Impacts of long-term climate change on human health: a global scoping review of quantitative research
Abstract
Objectives: Research output on the impacts of climate change and human health is growing rapidly. We aimed to synthesise peer-reviewed studies on this subject published between January 2000 and May 2024.
Design: Scoping review.
Data sources: Literature was collected from PubMed, Embase and Scopus on 11 November 2019, 25 June 2021 and 22 April 2024.
Eligibility criteria: We included English language quantitative peer-reviewed primary research articles about the impacts of long-term climate change (ie, as opposed to effects of weather or single climatic events with the exception of attribution studies) on human health.
Data extraction and synthesis: Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts. Full-texts were screened by single reviewers, although 23% of publications selected for full-text screening received an independent second-screening. Reported exposures and health outcomes were classified. Reported quantitative effects of long-term climate change on human health were coded as increasing, decreasing, variable or non-significant.
Results: From 60 781 initial records we included 1223 quantitative publications in this scoping review. Health impacts of long-term climate change were studied most often in Europe, the Americas and the Western Pacific. Studies on temperature and on disease vectors, including the diseases they transmit, represented 39.3% and 30.9% of all included publications, respectively. Included results covered over 100 specific health outcomes.…
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