Last weekend the national congress of ISDE Italia – Doctors for the Environment was held, with the emblematic title: Who will pay for the excesses of illness and mortality due to the climate crisis and health systems? Politics listen to science or it will put health and well-being at risk. The event saw the participation of doctors, experts and researchers who placed one of the most urgent issues of our time at the center of the debate: the impact of pollution on health and the need for a preventive approach and radical political choices.
CONGRESS HAS ADDRESSED various aspects of pollution that negatively affect people’s health. Chemical pollution produced by substances such as pesticides, PFAS and microplastics, as well as atmospheric and industrial pollution, were discussed. What has strongly emerged is the urgency of investing in prevention, understood as the adoption of concrete measures to prevent the effects of environmental pollution from causing irreversible damage to human health. One of the key words of the debate was One Health, an approach that recognizes the interdependence between the health of people, animals and the environment in which they live.
THE «ONE HEALTH» APPROACH it is now recognized globally as indispensable for tackling complex and interconnected challenges such as those linked to pollution and climate change. It is based on the awareness that human health is closely linked to that of animals and the environment, and that health policies must take this relationship into account. Ignoring this interdependence means putting the well-being of current and future generations at risk. During the Congress, numerous experts reiterated the need to invest in research and innovation to develop sustainable solutions that can reduce the impact of pollution on health.
DESPITE THIS, THE POLITICAL ACTION moves in the opposite direction. The Italian government, in fact, declares that it wants to combat demographic decline, but at the same time continues to contest the European strategy on the ecological transition. This contradiction is evident if we delve into the research of Luigi Montano – uroandrologist, Past President of the Italian Society of Human Reproduction and Member of the ISDE Scientific Committee – who presented alarming data on growing infertility, also linked to environmental factors.
ACCORDING TO WHAT IS REPORTED from Montano, infertility in couples is becoming an increasingly widespread problem on a global level, with ever-increasing percentages, especially in medium and high-income countries where assisted procreation techniques are increasingly used. In low-income countries, where these techniques are often inaccessible, reproductive decline is increasing due to socio-economic and environmental factors. Among these, climate change and environmental pollution play a central role.
IN ITALY, THE RESEARCH PROJECT EcoFoodFertility has been monitoring the areas at greatest environmental risk for years to evaluate the quality of semen in healthy young males, non-smokers, non-habitual drinkers and with homogeneous body mass indices. The results are worrying: over 40% of subjects present at least one altered spermiogram parameter. The latest findings indicate a worsening of the situation, with an acceleration of epigenetic damage to gametes, especially in the most polluted areas. According to Montano, these phenomena are leading to premature aging of reproductive cells, which could result in an increase in infertility cases in the coming years. «The future of our health and our reproductive capacity – declared Montano – depends on the choices we make today. Ignoring the problem, postponing concrete actions, means condemning future generations to an increasingly worse quality of life, in which pollution and its consequences will become increasingly difficult to manage”
IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT NUMBERS. These data act as a “sentinel” of environmental health and highlight the urgency of remediation interventions and preventive measures. In the context of the Congress, the need to educate young people to protect their health was underlined, starting from reproductive health, which represents the first indicator of the damage caused by environmental pollution and unhealthy lifestyles.
AIR QUALITY IS A FACTOR crucial for health, and Italy is sadly at the top of Europe for the number of premature deaths due to exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5). According to the European Environment Agency, more than 50,000 premature deaths linked to this exposure were recorded in Italy in 2020, a figure that is approaching 47,000 in 2021, making Italy one of the most affected countries in Europe. This drama also has a heavy health cost, especially in the areas of the Po Valley, where the concentration of emission activities is particularly high.
THE DOCTORS OF ISDE ITALY they sent a clear message: politics must listen to science. Inaction or contradictory policies will only make the situation worse. Instead, we need to promote a new “school-health pact”, which puts primary prevention at the center and allows young people to acquire greater awareness of the risks of environmental pollution. Investing in prevention means saving on future costs related to treatment and guaranteeing an improvement in the quality of life for everyone.
SAVING FOR THE FUTUREclear objectives have been set for 2025, focusing in particular on the fight against endocrine disruptors. These chemicals, which alter the human hormonal system, represent an increasing risk to public health, affecting fertility, development and the immune system. ISDE will continue to support awareness campaigns, promote scientific research and lobby for stricter regulation. The aim is to ensure that prevention remains a priority in health and environmental policies. With the hope that those who govern Europe and our country will pay more attention to the health of everyone rather than the profit of a few.
