A systematic review of the inequality of health burdens related to climate change

作     者：Xinke Song Shihui Zhang Hai Huang Qun Ding Fang Guo Yaxin Zhang Jin Li Mingyu Li Wenjia Cai Can Wang 

作者机构：State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution ControlSchool of EnvironmentTsinghua UniversityBeijing100084China Department of Earth System ScienceTsinghua UniversityBeijing100084China 

出 版 物：《Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering》 (环境科学与工程前沿（英文）)

年 卷 期：2024年第18卷第5期

页      面：137-153页

核心收录：

学科分类：0830[工学-环境科学与工程（可授工学、理学、农学学位）] 07[理学] 0701[理学-数学] 

基　　金：funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.71773062,71525007,72140002,and 72204137) the National Social Science Foundation of China(No.17ZDA077). 

主　　题：Climate change Health impact Human well-being Inequality Vulnerability 

摘      要：Climate change significantly impacts human health,exacerbating existing health inequalities and creating new ones.This study addresses the lack of systematic review in this area by analyzing 2440 publications,focusing on four key terms:health,disparities,environmental factors,and climate change.Strict inclusion criteria limited the selection to English-language,peer-reviewed articles related to climate health hazards,ensuring the relevance and rigor of the synthesized studies.This process synthesized 65 relevant studies.Our investigation revealed that recent research,predominantly from developed countries,has broadened its scope beyond temperature-related impacts to encompass diverse climate hazards,including droughts,extreme weather,floods,mental health issues,and the intersecting effects of Coronavirus Disease 2019.Research has highlighted exposure as the most studied element in the causal chain of climate change-related health inequalities,followed by adaptive capability and inherent sensitivity.The most significant vulnerabilities were observed among populations with low socioeconomic status,ethnic minorities,and women.The study further reveals research biases and methodological limitations,such as the paucity of attention to underdeveloped regions,a narrow focus on non-temperature-related hazards,challenges in attributing climate change effects,and a deficit of large-scale empirical studies.The findings call for more innovative research approaches and a holistic integration of physical,socio-political,and economic dimensions to enrich climate-health discourse and inform equitable policy-making.