Supervisors info:
Παναγιώτα Σουρτζή, Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Νοσηλευτικής, ΕΚΠΑ,Επιβλέπουσα
Βενετία-Σοφία Βελονάκη, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Νοσηλευτικής, ΕΚΠΑ
Πέτρος Γαλάνης, Επίκουρος Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Νοσηλευτικής, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
Introduction: Climate change is appearing as one of the major global problems of our time, causing far-reaching impacts on many sectors of society. One sector that is extremely vulnerable to these changes is public health, with a focus on the respiratory system. Increasing temperatures, changes in the composition of the atmosphere, and extreme weather conditions create an environment that significantly affects the functioning of the respiratory system and the general health of the population.
Purpose: The systematic review aimed to investigate the relationship between climate change and effects on the respiratory system of adults. Specific objectives were to find the incidence of pulmonary diseases of the study from climate change, to describe the consequences of pulmonary function from climate change, and to find if there is a lack of data in order to continue the research.
Material and method: The nature of this work involves a systematic literature review. A search was conducted in the electronic databases PubMed and Scopus, and due to the lack of sufficient studies, research was drawn from the bibliographic sources of already existing articles. The systematic review covered the period 1982-2023.
Results: From the initial number of 206 articles, the eligible for review were 8 and met the search criteria. The main results show a positive correlation of marginal significance but not significant between nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and asthma, therefore air pollution negatively affects adults. In addition, air pollution was associated with lower lung function and increased prevalence of COPD, especially in men, individuals from lower-income households and “risk” professions and higher COPD correlations were observed for obese, lower-income and non-asthmatic participants. It was also observed that the incidence of COPD was positively associated with individuals who have diabetes or asthma. Asthma, however, appears to be positively associated with oxidative stress. The research also showed that in indoor spaces with humidity, a higher prevalence of respiratory symptoms was observed. Subsequently, in relation to extreme weather phenomena, fires, show an increase in the risk of hospitalization for asthma and visits to the ER for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were associated with PM2.5 in relation to before it, but not after. Finally, 16 experts have great confidence that climate change will increase the frequency of heatwaves and that climate change will increase the levels of pollen (50%), particulate matter (PM2.5) (55%) and ozone (70%).
