Intestinal disease and the urban environment.

Factors in the urban environments of highly industralized societies are important causes of disease. This review examines urban diseases of small and large intestine. The urban environment is pervaded by chemicals including drugs, food additives, pesticides, industrial products, etc., which are potential causes of disease. Examples of typical urban, as contrasted with rural, intestinal disease are considered in terms of differing etiological factors. Urban intestinal disease is examined from the following standpoints: the population at risk; the chemical agents to which the population is exposed; a model for the physiology of distribution and metabolism of chemicals in relation to the alimentary tract; the application of this model to treatment of an industrial disease; a major urban disease of the alimentary tract, carcinoma of the colon, considered in terms of this model; approaches to characterizing, identifying, and controlling urban intestinal disease.