Study on the rate of the urnlithiasis in the Aral Sea Area and the quality of potable water

Abstract

The Aral Sea Area is the stage of one of the most staggering man-made environmental disasters. The Aral Sea, once the fourth-largest inland body of water, is reduced to half its size and one-third of its volume as a result of overirrigation and cotton monoculture. Overirrigation also creates increasing soil salinity and degradation of drinking water sources. While the consequences for ecology and agriculture have been extensively researched, relatively little research is devoted to the public health consequences of the Aral Sea disaster. Of the health effects, high rates of urinary tract diseases in the Aral Sea Area are frequently mentioned. Urologic diseases were specified as the most problematic groups of pathology for this territory, with the tendency to increasing during the period for last several years. Kidney and urinary tract diseases have special interest for studying the existence of an environmental effect, in this case the impact of water quality on human health in the Aral Sea Area. Among the problems frequently mentioned are the high level of total dissolved solids and total hardness in the potable water. The epidemiological study has been conducted with regard to the diseases of the urinary tract in order to better understanding the most important environmental health problems of the population of h s area. A study of the association between the water quality and diseases of the kidney and urinary tract is necessary for assessment of the contribution of environmental causes to the morbidity that is necessary for recommending of grounded preventive strategies.

What have we learned? A review of the literature on children’s health and the environment in the Aral Sea area

“…Hypothesizing the relationship between crystalluria, urolithiasis and high levels of Ca, Na, and other dissolved solids in drinking water, Arustamov et al (2001) recruited a random sample of 1,817 residents in a ‘typical settlement’ in Khorezm (Uzbekistan; Fig. 1) for interviews and urological examinations.…”

“…Exposure to the Aral Sea area’s highly salinized environment (Abdullayev 2010 ) has been reported to be associated with a number of health problems including hypercalciuria—high levels of urinary calcium (Ca) and sodium (Na) excretion (Abdullayev 2010 ; Kaneko et al 2002 ); crystalluria—the formation of crystals in the urine and a precursor to urolithiasis (Arustamov et al 2001 ); and urolithiasis—the formation of urinary calculi or ‘stones’ in the urinary tract (Arustamov et al 2001 ). Hypothesizing the relationship between crystalluria, urolithiasis and high levels of Ca, Na, and other dissolved solids in drinking water, Arustamov et al ( 2001 ) recruited a random sample of 1,817 residents in a ‘typical settlement’ in Khorezm (Uzbekistan; Fig. 1 ) for interviews and urological examinations.…”

Lakes Drying and Their Adverse Effects on Human Health: A Systematic Review

“…Children with abnormal NAG in Aral lake group were higher in percentage when compared with the control group (7.9% vs2.6%) (29). In Arustamov and colleagues (2001) study the prevalence rate of kidney and urological problems was estimated to be 0.7% (30).…”