The Health Effects of Climate Change: An Overview of Systematic Reviews

Background: Although many studies have explored the health impacts of climate change, a broader overview of research is needed to guide future research and action to mitigate and adapt to the health impacts of climate change. Methods: We conducted an overview of systematic reviews of health impacts of climate change. We systematically searched the literature using a predefined search strategy, inclusion, and exclusion criteria. We included systematic reviews that explored at least one health impact of climate change. We organized systematic reviews according to their key characteristics, including geographical regions, year of publication and authors' affiliations. We mapped the climate effects and health outcomes being studied and synthesized major findings. Findings: We included ninety-four systematic reviews. Most were published after 2015 and approximately one fifth contained meta-analyses. Reviews synthesized evidence about five categories of climate impacts; the two most common were meteorological and extreme weather events. Reviews covered ten health outcome categories; the three most common were 1) infectious diseases, 2) mortality, and 3) respiratory, cardiovascular, cardiopulmonary or neurological outcomes. Most reviews suggested a deleterious impact of climate change on multiple adverse health outcomes, although the majority also called for more research. Interpretation: Overall, most systematic reviews suggest that climate change is associated with worse human health. Future research could explore the potential explanations between these associations to propose adaptation and mitigation strategies and could include psychological and broader social health impacts of climate change. Funding: Canadian Institutes of Health Research FDN-148426

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Health effects of climate change: an overview of systematic reviews

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-046333 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. e046333

Author(s):

Rhea J Rocque ◽

Caroline Beaudoin ◽

Ruth Ndjaboue ◽

Laura Cameron ◽

Louann Poirier-Bergeron ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Systematic Reviews ◽

Climate Impacts ◽

Health Impacts ◽

Extreme Weather Events ◽

Impact Of Climate Change ◽

Overview Of Systematic Reviews ◽

Meta Analyses ◽

Impacts Of Climate Change

ObjectivesWe aimed to develop a systematic synthesis of systematic reviews of health impacts of climate change, by synthesising studies’ characteristics, climate impacts, health outcomes and key findings.DesignWe conducted an overview of systematic reviews of health impacts of climate change. We registered our review in PROSPERO (CRD42019145972). No ethical approval was required since we used secondary data. Additional data are not available.Data sourcesOn 22 June 2019, we searched Medline, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Embase, Cochrane and Web of Science.Eligibility criteriaWe included systematic reviews that explored at least one health impact of climate change.Data extraction and synthesisWe organised systematic reviews according to their key characteristics, including geographical regions, year of publication and authors’ affiliations. We mapped the climate effects and health outcomes being studied and synthesised major findings. We used a modified version of A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews-2 (AMSTAR-2) to assess the quality of studies.ResultsWe included 94 systematic reviews. Most were published after 2015 and approximately one-fifth contained meta-analyses. Reviews synthesised evidence about five categories of climate impacts; the two most common were meteorological and extreme weather events. Reviews covered 10 health outcome categories; the 3 most common were (1) infectious diseases, (2) mortality and (3) respiratory, cardiovascular or neurological outcomes. Most reviews suggested a deleterious impact of climate change on multiple adverse health outcomes, although the majority also called for more research.ConclusionsMost systematic reviews suggest that climate change is associated with worse human health. This study provides a comprehensive higher order summary of research on health impacts of climate change. Study limitations include possible missed relevant reviews, no meta-meta-analyses, and no assessment of overlap. Future research could explore the potential explanations between these associations to propose adaptation and mitigation strategies and could include broader sociopsychological health impacts of climate change.

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Separating the Impacts of Climate Change and Human Activities on Runoff: A Review of Method and Application

Water ◽

10.3390/w12082201 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (8) ◽

pp. 2201 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Feng Zeng ◽

Ming-Guo Ma ◽

Dong-Rui Di ◽

Wei-Yu Shi

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Research Methods ◽

Human Activities ◽

Future Research ◽

Research Needs ◽

Relevant Research ◽

Impact Of Climate Change ◽

The Impact ◽

Impacts Of Climate Change

Separating the impact of climate change and human activities on runoff is an important topic in hydrology, and a large number of methods and theories have been widely used. In this paper, we review the current papers on separating the impacts of climate and human activities on runoff, summarize the progress of relevant research methods and applications in recent years, and discuss future research needs and directions.

