Influence of Climate Changes on Health (Review)

Abstract

Although climate changes are one of the most serious public health risks for all nations, it appears that the medical society in the East European countries is not too much concerned. The aim of this paper is to point out the main treats on health provoked by climate changes. The literature review was the source of information. Based on the PubMed where in 2015 more than 65,000 papers were dedicated to different aspects of the influence of the climate changes on the human health, as well as 3,500 articles for the pediatric population, we present a review of the main health risks. Especially, the impact of the climate changes on the children's health is overviewed. In separate parts, the thermal stress, extreme weather events, changes of infection's pattern, how to measure health risks as well as some mitigation measures are discussed.

Bibliometric analysis of peer-reviewed literature on climate change and human health with an emphasis on infectious diseases

“…The implications of climate change on human health have led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare climate change as one of the top ten global health threats in 2019 [8]. Climate change is negatively affecting human lives by changing the quality of air, water, and food supply [9][10][11]. It is estimated that between 2030 and 2050, climate change will cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year and 2-4 billion USD loss per year by 2030 [12].…”

“…These devastating economic and health consequences require national and international planning to slow down climate change and to build resilient health systems that can tackle these changes [13]. The effects of climate change are global and diverse [11,14,15]. However, the impact on developing countries with limited resources and weak health systems will be more obvious [16][17][18][19][20].…”

Pathogen-Specific Impacts of the 2011–2012 La Niña-Associated Floods on Enteric Infections in the MAL-ED Peru Cohort: A Comparative Interrupted Time Series Analysis

“…In addition to rising surface temperatures, variability in precipitation and evapotranspiration is set to increase in the coming decades, exaggerating the pattern of high rainfall at the equator and polar fronts and low rainfall across the subtropical heights [3]. The impacts of changing rainfall patterns on health will likely not be linear but felt most pronouncedly at the extremes, with both heavy precipitation events and more frequent droughts making water sources and food systems more precarious and disease and injury more likely [4][5][6]. Floods, already the most common type of national disaster, are likely to increase in frequency and severity in many regions as climate change brings about sea level rises and shifts in rainfall patterns [7][8][9].…”