Factors That Influence Climate Change-Related Mortality in the United States: An Integrative Review

Overview

Journal Int J Environ Res Public Health

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Environmental Health
Public Health

Date 2021 Aug 7

PMID 34360518

Citations 9

Authors

Ruth McDermott-Levy

Madeline Scolio

Kabindra M Shakya

Caroline H Moore

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Global atmospheric warming leads to climate change that results in a cascade of events affecting human mortality directly and indirectly. The factors that influence climate change-related mortality within the peer-reviewed literature were examined using Whittemore and Knafl's framework for an integrative review. Ninety-eight articles were included in the review from three databases-PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus-with literature filtered by date, country, and keywords. Articles included in the review address human mortality related to climate change. The review yielded two broad themes in the literature that addressed the factors that influence climate change-related mortality. The broad themes are environmental changes, and social and demographic factors. The meteorological impacts of climate change yield a complex cascade of environmental and weather events that affect ambient temperatures, air quality, drought, wildfires, precipitation, and vector-, food-, and water-borne pathogens. The identified social and demographic factors were related to the social determinants of health. The environmental changes from climate change amplify the existing health determinants that influence mortality within the United States. Mortality data, national weather and natural disaster data, electronic medical records, and health care provider use of International Classification of Disease (ICD) 10 codes must be linked to identify climate change events to capture the full extent of climate change upon population health.

Citing Articles

Assessing the impact of temperature on acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease hospitalizations in residents of Panzhihua City: a multi-districts study using a distributed lag non-linear model.

Yang Y, Li X, Wang S, Lei Y, Xu W, Li Y BMC Public Health. 2024; 24(1):2151.

PMID: 39112974 PMC: 11308688. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-19677-2.

Hygienic evaluation of the Resourcify GmbH concept for recovering raw materials from recyclable medical devices after surgery.

Kramer A, Brill F GMS Hyg Infect Control. 2024; 19:Doc16.

PMID: 38766638 PMC: 11099353. DOI: 10.3205/dgkh000471.

By-degree Health and Economic Impacts of Lyme Disease, Eastern and Midwestern United States.

Yang H, Gould C, Jones R, St Juliana A, Sarofim M, Rissing M Ecohealth. 2024; 21(1):56-70.

PMID: 38478199 PMC: 11127817. DOI: 10.1007/s10393-024-01676-9.

Temperature and socioeconomic vulnerability: associations with cardiac event-induced posttraumatic stress symptoms.

Cornelius T, Casey J, Just A, Rowland S, Edmondson D Front Psychol. 2023; 14:1092106.

PMID: 37325741 PMC: 10267367. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1092106.

Climate Crises and Developing Vector-Borne Diseases: A Narrative Review.

Mojahed N, Mohammadkhani M, Mohamadkhani A Iran J Public Health. 2023; 51(12):2664-2673.

PMID: 36742229 PMC: 9874214. DOI: 10.18502/ijph.v51i12.11457.

References

Hansel N, McCormack M, Kim V . The Effects of Air Pollution and Temperature on COPD. COPD. 2015; 13(3):372-9. PMC: 4878829. DOI: 10.3109/15412555.2015.1089846. View

Schmeltz M, Sembajwe G, Marcotullio P, Grassman J, Himmelstein D, Woolhandler S . Identifying individual risk factors and documenting the pattern of heat-related illness through analyses of hospitalization and patterns of household cooling. PLoS One. 2015; 10(3):e0118958. PMC: 4351173. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0118958. View

Isaksen T, Fenske R, Hom E, Ren Y, Lyons H, Yost M . Increased mortality associated with extreme-heat exposure in King County, Washington, 1980-2010. Int J Biometeorol. 2015; 60(1):85-98. PMC: 4845914. DOI: 10.1007/s00484-015-1007-9. View

Chang H, Zhou J, Fuentes M . Impact of climate change on ambient ozone level and mortality in southeastern United States. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2010; 7(7):2866-80. PMC: 2922733. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph7072866. View

Shi L, Kloog I, Zanobetti A, Liu P, Schwartz J . Impacts of Temperature and its Variability on Mortality in New England. Nat Clim Chang. 2015; 5:988-991. PMC: 4666547. DOI: 10.1038/nclimate2704. View

