Water Quality and Life Expectancy: Parallel Courses in Time

• Published in: Water (Basel) Vol. 13; no. 6; p. 752
• Main Authors: Angelakis, Andreas N, Vuorinen, Heikki S, Nikolaidis, Christos, Juuti, Petri S, Katko, Tapio S, Juuti, Riikka P, Zhang, Jim, Samonis, George
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.03.2021
• Subjects: Civilization; contemporary times; Food; Fresh water; Health aspects; historical times; Hygiene; Infectious diseases; Life expectancy; Life span; Literature reviews; Medicine; Medieval period; medieval times; Morbidity; Mortality; Neolithic; Personal hygiene; Population; population growth; Prehistoric era; Purification; Quality of life; Rivers; Sanitation; Study and teaching; Water; Water conveyance; Water properties; Water purification; Water quality; Water shortages; Water supply; Water supply systems; Water treatment; Greece; United Kingdom; Netherlands; Eastern Europe; China; Finland; Cyprus; Asia; Israel
• ISSN: 2073-4441; 2073-4441
• DOI: 10.3390/w13060752

Since ancient times, the need for healthy water has resulted in the development of various kinds of water supply systems. From early history, civilizations have developed water purification devices and treatment methods. The necessity for fresh water has influenced individual lives as well as communities and societies. During the last two hundred years, intensive and effective efforts have been made internationally for sufficient water quantity and quality. At the same time, human life expectancy has increased all over the globe at unprecedented rates. The present work represents an effort to sketch out how water purity and life expectancy have entangled, thus influencing one another. Water properties and characteristics have directly affected life quality and longevity. The dramatic increase in life expectancy has been, indisputably, affected by the improvement in water quality, but also in other concomitant factors, varying temporally and spatially in different parts of the world throughout the centuries. Water technologies and engineering have an unequivocal role on life expectancy. In some cases, they appear to have taken place earlier than the progress of modern medicine. Among these, improved sanitation, personal hygiene, progress in medicine, and better standards of economic living have played the greatest roles.