The 2023 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: the imperative for a health-centred response in a world facing irreversible harms

Environmental Impacts on Cardiovascular Health and Biology: An Overview

“…32,33 Though multiple features of climate change can affect cardiovascular health (worsening air quality from fires, molds, and pollens; extremes of heat and cold; increased hurricanes, floods, droughts, and other natural disasters), 2 extreme temperature appears to be among the most direct. [34][35][36][37][38] In 2023, the world experienced the highest temperatures in over 100 000 years, and heat records were eclipsed on every continent during 2022. 38 A recent meta-analysis of studies around the world showed that a 1 °C increase in temperature was significantly associated with a 0.5% increase and a 2.1% increase in cardiovascular disease-related morbidity and mortality, respectively.…”

“…[34][35][36][37][38] In 2023, the world experienced the highest temperatures in over 100 000 years, and heat records were eclipsed on every continent during 2022. 38 A recent meta-analysis of studies around the world showed that a 1 °C increase in temperature was significantly associated with a 0.5% increase and a 2.1% increase in cardiovascular disease-related morbidity and mortality, respectively. 37 A study with data across 567 cities in 27 countries showed that temperatures above the 99th percentile were associated with increased risk of cardiovascular mortality, specifically from ischemic heart disease, stroke, and heart failure.…”

“…There was an 85% increase in heat-related deaths of adults aged ≥65 years compared with 1990 to 2000. 38 Older individuals also have higher rates of preexisting cardiovascular disease (eg, coronary artery disease, stroke, heart failure) and underlying risk factors (eg, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia), 49,50 which increases the likelihood of using medications (eg, beta-blockers, diuretics) that can make intrinsic compensatory mechanisms even less able to compensate for temperature extremes. 51 Psychological stress of climate change-related events has also been associated with cardiovascular outcomes.…”

Accelerating Climate Action Through Academic Health Systems

“…Climate action is an urgent public health imperative. Climate change is causing excess morbidity and mortality and posing an increasing threat to mental health and well-being, with an additional 250 000 deaths projected annually between 2030 and 2050 due to heat, undernutrition, infectious diseases, and diarrhea alone . The US health care sector is a significant contributor to this problem, responsible for approximately 8.5% of domestic greenhouse gas emissions, which is considerably higher than peer countries .…”

Youth perspectives about readiness for disaster events.

“…Climate change has been described as the most pressing health issue of our time (Romanello et al, 2023). It is imperative that climate change policy development targets readiness strategies for all possible stakeholders, in particular children and adolescents, who will bear the greatest burden of addressing climate change impacts in the future (Everett et al, 2020).…”