Relationships among Environment, Climate, and Longevity in China

Yi Huang, Mark Rosenberg, Lingli Hou and Mengjin Hu
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Yi Huang: School of Geographic Science, Nantong University, Nantong 226007, China
Mark Rosenberg: Department of Geography and Planning, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada
Lingli Hou: School of Geographic Science, Nantong University, Nantong 226007, China
Mengjin Hu: School of Geographic Science, Nantong University, Nantong 226007, China

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-16

Abstract: Human longevity is influenced by environment and nutrition. We considered environmental and nutritional factors relating to longevity in Chinese cities. We found higher 85+/65+ distribution ratios, indicating enhanced longevity, in the coastal and southern regions of China. These areas also featured higher humidity, low standard deviation of monthly temperature, higher levels of selenium (Se) distribution in soil, and greater sea fish consumption. Moderate climate is more conducive to longevity, however, there is no significant difference in longevity between different sub-climatic types within moderate climate; the relation between humidity and longevity is not always positive, the relation between altitude and longevity is not always negative. Nutritional factors like Se and omega-3 fatty acids contained in sea fish were crucial to longevity. In contrast, the consumption of meat and freshwater fish were less related to longevity. Taken together, humidity, altitude, and per capita sea fish consumption, when evaluated via geographically weighted regression, explained 66% and 68% of longevity among Chinese individuals in 2000 and 2010, respectively. Other factors require further discussion.

Keywords: longevity; selenium; omega-3; sea fish; altitude; climate (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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