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Beyond the News: Health Risks of Climate Change

McGill Journal of Medicine ◽

10.26443/mjm.v12i1.736 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Kristie L Ebi

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Human Health ◽

Health Risks ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Scientific Literacy ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Health Impacts ◽

Extreme Weather Events ◽

Potential Health ◽

Impacts Of Climate Change

Climate change is affecting the health of millions of people through altering the geographic distribution and incidence of climate-sensitive health outcomes, including through injuries, illnesses, and deaths due to extreme weather events, food-, water-, and vectorborne diseases, air pollution, aeroallergens, and malnutrition (1). The magnitude of impacts is projected to increase as the climate continues to change. The scope and scale of projected impacts mean that climate change will touch the professional and personal lives of many public health and health care professionals. Avoiding, preparing for, and effectively responding to the health risks of climate change will require broad engagement of scientists, decision-makers, and the public. Achieving this engagement means that increased scientific literacy is needed of the causes and implications of climate change for human health. There are growing numbers of assessments of the potential health impacts of climate change (1-4) and summaries for various audiences (5). Instead of summarizing current knowledge of the causes and consequences for human health of anthropogenic climate change, this paper will highlight a few issues that may help with understanding the human health impacts of climate change.

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The impact of climate change on mental health (but will mental health be discussed at Copenhagen?)

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291709992169 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 40 (2) ◽

pp. 177-180 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

L. A. Page ◽

L. M. Howard

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Mental Health ◽

Global Mental Health ◽

Future Research ◽

International Agreement ◽

Impact Of Climate Change ◽

International Response ◽

The Impact ◽

Research And Policy ◽

Impacts Of Climate Change

Climate change will shortly be assuming centre stage when Copenhagen hosts the United Nations Climate Change Conference in early December 2009. In Copenhagen, delegates will discuss the international response to climate change (i.e. the ongoing increase in the Earth's average surface temperature) and the meeting is widely viewed as the most important of its kind ever held (http://en.cop15.dk/). International agreement will be sought on a treaty to replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. At the time of writing it is not known whether agreement will be reached on the main issues of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and financing the impacts of climate change, and it appears that the impact of climate change on mental health is unlikely to be on the agenda. We discuss here how climate change could have consequences for global mental health and consider the implications for future research and policy.

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Climate change, 24-hour movement behaviors, and health: a mini umbrella review

Global Health Research and Policy ◽

10.1186/s41256-021-00198-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Evaline Zisis ◽

Shawn Hakimi ◽

Eun-Young Lee

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Physical Activity ◽

Conceptual Framework ◽

Sedentary Behavior ◽

Systematic Reviews ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Future Research ◽

Umbrella Review ◽

Impact Of Climate Change ◽

Mitigation And Adaptation

Abstract Background The worsening climate change and alarming prevalence of communicable and non-communicable diseases continue to threat human life and existence. Accumulating evidence suggests that favorable patterns of 24-h movement behaviors, high physical activity, low sedentary behavior, and adequate sleep, may positively contribute to achieving dual benefits of climate change mitigation and disease prevention. The purposes of this mini umbrella review were to summarize the most up-to-date, high-level evidence exploring the relationships between climate change, 24-h movement behaviors, and health and elaborate on the mechanisms linking the three variables of interest. Methods A systematic search of electronic databases was performed in PubMed and Google Scholar during March–October 2020. Inclusion criteria were: (1) systematic review; (2) reviewed relationships between climate change and movement behaviors and/or health in any directions; (3) written in English; (4) published in 2010–2020. Narrative synthesis was conducted to highlight the main relationships observed and address the current state of knowledge and priorities for future research. In order to illustrate the potential mechanisms between climate change, movement behaviors, and health, the main results from included systematic reviews were summarized and a conceptual framework was developed for future research. Results Based on the evidence from eight systematic reviews published in the past decade, multi-directional (i.e., uni-, bi-, or U-shaped) links were observed between climate change and varying human health outcomes. However, little is understood about the association between climate change and 24-h movement behaviors. Two reviews suggested the negative impact of climate change on sleep and bi-directional relationships between climate change and physical activity/sport. One review included two studies suggesting the unfavorable impact of climate change on sedentary behavior; however, the evidence was limited. Finally, no reviews examined the mechanisms by which climate change, movement behaviors, and health impact one another. Based on the findings of this mini umbrella review, a conceptual framework is proposed that could guide future work to unpack mechanisms between climate change, movement behaviors, and health. Conclusions This mini umbrella review highlights the importance of better understanding the mechanisms between climate change, movement behaviors, and health in developing effective mitigation and adaptation strategies to climate change, while paying close attention to vulnerable countries/communities/population groups.

