Increased effect of the ApoE gene on survival at advanced age in healthy and long‐lived Danes: two nationwide cohort studies

Studies of Nordic twins suggest an increased genetic influence on mortality with age. Contrary to this, the heterogeneity hypothesis predicts that the mortality of individuals carrying a ‘frail’ or ‘risky’ genotype in a population will approach that of noncarriers with age because of selection pressure. The ApoE ε4 allele is associated with an increased mortality risk, and its effect has been suggested to decrease with age. Here, we investigated the effect of ApoE ε4 allele on survival in a sample of the healthiest and long‐lived Danes. The study population comprised Danes born in 1905 and a replicate sample of the 1895 cohort. For the 1905 cohort, a total of 350 carriers and 1256 noncarriers of the ApoE ε4 allele were followed from 1998 until death or end of follow‐up. Cox regression models were used for the analysis. Of the 1606 persons with known ApoE ε4 status in 1998, 1546 had died at the end of the 10‐year follow‐up. Carriers of the ApoE ε4 allele had an increased mortality compared to noncarriers, and the influence of ApoE status on mortality increased in the age interval 92–103. For the covariates sex and independency status, the difference in relative risk of death between groups decreased with advancing age. Our findings of increasing influence of ApoE ε4 allele on mortality with age do not support previous findings of decreased influence ApoE ε4 allele on mortality with age, and alternative models such as the multifactorial threshold models should be considered for understanding the genetic effects on mortality at advanced age.     

Civil war: is it all about disease and xenophobia? A comment on Letendre,Fincher & Thornhill

Letendre, Fincher & Thornhill (2010) argue that pathogen intensity provides the ultimate explanation for why some countries are more prone to civil war than others. They argue that the economic and political factors highlighted in previous research on civil war are largely caused by underlying differences in pathogen intensity, and contend that disease proneness increases the risk of civil war through its effects on resource competition and xenophobia. They present empirical evidence that they interpret as consistent with their argument: a statistically significant correlation between pathogen intensity and civil war onset. In this comment, we raise concerns over their interpretation of the empirical evidence and their proposed causal mechanisms. We find that the data provide stronger evidence for the reverse causal relationship, namely that civil war causes disease to become more prevalent. This finding is consistent with the literatures on the public health effects of civil war as well as research on state capacity and public health.     

Egg Selenium Concentrations as Predictors of Avian Toxicity

Aquatic birds are exposed to selenium through their diet by ingesting aquatic invertebrates that have accumulated selenium from water and the food chain. However, dietary composition is highly variable among species, over time, and across sites, making it difficult to provide accurate estimations of dietary exposure for particular species at specific locations. Selenium accumulates in the egg, resulting in embryo malformation, embryonic death, and decreased survival of juveniles. If the relationship between egg concentration and these reproductive parameters can be defined with sufficient certainty, then risk assessments can be performed through analysis of egg selenium concentrations. Other researchers have proposed egg toxicity thresholds that lead to conclusions of widespread selenium toxicoses in waterbirds. However, we believe these values are overly conservative and that it is unlikely that selenium is posing a significant risk to wild birds in areas where the current water quality criterion is being met. Through the use of simple statistical models (logit, probit, and Weibull functions) we are able to express mortality and teratogenicity relationships for mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) in such a manner that the risk manager can be presented with information about the probability of reduced duckling survival if mean egg selenium (MES) concentrations are known. Data analysis indicates that the two endpoints (mortality and teratogenesis) cannot be distinguished statistically. Commonly used effects thresholds (the EC₁₀ and EC₂₀) correspond to 16 and 21?mg/kg dw MES using the most sensitive endpoint, chick mortality. Both of these values are higher than the 6?mg/kg dw level proposed by Skorupa (1998) who based his estimate on field-observational data potentially confounded by other environmental stress factors. The mortality and teratogenicity endpoints presented here relate selenium exposure to risk to individuals within a population and do not provide information about the probability of selenium causing changes in population growth rates, either at the local or regional levels.     

