A review, led by the University of Bristol and published in The Lancet Planetary Health, has documented how extreme weather caused by climate change is linked to a wide range of health risks, including dementia.
The review includes views from leading climate scientists, meteorologists and public health doctors and states how long-term heat exposure can disrupt sleep, which is associated with cognitive decline and dementia, and how cold weather can result in more injuries from falls, poor mental health through isolation, and an increase in sedentary behaviours such as sitting and lying down.
Dann Mitchell, Lead author of the review and Professor of Climate Science at the University of Bristol Cabot Institute for the Environment, says:
“Chiefly this report shows the potentially very serious mortality and morbidity tolls from long-term exposures to changed weather patterns not currently captured in our climate risk assessments.
We also do not know enough about how hotter temperatures, or continuous flooding, may interact with many different health outcomes, but we are aware of some strong links which give cause for significant concern.”
Read more from the University of Bristol here: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/cabot/news/2024/health-report.html
Read the study here: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(24)00175-X/fulltext