Study on the Impact of Environment on Human Health and Longevity in Yongyu County, Guangxi Province, China

Natural environment has an important impact on human health and longevity. The concentrations of major and trace elements in environmental media have significant impact on corresponding elements in human body. This study aims to compare the impact of different environmental media on the concentrations of major and trace elements in human hair in a longevity county Yongfu in Guangxi Province, China. The soil, water, local rice, and human hair samples were collected and analyzed the concentrations of major and trace elements. The correlation degree between major and trace element concentrations in soil, water, rice with those in hair were studied and compared with Gray Relation Analysis (GRA). Gray Relation Analysis (GRA) is a relatively simple and effective method examining the correlation of two factors from geometrical perspective, and especially suitable for small sample size data analysis. In addition, the performance of GRA was compared with traditional correlation analysis. The results showed that GRA is better suited for small sample size data analysis. Traditional correlation analysis method might lead to erroneous results for small sample analysis. The concentrations of Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Sr, Zn, Se in drinking water have a much higher combined correlation degree with those in hair than soil and rice. The combined correlation degree between concentrations of Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Sr, Zn, Se in drinking water and human hair is 0.91, whereas the combined correlation degree for soil and rice is 0.75 and 0.79. Drinking water has more impact on the concentrations of major and trace elements in human hair.