Climate change and its impact on weather patterns and severe weather events is likely to have a negative impact on the health of people with brain diseases, a UCL-led research team claims.
In a Personal View article published in The Lancet Neurology, the research team says they need to understand the impact of climate change on neurological diseases to protect the health of people with neurological diseases and prevent worsening inequalities. He emphasizes that this is urgently needed.
After reviewing 332 papers published around the world between 1968 and 2023, a research team led by Professor Sanjay Sisodiya (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) concluded that the potential of climate change for neurological diseases He said he expected the scale of the impact to be significant. .
They looked at 19 different neurological diseases, selected based on the 2016 Global Burden of Disease Study, including stroke, migraine, Alzheimer's disease, meningitis, epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis.
The researchers also analyzed the effects of climate change on several serious but common mental illnesses, including anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia.
Professor Sisodia, Head of Genomics at the Epilepsy Society and founding member of Epilepsy Climate Change, said: “There is clear evidence for the impact of climate on some brain diseases, particularly stroke and infections of the nervous system.” .
“Climate change that has been shown to impact brain disease includes extreme temperatures (both cold and hot) and larger temperature fluctuations throughout the day, especially when these measures are seasonally abnormal. It is included.
“Nighttime temperature is particularly important because high nighttime temperatures can disrupt sleep. Sleep deprivation is known to worsen various brain conditions.”
Researchers found that higher ambient temperatures and heat waves increased hospitalization, disability, and death rates from stroke.
Meanwhile, the researchers found that people with dementia may be more susceptible to extreme temperature changes (such as heat-related illnesses or hypothermia), as their cognitive impairment may limit their ability to adapt their behavior to changes in the environment. It says it is vulnerable to damage from weather events (such as floods and wildfires).
They conclude that “decreased risk awareness is combined with a decreased ability to reduce potential harm, such as asking for help, drinking more in hot weather, and adjusting one's clothing.”
“This susceptibility is further exacerbated by frailty, multiple medical conditions, and taking psychotropic medications. Therefore, with greater temperature fluctuations, hot days, and sustained heat waves, dementia-related hospitalizations and mortality increase. This will lead to an increase in
Additionally, the incidence of many mental health disorders, hospitalization, and mortality risk are associated with increased ambient temperature, daily temperature fluctuations, or extreme hot or cold temperatures.
Researchers believe that as severe weather becomes more severe and global temperatures rise, some of the earlier studies they considered as part of their analysis may not have been severe enough to affect brain conditions. It points out that people are exposed to worsening environmental factors.
As a result, they say it's important to ensure research is up-to-date and considers not only the current state of climate change, but also the future.
Professor Sisodiya said: “This effort is being undertaken in response to alarmingly worsening climate conditions, and we need to remain agile and dynamic to generate information that is useful to both individuals and organizations.” Ta.
“Furthermore, few studies have estimated the health impacts of brain diseases under future climate scenarios, making it difficult to plan for the future.”
The whole concept of climate anxiety adds potentially significant implications. Many brain diseases are associated with a higher risk of mental illness, including anxiety, and such complex illnesses may further complicate the effects of climate change and the adaptations needed to maintain health. there is. But there are actions we can and should take now. ”
Professor Sanjay Sisodiya, UCL Queen Square Neurological Institute
This new article was published ahead of the 'The Hot Brain 2: Climate Change and Brain Health' event, led by Professor Sisodiya and co-hosted by UCL and Lancet Neurology.
The purpose of the conference is to raise awareness of the risks of climate change to the brain and neurohealth, foster global collaboration, promote action on climate change, and promote adaptation strategies.
The study was funded by the Epilepsy Society and the National Brain Appeal Innovation Fund.
sauce:
university of london
Reference magazines:
Sisodiya, SM, et al. (2024) Climate change and nervous system disorders. Lancet Neurology. doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(24)00087-5.