Closing the rural-urban gap in child malnutrition: Evidence from Paraguay, 1997–2012

Between 1997 and 2012, Paraguay achieved not only remarkable improvements in child nutrition, but also a surprising elimination of the rural-urban differential in child height-for-age Z score (HAZ) and stunting. Our decomposition analysis, applied to four rounds of Paraguayan National Household Surveys, allows us to directly infer not only the contributions of changes in determinants of child nutritional status to the improvements in child nutritional status in rural and urban areas, but also their contribution to closing the rural-urban gap. We find that while common determinants of child nutritional status such as income, maternal education, sanitation, and access to piped water are strongly associated with improvements in child nutrition, they have contributed little to reducing the rural-urban gap (10%, p < 0.05). Improvements in health care utilization, family planning, and demographics have been the main drivers in closing the rural-urban gap in child nutritional status in Paraguay (32%, p < 0.05). The results highlight the potential need for multipronged nutritional strategies that consider the distinct needs of rural and urban communities.     

Mass mortality of Japanese macaques in a western coastal forest of Yakushima

The mass mortality of wild Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata Blyth) was observed in a warm temperate forest of Yakushima, southern Japan. Demographic changes of eight troops between August 1998 and August 1999 were studied and 56% of macaques disappeared from the five intensively studied troops. Mortality varied among troops: two troops became extinct, while another troop did not decrease in size. The rate of mortality of the other troops was between 33 and 80%. The variation in mortality among the troops was either the outcome of local concentrations of mortality or of intertroop competition. The rate of mortality decreased with increasing distance from the two extinct troops and with increasing troop size; these two factors could not be separated statistically. The direct cause of death was diagnosed as pneumonia for four out of five fresh carcasses. The fleshy fruit production in autumn 1998 was the lowest in 14years, and macaques had relied on leaves earlier than in usual years. It was exceptionally hot and dry in the summer of 1998. The exceptionally poor fruit production and hot summer of this year, with the resulting shortage of high-quality foods, was consistent with the scenario that mass mortality was due to the poor nutritional conditions. However, the possibility that epidemics caused the mass mortality cannot be ruled out. Our findings proved that primates in a seemingly stable habitat experience fluctuations in demographic parameters under natural conditions.     

Labor market effects of intrauterine exposure to nutritional deficiency: Evidence from administrative data on Muslim immigrants in Denmark

This paper examines whether nutritional disruptions experienced during the stage of fetal development impair an individual's labor market productivity later in life. We consider intrauterine exposure to the month of Ramadan as a natural experiment that might cause shocks to the inflow of nutrients essential for fetal development. Specifically, we use administrative data from Denmark to investigate the impact of exposure to Ramadan in utero on labor market outcomes of adult Muslim males, including employment status, annual salary, hourly wage rate, and hours of work. Our findings indicate that potential exposure to nutritional disruptions during a critical stage of fetal development is likely to have scarring effects on the fetus expressed as poor labor market outcomes later in life. Specifically, exposure to Ramadan around the 7th month of gestation results in a lower likelihood of employment and, to a lesser extent, a lower salary, and reduced labor supply. For example, the 7th month intrauterine exposure to Ramadan is associated with a 2.6 percentage points reduction in the likelihood of employment among Muslim males. We do not find an impact on the wage rate. Finally, we also document suggestive evidence that these results may partially be driven by increased disability and to a lesser extent by poor educational attainment among those who were exposed to Ramadan during this particular period in utero.     

Childhood cancer mortality in Australia

Aim: To determine current rates of childhood cancer mortality at a national level for Australia and to evaluate recent trends. Methods: Using population-based data from the Australian Paediatric Cancer Registry, we calculated cancer-related mortality counts and rates for the 3-year period 2006-2008 and trends between 1998 and 2008 by sex, age group, and cause of death (defined according to the International Classification of Childhood Cancers, third edition). Rates were directly age-standardised to the 2000 World Standard Population, and linear regression was used to determine the magnitude and significance of trends. The standardised mortality ratio for non-cancer deaths among children with cancer was also estimated. Results: A total of 282 children (23 per million per year) died from cancer in Australia between 2006 and 2008. Large decreases were observed in cancer mortality rates over the study period, particularly for boys (-5.5% per year; p<0.001), children aged 10-14 years old (-5.5% per year; p=0.001), and leukaemia patients (-9.4% per year; p<0.001). However, there was no significant change in mortality due to tumours of the central nervous system. Children with cancer were twice as likely to die from non-cancer causes compared to other children (SMR=2.06; p=0.001). Conclusions: While ongoing improvements in childhood cancer mortality in Australia are generally encouraging, of concern is the lack of a corresponding decrease in mortality among children with certain types of tumours of the central nervous system during the past decade. The results also highlight the need for intensive monitoring of childhood cancer patients for other serious diseases that may subsequently arise.     

