Trees Help Resist Cardiovascular Disease-- US Forest Service

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

www.motherearthprayers.org