Abbreviation AAEM Headquarters Wichita, KS Official language English | Formation 1965 Location United States | |
Type Professional association | ||
The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM), founded in 1965 as the Society for Clinical Ecology, is an international association of physicians and associated professionals interested in the clinical aspects of ecological or environmental illnesses. The academy aims for recognition of ecologic illness as a medical diagnosis.
Contents
- History
- Objectives of the academy
- Criticism of legitimacy
- Accreditation
- Activities of the academy
- References
Composed primarily of traditionally-trained M.D. and D.O. physicians from many specialities, the principal goals of the AAEM are physician education and the expansion of medical knowledge about often-overlooked effects on human health of environmental exposures encountered in everyday life.
The AAEM opposes the use of mercury-containing compounds in any product for human consumption, including mercury in vaccines. The AAEM also opposes water fluoridation and has called for a moratorium on food from genetically modified crops. The AAEM has been cited as an illegitimate organization by Quackwatch, for promoting the diagnosis of multiple chemical sensitivity.
History
The Society for Clinical Ecology was founded in 1965, and inspired by the ideas of Theron Randolph. Clinical Ecologists claimed that exposure to low levels of certain chemical agents harm susceptible people, causing multiple chemical sensitivity and other disorders.
Members of the academy may have a background in the field of allergy, and their theoretical approach is derived in part from classic concepts of allergic responses, first articulated by Randolph. Thus, they may find cause-and-effect relationships or low-dose effects that are not generally accepted by toxicologists.
In 1984 the Society changed its name to the American Academy of Environmental Medicine.
The academy claims that its founders and members are "recognized as the first to describe" or to acknowledge:
Clinical ecology is an offshoot of Environmental medicine and a sub-specialty within the Biological anthropology field.
Objectives of the academy
Some of the objectives of the academy are:
The academy aims at expanding the understanding of interactions between human individuals and their environment, with the ultimate objective of improving the individual's total health. The AAEM works towards the greater recognition, treatment and prevention of illnesses induced by exposures to various biological and chemical agents encountered in our environment, such as in air, food and water.
Criticism of legitimacy
Quackwatch lists the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) as a questionable organization, and its certifying board, the American Board of Environmental Medicine as a dubious certifying board. They are not recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties.
Accreditation
The academy is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education.
Activities of the academy
The academy holds meetings and seminars and provides information on diagnosis and treatment of ecologic illnesses.
The academy publishes a directory of members, which includes the procedures they employ in their practices. Proceedings of seminars, including some tape recordings, also have been published. The academy publishes a quarterly newsletter, The Environmental Physician.