Voorhees A, Fann N, Fulcher C, Dolwick P, Hubbell B, Bierwagen B . Climate change-related temperature impacts on warm season heat mortality: a proof-of-concept methodology using BenMAP. Environ Sci Technol. 2011; 45(4):1450-7. DOI: 10.1021/es102820y. View

Sheffield P, Landrigan P . Global climate change and children's health: threats and strategies for prevention. Environ Health Perspect. 2010; 119(3):291-8. PMC: 3059989. DOI: 10.1289/ehp.1002233. View

Peng R, Bobb J, Tebaldi C, McDaniel L, Bell M, Dominici F . Toward a quantitative estimate of future heat wave mortality under global climate change. Environ Health Perspect. 2011; 119(5):701-6. PMC: 3094424. DOI: 10.1289/ehp.1002430. View

Lee M, Nordio F, Zanobetti A, Kinney P, Vautard R, Schwartz J . Acclimatization across space and time in the effects of temperature on mortality: a time-series analysis. Environ Health. 2014; 13:89. PMC: 4271464. DOI: 10.1186/1476-069X-13-89. View

10.

Nordio F, Zanobetti A, Colicino E, Kloog I, Schwartz J . Changing patterns of the temperature-mortality association by time and location in the US, and implications for climate change. Environ Int. 2015; 81:80-6. PMC: 4780576. DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2015.04.009. View

11.

Watts N, Amann M, Arnell N, Ayeb-Karlsson S, Beagley J, Belesova K . The 2020 report of The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: responding to converging crises. Lancet. 2020; 397(10269):129-170. PMC: 7616803. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32290-X. View

12.

Reid C, Brauer M, Johnston F, Jerrett M, Balmes J, Elliott C . Critical Review of Health Impacts of Wildfire Smoke Exposure. Environ Health Perspect. 2016; 124(9):1334-43. PMC: 5010409. DOI: 10.1289/ehp.1409277. View

13.

Xiao J, Peng J, Zhang Y, Liu T, Rutherford S, Lin H . How much does latitude modify temperature-mortality relationship in 13 eastern US cities?. Int J Biometeorol. 2014; 59(3):365-72. DOI: 10.1007/s00484-014-0848-y. View

14.

Gronlund C, Zanobetti A, Schwartz J, Wellenius G, ONeill M . Heat, heat waves, and hospital admissions among the elderly in the United States, 1992-2006. Environ Health Perspect. 2014; 122(11):1187-92. PMC: 4216145. DOI: 10.1289/ehp.1206132. View

15.

Weinberger K, Haykin L, Eliot M, Schwartz J, Gasparrini A, Wellenius G . Projected temperature-related deaths in ten large U.S. metropolitan areas under different climate change scenarios. Environ Int. 2017; 107:196-204. PMC: 5575805. DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2017.07.006. View

16.

Gutierrez K, LePrevost C . Climate Justice in Rural Southeastern United States: A Review of Climate Change Impacts and Effects on Human Health. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2016; 13(2):189. PMC: 4772209. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph13020189. View

17.

Zanobetti A, ONeill M, Gronlund C, Schwartz J . Summer temperature variability and long-term survival among elderly people with chronic disease. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012; 109(17):6608-13. PMC: 3340087. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1113070109. View

18.

Madrigano J, Ito K, Johnson S, Kinney P, Matte T . A Case-Only Study of Vulnerability to Heat Wave-Related Mortality in New York City (2000-2011). Environ Health Perspect. 2015; 123(7):672-8. PMC: 4492264. DOI: 10.1289/ehp.1408178. View

19.

Parks R, Bennett J, Tamura-Wicks H, Kontis V, Toumi R, Danaei G . Anomalously warm temperatures are associated with increased injury deaths. Nat Med. 2020; 26(1):65-70. PMC: 6957467. DOI: 10.1038/s41591-019-0721-y. View

20.

Zanobetti A, ONeill M, Gronlund C, Schwartz J . Susceptibility to mortality in weather extremes: effect modification by personal and small-area characteristics. Epidemiology. 2013; 24(6):809-19. PMC: 4304207. DOI: 10.1097/01.ede.0000434432.06765.91. View