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The Natural Environment as an Object of Public Health Law: Addressing Health Outcomes of Climate Change through Intersections with Environmental and Agricultural Law

The Journal of Law Medicine & Ethics ◽

10.1177/1073110520979373 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 48 (4) ◽

pp. 664-680

Author(s):

Jill Krueger ◽

Betsy Lawton

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Climate Change ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Natural Environment ◽

Health Impacts ◽

Health Law ◽

Public Health Law ◽

Health Concerns ◽

Impacts Of Climate Change

The power to change the natural environment has received relatively little attention in public health law, yet is a core concern within environmental and agricultural law. Examples from environmental and agricultural law may inform efforts to change the natural environment in order to reduce the health impacts of climate change. Public health lawyers who attend to the natural environment may succeed in elevating health concerns within the environmental and agricultural law spheres, while gaining new tools for their public health law toolbox.

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Identifying the Economic Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture

Annual Review of Resource Economics ◽

10.1146/annurev-resource-100517-022938 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 361-380 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Colin Carter ◽

Xiaomeng Cui ◽

Dalia Ghanem ◽

Pierre Mérel

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Climate Impact ◽

Climate Impacts ◽

Future Research ◽

Impact Measurement ◽

Adaptation Measures ◽

Empirical Economics ◽

Economics Literature ◽

Open Question ◽

Impacts Of Climate Change

The ultimate impact of climate change on human systems will depend on the natural resilience of ecosystems on which societies rely as well as on adaptation measures taken by agents, individually and collectively. No sector of the economy is more reliant on climate than agriculture. Evidence from the American settlement process suggests that societies can successfully adapt to new climatic environments. Whether and how much agriculture will manage to adapt to a changing climate remains an open question in the empirical economics literature, however. This article reviews the existing evidence on weather and/or climate impacts on agricultural outcomes from the economics literature, with a focus on methodological questions. Some key econometric issues associated with climate impact measurement are discussed. We also outline important questions that have not been adequately addressed and suggest directions for future research.

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Knowledge and Perceptions of the Health Impacts of Climate Change Among Canadians

10.21203/rs.3.rs-1064960/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Laura Cameron ◽

Nora Casson ◽

Ian Mauro ◽

Karl Friesen-Hughes ◽

Rhéa Rocque

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Latent Class ◽

Health Impact ◽

Public Perceptions ◽

Climate Impacts ◽

Health Impacts ◽

Mitigation Measures ◽

Survey Knowledge ◽

Climate Change And Health ◽

Impacts Of Climate Change

Abstract Background At a time of intersecting public health crises of COVID-19 and climate change, understanding public perceptions of the health risks of climate change is critical to inform risk communication and support the adoption of adaptive behaviours. In Canada, very few studies have explored public understandings and perceptions of climate impacts on health. Methods This study addresses this gap through a nationally-representative survey of Canadians (n=3,014) to explore public perceptions and awareness regarding the link between climate change and health in Canada. The 116-question survey measured awareness of the link between climate change and health, affective assessment of climate health impacts, unprompted knowledge of climate health impacts, and concern about a range of impacts. Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to test for differences in median values among sociodemographic groups. The survey also measured baseline climate opinion, which was used to segment the public into different audiences through a latent class analysis.Results Three climate opinion classes were identified in the sample (disengaged, concerned, and alarmed) and perceptions of climate health impacts were compared across these classes and other sociodemographic variables. Approximately half (53%) of respondents have considerable awareness of the link between climate change and health, and even more (61%) perceive climate change as bad for health. The majority of respondents (58%) can name one or more health impact without prompting. Concern about health impacts of climate change is highest among the alarmed and lowest among the disengaged, as compared to concerns about other categories of climate impacts such as economic. Across the survey, knowledge and concern are highest for water- and food-related health impacts.Conclusions The differential knowledge, awareness, and concern of climate health impacts across segments of the Canadian population can inform targeted communication and engagement to build broader support for adaptation and mitigation measures.

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