additional 6113 deaths related to illness of the lower respiratory system,
and 15,080 cardiovascular-related deaths."
Interestingly researchers found
that wealthier areas devastated by the ash borer had higher mortality rates:
“The borer had a greater
effect in counties whose median household income was above average. There are a
number of possible interpretations for these results. People in wealthier
counties may have greater access to ash trees, so the death of these trees has
a greater impact on them. In particular, urban areas within wealthier counties may
have more trees, or better maintain them. Indeed, past studies have found that
within a city, wealthier neighborhoods have more tree-canopy cover.
It also is possible that
trees provide different benefits in wealthier areas. For example, Troy and Grove found that proximity to urban
parks increased the sales price of homes in wealthier neighborhoods, whereas,
in poor neighborhoods, houses close to parks sold for less. The authors suggest
that parks may attract criminal behavior in poorer neighborhoods, so residents
are not able to benefit from the park as much as people living in a wealthier neighborhood.
In addition, risk factors such as air quality, which trees can mediate, may be
different in wealthier counties.”
Thanks to Bill Dewey of
Gossamer Wood for
passing along this report.
For more information about
Mother Earth’s health benefits go to: Mother Earth Prayers' Health Pantry
“Illnesses do not come
upon us out of the blue. They are developed from small deadly sins against
nature. When enough sins have accumulated, illness will suddenly appear.”
Hippocrates
Madis Senner
