Scientists have linked climate change to skin health

Climate change is already affecting skin conditions in different regions of the world: more than 40% of countries have reported changes in the prevalence or severity of climate-related skin diseases. At the same time, such changes were most strongly noted by States with lower income levels. About how climate change affects skin health and which diseases are more common, see the Izvestia article.

More than 40% of countries reported changes in skin diseases

The study covered 136 countries. As part of the work, representatives of the states spoke about the impact of climate change on the prevalence and severity of skin diseases. According to the results of the study, 42.6% of countries reported changes in the prevalence, severity of diseases, or both, which were associated with climate change.

The results are published in the journal Medical Xpress. The authors noted that climate change can affect skin health through rising temperatures, extreme weather events, changing precipitation patterns, climate migration, and ecosystem disruptions.

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The changes were most pronounced in low-income countries.

55.6% of low-income countries reported the impact of climate change on skin diseases. Among the states with lower—than-average incomes, this figure was 52.5%, with above-average incomes - 43.8%. In high-income countries, 28.3% of the study participants reported such changes.

Thus, differences were observed not only between individual States, but also between groups of countries with different income levels. The authors of the study noted that the data obtained indicate a disproportionately high burden on countries with fewer resources. They were the ones who more often reported changes in climate-related skin diseases.

According to her, people often think about the impact of extreme weather conditions on heat stroke, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, but the first line of defense against the effects of climate change is the skin.

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Heat and inflammation were the main changes.

Among the 58 countries that reported climate-related changes in skin diseases, 81% noted an increase in the number of cases of heat rashes. Another 75.9% reported an increase in the prevalence of inflammatory skin diseases. 62.1% of countries noted changes in the spread of infectious diseases. Another 50% of the participants reported changes in vector-borne diseases.

Researchers attribute such changes to several climatic factors. Higher temperatures and humidity can increase sweating and skin irritation, while heat, air pollution, and other environmental influences can trigger or intensify inflammatory processes.

In addition, changes in temperature and precipitation can affect the living conditions of mosquitoes, ticks and other disease vectors, allowing them to spread to regions where they were previously less common.

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In the Western Pacific Ocean, changes were noted more often.

The countries of the Western Pacific region reported the most frequently climate-related changes in skin diseases — 64.7%. In the Eastern Mediterranean and Southeast Asia, the figure was 60% each. In the European region, 16.1% of participants noted similar changes. Another feature was observed in the African region: 42.9% of respondents could not determine whether climate change was affecting skin diseases in their countries.

According to the authors, this uncertainty may be due to a lack of surveillance systems and scientific data. Therefore, differences between regions reflect not only possible differences in climate impacts, but also the availability of information on the health status of the population.

Countries with fewer resources turned out to be more vulnerable

The authors of the study separately noted the difference between the contribution of countries to climate change and their vulnerability to its consequences. Freeman emphasized that states with fewer resources were more likely to report climate-related changes in skin diseases.

In her opinion, more effective monitoring will make it possible to detect changes earlier, and adaptation measures should take into account the specifics of specific regions.