The effect of nutrient stress on development and reproduction in an aphid

To investigate the influence of nutritional quality on reproduction in the rose-grain aphid (Metopolophium dirhodum, Wlk.), it was reared on barley seedlings of different nutritional quality or starved either during the last instar or the first few days of adulthood. Their reproductive performance was studied by analysing the gonadal status of teneral adults and by scoring the number of offspring. Metopolophium dirhodum was very tolerant of starvation in the fourth instar with most surviving (97%) to adulthood. During starvation the embryos continued to grow but the fat content of the soma declined by nearly 50%. Aphids starved in the fourth instar and control animals matured at the same time and produced a similar number of offspring in the first three weeks. However, the fecundity of aphids reared throughout their larval development on a plant of low nutritional quality was significantly lower. Aphids starved during the fourth instar were able to compensate for their loss in weight by an increased growth rate relative to the controls after transfer to a high quality plant. Early experience of nutritional stress is more important in determining reproductive performance than nutritional stress in the last larval instar. Aphids transferred from a high to a low quality plant showed a high mortality and a lower reproductive output. Thus fecundity was not always correlated with teneral weight but with host plant condition during larviposition. Metopolophium dirhodum showed a very flexible reproductive strategy when subjected to nutritional stress.

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Zusammenfassung Für Untersuchungen über den Einfluß von Nahrungsqualität auf die Reproduktion wurde die Bleiche Getreideblattlaus, Metopolophium dirhodum (Wlk.), auf jungen Gerstenpflanzen verschiedener Qualität bzw. ohne Nahrung während des letzten Larvenstadiums oder in den ersten Tagen als Imagines gehalten. Als Maß für die Reproduktionsfähigkeit wurden die Gonaden von frischgehäuteten L4-Larven und Adulten analysiert und die Zahl der Nachkommen bestimmt. Metopolophium dirhodum erwies sich als sehr widerstandsfähig gegenüber Nahrungsentzug während des vierten Larvenstadiums, da die meisten Tiere (97%) diese Behandlung bis zum Adultstadium überlebten. Die Embryos wuchsen und entwickelten sich, während der Fettgehalt des Somas um fast 50% abnahm. Tiere, die gehungert hatten und Kontrolltiere führten die Imaginalhäutung zum gleichen Zeitpunkt durch und produzierten gleich viele Nachkommen in den ersten drei Wochen. Larven, die gehungert hatten, konnten ihren Gewichtsverlust durch eine verstärkte Nahrungsaufnahme nach der Übertragung auf eine kräftige Pflanze ausgleichen. Die Wirkung von Nahrungsstreß auf die Reproduktion ist am Anfang der Larvalentwicklung höher als im letzten Larvenstadium, denn die Reproduktionsrate von Blattläusen, die während der gesamten Larvalentwicklung auf Pflanzen niedriger Qualität gehalten worden waren, war signifikant geringer. Blattläuse, die von einer Pflanze hoher auf eine niedriger Qualität umgesetzt wurden, hatten eine hohe Mortalitätsrate und genauso viele Nachkommen wie Tiere, deren Nahrungsqualität gleichbleibend gering war. Die Reproduktionsrate war also nicht immer mit dem Gewicht von frischgehäuteten Müttern korreliert, sondern im wesentlichen von der Qualität der Wirtspflanze während der Reproduktionsphase abhängig. Metopolophium dirhodum zeigte unter Nahrungsstreß eine sehr flexible Reproduktionsstrategie.

     

Does infectious disease cause global variation in the frequency of intrastate armed conflict and civil war?

Geographic and cross‐national variation in the frequency of intrastate armed conflict and civil war is a subject of great interest. Previous theory on this variation has focused on the influence on human behaviour of climate, resource competition, national wealth, and cultural characteristics. We present the parasite‐stress model of intrastate conflict, which unites previous work on the correlates of intrastate conflict by linking frequency of the outbreak of such conflict, including civil war, to the intensity of infectious disease across countries of the world. High intensity of infectious disease leads to the emergence of xenophobic and ethnocentric cultural norms. These cultures suffer greater poverty and deprivation due to the morbidity and mortality caused by disease, and as a result of decreased investment in public health and welfare. Resource competition among xenophobic and ethnocentric groups within a nation leads to increased frequency of civil war. We present support for the parasite‐stress model with regression analyses. We find support for a direct effect of infectious disease on intrastate armed conflict, and support for an indirect effect of infectious disease on the incidence of civil war via its negative effect on national wealth. We consider the entanglements of feedback of conflict into further reduced wealth and increased incidence of disease, and discuss implications for international warfare and global patterns of wealth and imperialism.     

