ABSTRACT
The relationship between fluoride in drinking water and a reduced incidence of dental decay is probably one of the best established links between geochemistry and disease. There is a growing body of evidence that environmental geochemistry can affect health. In farm animals, deficiencies in cobalt, copper, and selenium are widespread in parts of Europe. The health of animals and man is known to be affected by the amounts and properties of the chemical elements present in food, beverages, and inhaled dust or air. Chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and screening programs are reducing the mortality from several cancers. The link between endemic goiter and environmental iodine was one of the first associations between health and a trace element to be established. Interest in fluorine centers primarily on its role in dental health. Cardiovascular diseases constitute the major cause of death in adult life in Europe.
