Relationships between distributions of longevous population and trace elements in the agricultural ecosystem of Rugao County, Jiangsu, China

Abstract

Soil, plant, and water, as well as trace elements they contain, can influence human health through the food chain. A survey was conducted on distributions of trace elements in soils, plants, and drinking water in Rugao County, Jiangsu Province, China, an agricultural area with a high level of centenarians and nonagenarians. The ratio of people over 90 years old per 100,000 inhabitants (90-rate) based on village (about 4,000 residents in 4 km(2)) was correlated with trace elements in soil, drinking water, and rice by means of correlation analysis and/or principal component analysis. Although the average 90-rate in the whole area was as high as 277, the rates were not uniform across the entire region. The 90-rate in the area of loamy and strongly-developed Anthrosols and Cambosols was about 330, significantly higher than the 255 in the areas of sandy and strongly-developed Cambosols and of clayey and weakly-developed Cambosols. The concentrations of available Se, B, Ni, and Mo in soils of the area with the high 90-rate were markedly greater than those in the area with the low 90-rate. This was demonstrated by highly positive correlations between the 90-rate and available Se (r = 0.33), B (r = 0.21), Ni (r = 0.17) and Mo (r = 0.17) at the p < 0.01 level and high loadings of available Se (0.851), B (0.535), Ni (0.594) and Mo (0.394) in the longevous factor. Similar relationships between the available elements in soils and elements in water and rice were found. These results suggest that: (1) the available forms of elements in soil were more crucial to elemental bio-availability in the ecosystem and human health than total elements in soil; and (2) the element association above might have affected the 90-rate positively and could be an important environmental geochemical factor influencing the longevity of humans.

Public health in China: An environmental and socio-economic perspective

“…The proportion of long-lived individuals in a population is often used as a criterion for estimating public health (Azin et al, 2001;Huang et al, 2009), specifically the number of nonagenarians and centenarians (Franceschi and Bonafe, 2003). The elderly are much more vulnerable and sensitive because of the existing diseases, depressed immune systems, and accumulation of toxic agents in their bodies (Balfour and Kaplan, 2002;Fischer et al, 2003).…”

Spatial variability of soil selenium as affected by geologic and pedogenic processes and its effect on ecosystem and human health

“…Rugao County is one of six counties famous for human longevity in China (Huang et al, 2009). On the basis of census data which comes from the yearbook of Rugao in 2001 edited by the local government (The Council of Rugao County, 2001), of its 1.45 million population, more than 4,000 people were nonagenarians (older than 90 years old), and 195 people were centenarians (older than 100 years old).…”

“…Significant correlations were also found between longevity ratios of nonagenarian and rice and groundwater Se on the basis of soils. Therefore, a significant relationship between WS-Se and longevity ratios was existent although the causes of human longevity are quite complex (Huang et al, 2009).…”

“…The study was conducted in the famous longevity region of Rugao County Jiangsu Province, China-an agricultural area in Yangtze River Delta region with a high level of nonagenarians as a case (Huang et al, 2009). Therefore, this study also analyzed the relationship between soil Se concentrations and the rates of nonagenarians to total population on village basis for a better understanding of the biogeochemical flux and interaction of soil Se to human health in the agricultural ecosystem.…”

What do we need to know about your NHP?

“…For Chinese herbal medicines, the interplay of many factors may result in a higher quality of medicinal material (Zhao et al 2012). In addition, the presence of trace elements or the types of fertilization used in the cultivated land where the samples are harvested should be listed, as these can influence the nutritional content of the sample, which can be correlated to health conditions (Welch 2002;Huang et al 2009). (v) Time or season of harvest: This should be specified, when appropriate, as it can influence the bioactivity of the sample.…”