To breed or not to breed: a model of partial migration

Migration is used by a number of species as a strategy for dealing with a seasonally variable environment. In many migratory species, only some individuals migrate within a given season (migrants) while the rest remain in the same location (residents), a phenomenon called ‘partial migration’. Most examples of partial migration considered in the literature (both empirically and theoretically) fall into one of two categories: either species where residents and migrants share a breeding ground and winter apart, or species where residents and migrants share an overwintering ground and breed apart. However, a third form of partial migration can occur when non‐migrating individuals actually forgo reproduction, essentially a special form of low‐frequency reproduction. While this type of partial migration is well documented in many taxa, it is not often included in the partial migration literature, and has not been considered theoretically to date. In this paper we present a model for this partial migration scenario and determine under what conditions an individual should skip a breeding opportunity (resulting in partial migration), and under what conditions individuals should breed every chance they get (resulting in complete migration). In a constant environment, we find that partial migration is expected to occur when the mortality cost of migration is high, and when individuals can greatly increase their fecundity by skipping a year before breeding. In a stochastic environment, we find that an individual should skip migration more frequently with increased risk of a bad year (higher probability and severity), with higher mortality cost of migration, and with lower mortality cost of skipping. We discuss these results in the context of empirical data and existing life history theory.     

Effect of undernutrition on deciduous tooth emergence among Rajput children of Shimla District of Himachal Pradesh, India

This article examines the influence of nutritional status on the emergence of deciduous dentition in a cross-sectional sample of 510 rural Rajput children from the Jubbal and Kotkhai Tehsils, Shimla District, Himachal Pradesh, India. The nutritional status of each child was evaluated using Z-scores of height/supine length-for-age (HAZ), weight-for-age (WAZ), and weight-for-height (WHZ). The effects of sex and side on deciduous dental emergence were not statistically significant. Partial correlation indicates that the number of emerged teeth (T) was more strongly correlated with height than with other anthropometric variables. In most age groups, the stunted boys and girls (HAZ <-2) had fewer emerged teeth than nonstunted age peers (HAZ >-2). The mean T in underweight children was also less than that of the normal children, with a few exceptions. The stunted children have a significantly greater likelihood of delayed emergence of deciduous dentition. Measures of linear growth status are more closely related to dental development than measures of growth in mass. The findings indicate that even moderate undernutrition can delay deciduous tooth emergence.     

Effects of helicopter net-gunning on survival of bighorn sheep

Wildlife capture, and the data collection associated with it, has led to major advancements in ecology that are integral to decision making pertaining to wildlife conservation. Capturing wildlife, however, can cause lethal and non-lethal risks to animals. Understanding the factors that contribute to the level of risk involved in wildlife capture is therefore important for the development and implementation of the safest and most effective methodologies. We used data from 736 animal captures of 389 individuals for 2 subspecies of female bighorn sheep (Rocky Mountain bighorn [Ovis canadensis canadensis], Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep [O. c. sierrae]) in Wyoming and California, USA, in 2002–2020 to evaluate the degree and extent of time that capture via helicopter net-gunning affects survival. We compared pre- and post-capture survival during a 10-week window centered on a capture event, and post-capture survival between captured animals and animals that were monitored but not captured during the 10-week window. Additionally, we evaluated the effects of handling techniques (number of times captured, season of capture event, handling time, chase time, and body temp) and biological factors (age and nutritional condition) on probability of capture mortality. Mean daily survival was 0.9992 during a 5-week pre-capture window, dropped to 0.9864 on the day of capture, and rebounded within 3 days of capture to pre-capture levels and that of sheep that were not captured. Overall, direct mortality resulting from capture was 1.36%, with 0.54% mortality occurring within the 3 days following a capture event for an overall 1.90% capture-related mortality. The only handling and biological metrics that influenced the probability of capture mortality were rectal temperature and nutritional condition; high initial rectal temperatures and poor body condition were associated with increased risk of mortality in the days following capture. Overall, helicopter net-gunning imposed low and short-term risk to survival of female bighorn sheep. To reduce bias in survival estimates, we recommend using a 3-day censorship window for post-capture mortalities as opposed to the common practice of a 2–5-week censor window. Helicopter net-gunning, including annual or seasonal recaptures, remains an effective and comparatively safe technique for capture and associated data collection of bighorn sheep.     

