Lung disease, gastritis and cataract
Some other non-communicable diseases are linked closely to polluted air, stress and the thinning ozone layer.
Lung diseases
Lung diseases arise when a disease condition affects the organs or tissues that carry out gas exchange — the trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli, and the nerves or muscles of the breathing system. Harmful gases from industry and vehicles also cause them.
Asthma
Allergic conditions of the trachea, bronchi, bronchioles and alveoli of the breathing system cause too much mucus to collect, blocking the exchange of gases. Harmful gases and particulate matter cause this condition.
Gastritis
Swelling and burning of the stomach lining because of too much acidity are the main signs. Not eating on time because of a heavy workload, often eating very acidic and oily food, and mental stress from living in competitive conditions are causes.
Cataract
Cataract is the lens of the eye losing its transparency because the nature of the proteins in it changes. Light can no longer enter the eye, and sight becomes weak. Harmful gases released by industry thin the ozone layer, so ultraviolet rays reach the Earth; exposure to those rays can be taken as the main cause.
Why the environment and health are one topic
Look back over these diseases and the pollutants of skill 6 meet you again: the particulates and SO2 that inflame the airways, the ultraviolet let in by CFCs that clouds the lens of the eye, the heavy metals and agrochemicals in the kidneys. Protecting the environment is also protecting health. The last part of the chapter turns to how people can live and develop without causing this damage.
Air, stress and ultraviolet
Polluted air causes lung disease and asthma; stress and poor eating cause gastritis; ultraviolet through a thin ozone layer causes cataract.