Climate Change and Older Americans: State of the Science

Gamble, Janet L.; Hurley, Bradford J.; Schultz, Peter A.; Jaglom, Wendy S.; Krishnan, Nisha; Harris, M.

doi:10.1289/ehp.1205223

Cited by 164 publications

(150 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Consistent with other studies, we found that the elderly people had a higher morbidity and mortality rate of heatrelated illness during extreme heat days, which may be because they are weak, living in poverty, isolated, or have difficulty getting help (Gamble et al 2013). In this analysis, males seem to be more vulnerable than females to heat effects, which may be because males are more likely to be engaged in the occupational exposure to high temperatures (Bai et al 2014b).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Heat-related illness in China, summer of 2013

et al. 2015

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Extreme heat events have occurred more frequently in China in recent years, leading to serious impacts on human life and the health care system. To identify the characteristics of individuals with heat-related illnesses in China during the summer of 2013, we collected the data from the Heat-related Illness Surveillance System in Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC). A total of 5758 cases were reported in the summer of 2013, mostly concentrated in urban areas around the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. We found a difference in age distribution of percentage of deaths from heat-related illness between males and females. Severe cases in males mostly occurred in the age group 45-74 years but in females mostly in the age group over 75. A distributed lag non-linear model had been used to identify population vulnerabilities in Ningbo and Chongqing. The results show that there was a clear positive relationship between maximum temperature and heat-related illness, and the heat effect was nonlinear and could last for 3 days. The elderly and males in the range of 45-64 years old might be the most vulnerable people of heat-related illness in China. We also highlighted some deficiencies of the surveillance system, such that the reported data were not accurate, comprehensive, or timely enough at this stage.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Heat-related illness in China, summer of 2013

et al. 2015

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“…The regression analysis equally showed that while climate change accounted for about 12% of the variations in the prevalence of climate-related diseases in the study area between 2001 and 2015, the contributions of fluctuations in the amount of precipitation were higher. These findings are not largely different from those of Schwartz (1994), Schwartz and Morris (1995), Filliberto et al (2010) and Gamble et al (2013).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 46%

“…The climate-related diseases reviewed are those affecting the lungs; asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia, febrile illnesses; malaria, typhoid, yellow fever and dengue fever, waterborne diseases; cholera and diarrhea as well as heart (high blood pressure), skin and eye diseases with environmental prognosis. The impacts of temperature and rainfall variations on diseases are well documented in the literature (Adeboyejo et al, 2012;Gamble et al, 2013;Adewoyin, 2015 for instance).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…They are therefore more sensitive to changes in the environment. Gamble et al (2013) also found out that older Americans are likely to be more vulnerable to stressors associated with climate change based on the evidence of adverse effect of heat on their health. Schwartz (1994) and Schwartz and Morris (1995) equally found that periods of high levels of air pollution correlated with increased hospitalizations for cardiovascular and lung diseases among older persons in America.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Climate Change And Health Of The Aged In Lagos, Nigeria

2017

Aust. J. Basic & Appl. Sci.

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Background:The aged cohort is more susceptible to ill-health owing to their physiological and immunological compositions. Their lifestyles, nutritional status and conditions to which they are exposed in their social and physical environments matter for their health. Conditions in the physical environment, particularly those related to climatic elements,have the propensity to aggravate health challenges among this cohort through their exposure to weather extremities and fluctuations in temperature and rainfall. Objective: Against this background, this paper examines the effects of climate change on the trend and prevalence of climate-related diseases among the aged in an urban setting using Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria as a case study. Two sets of secondary data; hospital records of 600 adults aged 50 and above with clinically-diagnosed cases of climate related diseases, and data on climatic parameters of temperature and rainfall, were employed for the study. The data sets were collected for the period 2001 to 2015. Results: Temperature declined over the period of study while rainfall increased. The study also showed that incidence of high blood pressure was more prevalent (43%) than any other climate-related diseases among the sampled population. This was followed by fever and respiratory diseases. Incidences of cholera and diarrhea as well as blindness, and skin diseases were relatively fewer. The cases of high blood pressure, fever and respiratory diseases were positively correlated with year as they showed a progressive annual increase in relation to the fluctuations in rainfall and temperature, particularly increased rainfall. The result of the regression analysis (R 2 = 0.115) also shows that the fluctuations in rainfall and temperature accounted for 11.5% of the variations in climate-related diseases among the aged in the period studied. Conclusion: With the observed effects of climate change on the blood pressure of the aged as well as on the prevalence of fever and respiratory diseases among them, this study is suggesting that emphasis should be placed on social inclusiveness and financial independence for the elderly in order for them to adequately adapt to the vagaries of climate change.

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“…Studies have shown that the incidence of strokes is more in extreme weather conditions [47] . The elderly are readily susceptible to these tumultuous conditions [48] and hence they might be subject to higher number stroke attacks in recent times.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stroke: Changing Risk Factor Profile and Unaltered Mean Age in a Developing Country. A Retrospective Study and Literature Review

Amalakanti¹,

Nagarjunakonda²,

Uppala³

et al. 2015

Eur Neurol

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Background: The rapid changes in the lifestyles of people in the developing countries such as India are known to increase the incidence of risk factors for stroke like hypertension (HTN), diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia. Tobacco smoking and alcoholism are on the rise. Hence, stroke might occur in younger age groups when compared to the earlier generations. We compared data of age at stroke in India across a decade. Methods: Data from medical case records of 299 stroke patients from our tertiary referral Government General Hospital, Guntur, from January 2012 to December 2014 are collected and compared with previous studies of stroke in India. Results: The mean age at stroke was 55 (14) years with 32.3% women. The prevalence of smoking was 43%, HTN 46%, diabetes 17% and dyslipidemia 54.6%. A previous medical diagnosis of coronary artery disease was reported in 0.01% cases. When compared to previous studies, there was no significant change in mean age of stroke (p = 1.0). While smoking and dyslipidemias have increased, HTN and diabetes were more in earlier decades. Conclusions: The age at stroke has remained constant over the last 4 decades in India. The profile of risk factors for stroke has changed over the years.

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Climate Change and Older Americans: State of the Science

Cited by 164 publications

References 60 publications

Heat-related illness in China, summer of 2013

Heat-related illness in China, summer of 2013

Climate Change And Health Of The Aged In Lagos, Nigeria

Stroke: Changing Risk Factor Profile and Unaltered Mean Age in a Developing Country. A Retrospective Study and Literature Review

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