Effect of malathion and acetylcholine on the developing larvae ofPhilosamia ricini (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae)

Feeding of malathion induces accumulation of acetylcholine inPhilosamia ricini developing larvaevia inhibition of acetyl cholinesterase activity. The insecticide also causes depletion of all nutrients, loss in weight, under-development of silk glands resulting in reduced silk production, lack of oviposition and high mortality among the insects. Acetylcholine however, while fed during the same period of development, tones up their nutritional status, induces better growth, weight gain, improved silk production and oviposition and significantly lower mortality than in the control group of insects maintained on castor leaves. This improved status of insects has been attributed to choline, the insect vitamin released from acetylcholine. Acetylcholine has also been noted to protect the insects to some extent from the poisonous effect of malathion on exposure to it after a dose of acetylcholine during the preceding instar stadium     

Modification of the nutritional parameters and of midgut biochemical and absorptive functions induced by the IGR fenoxycarb in Bombyx mori larvae

Fifth instar larvae of B. Mori were topically or orally treated with increasing amounts of the Insect Growth Regulator (IGR) fenoxycarb in a single application, in order to determine its effects on the nutritional parameters, the midgut functional activities and the growth of the silk glands. The IGR affected in a dose-dependent manner the progress of the life cycle of the insect, causing a delay or inhibition of spinning, alteration of the feeding behaviour, decrease of the nutritional parameters, impairment of the growth of the silk glands, and an increased mortality during larval-pupal transformation. Measurement of leucine uptake into midgut brush border membrane vesicles and midgut histochemistry revealed a reduced absorption of leucine by the midgut and a large alteration of a number of midgut enzyme activities as a result of treatments with a high dose of fenoxycarb (2.5 μg). Treatments with a dose of 2.5 femto g/larva caused an increase in leucine uptake by the midgut, an increased weight of the cocoon shell, and a modification of some midgut enzyme activities. The lepidopteran midgut appears to be a larval organ that responds promptly to the exposure to fenoxycarb. The epithelial columnar cells modify their absorptive functions, at least with regard to amino acid uptake, as well as their metabolic activity, with a modification of the oxidative status of the cells that is detectable with a single dose of the chemical as low as few fg/larva. Arch. Insect Biochem. Physiol. 39:18–35, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Tall claims: Mortality selection and the height of children in India

Data from three rounds of nationally representative health surveys in India (1992/93, 1998/99 and 2005/06) are used to assess the impact of selective mortality on children's anthropometrics. The nutritional status of the child population was simulated under the counterfactual scenario that all children who died in the first three years of life were alive at the time of measurement. The simulations demonstrate that the difference in anthropometrics due to selective mortality would be large only if there were very large differences in anthropometrics between the children who died and those who survived. Differences of this size are not substantiated by the research on the degree of association between mortality and malnutrition. The study shows that although mortality risk is higher among malnourished children, selective mortality has only a minor impact on the measured nutritional status of children stratified by gender.     

Drought's legacy: multiyear hydraulic deterioration underlies widespread aspen forest die‐off and portends increased future risk

Forest mortality constitutes a major uncertainty in projections of climate impacts on terrestrial ecosystems and carbon‐cycle feedbacks. Recent drought‐induced, widespread forest die‐offs highlight that climate change could accelerate forest mortality with its diverse and potentially severe consequences for the global carbon cycle, ecosystem services, and biodiversity. How trees die during drought over multiple years remains largely unknown and precludes mechanistic modeling and prediction of forest die‐off with climate change. Here, we examine the physiological basis of a recent multiyear widespread die‐off of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) across much of western North America. Using observations from both native trees while they are dying and a rainfall exclusion experiment on mature trees, we measure hydraulic performance over multiple seasons and years and assess pathways of accumulated hydraulic damage. We test whether accumulated hydraulic damage can predict the probability of tree survival over 2 years. We find that hydraulic damage persisted and increased in dying trees over multiple years and exhibited few signs of repair. This accumulated hydraulic deterioration is largely mediated by increased vulnerability to cavitation, a process known as cavitation fatigue. Furthermore, this hydraulic damage predicts the probability of interyear stem mortality. Contrary to the expectation that surviving trees have weathered severe drought, the hydraulic deterioration demonstrated here reveals that surviving regions of these forests are actually more vulnerable to future droughts due to accumulated xylem damage. As the most widespread tree species in North America, increasing vulnerability to drought in these forests has important ramifications for ecosystem stability, biodiversity, and ecosystem carbon balance. Our results provide a foundation for incorporating accumulated drought impacts into climate–vegetation models. Finally, our findings highlight the critical role of drought stress accumulation and repair of stress‐induced damage for avoiding plant mortality, presenting a dynamic and contingent framework for drought impacts on forest ecosystems.     

