New Burden to the Burden of Disease Health Effects of Climate Change

Abstract

Climate change can cause extreme weather events that can have effects on both infectious and chronic diseases. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) global burden of disease study 2000, the burden of disease attributed to climate change worldwide is >150 000 deaths (0.3% of global deaths) and 5.5 million disability adjusted life years (DALY) (0.4% of the global load). Climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year between 2030 and 2050. It is estimated that 38 000 of these will be in the elderly due to high temperature rise, 48 000 due to diarrhea, 60 000 to malaria and 95 000 to childhood malnutrition. Climate change has been selected as a risk factor in the “environmental risks”
category in the WHO global burden of disease study. Determining the burden of disease, defining the ‘preventable burden’ distributions and comparing
the relative risks in different scenarios are important for estimation and impact prevention studies. The concept of prevention in public health is multilayered. Primary, secondary and tertiary measures all have a role in adaptation or preparedness, and each can contribute to the resilience of individuals, communities and nations.