The pressing ecological challenges of the twenty-first century underscore the need for biodiversity protection. The “One Health” approach, which integrates human, animal, and environmental health, has become increasingly vital. This study investigates the relationship between bird species richness, an important indicator of biodiversity, and both all-cause and cause-specific mortality rates in China. This nationwide county-level ecological study combined citizen science bird data from the China Bird Report Center, all-cause and cause-specific mortality rates of 2021 from the National Mortality Surveillance System, and county-level statistics of population characteristics, socio-economics, education, and healthcare services. We employed univariate and multivariate linear regressions to explore the association between bird diversity and mortality rates. Overall, data from 421 counties revealed a negative association between bird species richness and all-cause mortality rates, with a regression coefficient (95% confidence interval) of −0.197 (−0.376, −0.017). This study also found significant negative associations between bird species richness and cause-specific mortality rates for several diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases (including cerebrovascular and ischemic heart diseases) and cancers (including lung cancer). The effects of associations were similar between both genders. Our findings underscore the significance of biodiversity conservation for public health and highlight the importance of integrated environmental and health policies.

Background: Biodiversity underpins ecosystem functions relevant to human health, but its health importance may vary across stages of social development. We aimed to identify where along the development–health continuum biodiversity becomes associated with population health at the global scale. Methods: We conducted a global, cross‑national analysis of 204 countries and territories using 2021 life expectancy, stratified a priori at an 80-year threshold, and vertebrate species richness as the primary biodiversity indicator. Environmental layers, including habitat index, gross primary productivity, and human footprint were harmonized as raster data and summarized to the country level. Regression analyses were conducted using two models: a reduced model that adjusted only for the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), and a full model that further included other environmental factors. The contribution of these environmental factors was then evaluated by examining changes in the proportion of variance explained. Findings: Countries with life expectancy of 80 years or more substantially overlapped with highly developed settings. In this group, species richness was positively associated with life expectancy and remained significant after adjustment for SDI and other environmental indicators; SDI was not significant. The proportion of explained variance attributable to species richness increased from 12·3% in the reduced model to 17·25% in the full model. By contrast, in countries with life expectancy below 80 years, SDI was strongly associated with life expectancy, whereas species richness was not significant after adjustment. These patterns were consistent with variance partitioning analyses. Interpretation: Biodiversity appears most relevant to population health in high-longevity, high-development settings, whereas socio-demographic development remains the dominant determinant elsewhere. These findings support development-stage-specific planetary health strategies that integrate biodiversity conservation with public health policy.

Mineral elements are essential for human health. Our previous study identified distinct clusters of health-related mineral elements in surface soil among different regions and demonstrated an association between these clusters and health profiles in the USA. The present study further explores the relationship between these mineral clusters and mortality from detailed specific types of cancers and cardiovascular diseases by using county-level data from 3080 counties across the USA. Utilizing multivariate regression models with adjustment for socio-demographic and geographical factors, our analysis of county-level data revealed that residents in the regions of ‘infertile’ cluster have higher mortality rates for most types of cancers (18/29) and cardiovascular conditions (4/10) compared with people who live elsewhere. Notably, this relationship is pronounced for several specific leading causes of death such as tracheal, bronchus, lung cancer (regression coefficient (99.5% CIs), 6.29 (4.46, 8.13)), prostate cancer (1.06 (0.53, 1.6)), cerebrovascular disease (3.15 (1.74, 4.55)), and hypertensive heart disease (1.23 (0.23, 2.23)). Our findings highlight the critical role of soil minerals in human health and underscore the need for integrating geochemical data in public health strategies and environmental management policies.

Air pollution has been one of the major threats to public health. The study aimed to determine latent patterns of geographical distribution of health-related air pollutants across the USA and to evaluate real-world cumulative effects of these patterns on public health metrics. It was an ecological study using county-level data on the concentrations of 12 air pollutants over 20 years. Latent class analysis was used to identify the common clusters of life expectancy-associated air pollutants based on their concentration characteristics in the final counties studied (n = 699). Multivariate linear regression analyses were then applied to assess the relationship between the LCA-derived clusters and health measurements with confounding adjustment. We found that PM_2.5 mass, PM₁₀ speciation, and NONO_xNO_y (the reactive nitrogen species) were associated with life expectancy and thus were included in LCA. Among five identified clusters, the one with a more severe pollutant profile was associated with a decreasing life expectancy, an increasing mortality risk among middle-aged and elderly populations (≥45 years), and an increasing mortality rate caused by chronic respiratory conditions, cardiovascular diseases, and neoplasms. Our study brings new perspectives on real-world geographical patterns of air pollution to explain health disparities across the USA.