Prevalence and Predictors of Malnutrition among Guatemalan Children at 2 Years of Age

ObjectiveTo identify the prevalence and predictors of malnutrition among 2-year old children in the Western Highlands of Guatemala.MethodsProspective cohort of 852 Guatemalan children in San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala followed from birth to age 2 from May 2008 to December 2013. Socio-demographic, anthropometric, and health data of children was collected at 2 month intervals.ResultsAmong the 402 males and 450 females in the cohort, mean weight-for-age Z-score (WAZ) declined from -0.67 ± 1.01 at 1 year to -1.07 ± 0.87 at 2 years, while mean height-for-age Z-score (HAZ) declined from -1.88 ± 1.19 at 1 year to -2.37 ± 0.99 at 2 years. Using multiple linear regression modeling, number of children <5 years old, vomiting in the past week, fever in the past week, and WAZ at 1 year were significant predictors of WAZ at 2 years. Significant predictors of HAZ at 2 years included household size, number of children <5 years old, diarrhea in the past week, WAZ at 1 year, and HAZ at 1 year. Vomiting in the past week and WAZ at 1 year were significant predictors of weight-for-height z-score (WHZ) at 2 years.ConclusionsNumber of children <5 years old, symptoms such as vomiting or diarrhea in the previous week, and prior nutritional status were the most significant predictors of malnutrition in this cohort. Future research may focus on the application of models to develop predictive algorithms for mobile device technology, as well as the identification of other predictors of malnutrition that are not well characterized such as the interaction of environmental exposures with protein consumption and epigenetics.     

Coral bleaching: the winners and the losers

Sea surface temperatures were warmer throughout 1998 at Sesoko Island, Japan, than in the 10 preceding years. Temperatures peaked at 2.8 °C above average, resulting in extensive coral bleaching and subsequent coral mortality. Using random quadrat surveys, we quantitatively documented the coral community structure one year before and one year after the bleaching event. The 1998 bleaching event reduced coral species richness by 61% and reduced coral cover by 85%. Colony morphology affected bleaching vulnerability and subsequent coral mortality. Finely branched corals were most susceptible, while massive and encrusting colonies survived. Most heavily impacted were the branched Acropora and pocilloporid corals, some of which showed local extinction. We suggest two hypotheses whose synergistic effect may partially explain observed mortality patterns (i.e. preferential survival of thick-tissued species, and shape-dependent differences in colony mass-transfer efficiency). A community-structural shift occurred on Okinawan reefs, resulting in an increase in the relative abundance of massive and encrusting coral species.     

Compensatory Reserves of the Human Body and Population Health under Conditions of Exposure to Chronic Anthropogenic Factors and Prolonged Psychoemotional Stress

Long-term exposure to adverse factors of various origin and intensity is expected to cause a significant decrease in the compensatory reserves and adaptive capacity of the human body. These changes deteriorate the population health status in general. A quantitative method of evaluation of the decrease in the compensatory reserves and adaptive capacity, as well as the resistance to chronic exposure to extreme factors of various origin and intensity, was developed. This method is based on the concept of stress and programmable nonspecific physiological reactions of the human body put forward by H. Selye. Model analytical curves of the time-related decrease in the volume of compensatory reserves and the increase in the probability of development of adaptive disorders and failure of the adaptation process were calculated for the cases of long-term exposure to various stressors (the factors were applied individually or in combination). This method allowed the levels of population health risk induced by various factors to be compared to each other. This is of particular importance under conditions of the existing trend toward an increase in the intensity of anthropogenic stress factors against the background of long-term psychoemotional stress. Statistical data on changes in the rates of morbidity and mortality and the life expectancy of Russian people for the period 1960–2000 were analyzed. The levels of risk of the negative impact on population health induced by various stress factors (radiation, chemical environmental pollution, and long-term psychoemotional stress) were compared to each other.