Medical geology in tropical countries with special reference to Sri Lanka

Abstract

Sri Lanka provides an ideal opportunity for the study of the effect of geology on human health. The vast majority of the people of Sri Lanka still live in rural areas within areas termed geochemical provinces. Very broadly, one could say that a geochemical province has characteristic chemical composition in soil, water stream sediments and rocks, enabling their delineation from others. The chemical composition is presumed to be have an impact on the health of the inhabitants of the particular geochemical province, particularly because of the fact that their food and water are obtained mostly from the terrain itself. This leads to the concept of “diseases of geochemical origin”. Among these are dental fluorosis, iodine deficiency disorders (IDDs) and selenium-based diseases. The Dry Zone of Sri Lanka has several areas rich in groundwater fluoride, the ingestion of which leads to dental fluorosis. Iodine deficiency diseases are more common in the Wet Zone, though their aetiologies are more complicated. Interestingly, it has also been observed that significant proportions of the female population of Sri Lanka are selenium-deficient, which could well be related to the geological environment. Chronic renal failure (CRF) has been observed in some areas of the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka, where there is a relationship of CRF with the mineral content of drinking water. This subject matter falls under the auspices of Medical Geology, a scientific discipline still in its infancy, and much more concerted studies are needed to attract the attention of medical research.