United States – Frequent episodes of weather extremities, which are being blamed on climate change, may be a factor in the increased number of stroke deaths, claims a new study.
Impact on Global Health
The research discloses that many of the half million deaths in recent years have been caused by icy cold fronts and baking hot waves. Scientists reported on April 10 in a journal, Neurology, as reported by HealthDay.
“Dramatic temperature changes in recent years have affected human health and caused widespread concern,” said researcher Quan Cheng of Xiangya Hospital at Central South University in Changsha, China.
“Our study found that these changing temperatures may increase the burden of stroke worldwide, especially in older populations and areas with more health care disparities,” Cheng added in a journal news release.
Researchers are convinced that bone-freezing cold fronts, which were particularly deadly, caused more strokes.
While elevated temperatures can increase the risk of stroke, those going too extreme in either direction boost the risk of stroke, according to the researchers.
Mechanisms Behind Temperature Effects
Lower temperatures cause vasoconstricting of the blood vessels, which increases blood pressure. High blood pressure is the leading culprit behind strokes.
Then, there are higher temperatures that cause dehydration, which further affects the blood by slowing it, which thickens it, which is another common factor for stroke.
In the US, stroke mortality rose 26% within ten years from 2011-2021, the American Heart Association reported. A fraction of this, they suggest, may account for climate change.
During the study, the group considered health records from three decades in more than 200 countries and territories and found the survivability of stroke deaths and the local temperature.
Global Implications and Call for Action
Scientists estimated that in 2019, 521,000 stroke-related deaths worldwide were caused by temperatures below zero or hotter than usual.
For more than 47,000 deaths, researchers found that cold fronts were the leading cause of them.
Indeed, these 1.3 million deaths make up 19% of the 6.6 million total deaths globally from stroke that occurred in 2019, as per the American Heart Association.
At high-temperature change, 7.7 deaths per 100,000 in men and 5.9 deaths per 100,000 women were stroke deaths linked to temperatures, researchers said, as reported by HealthDay.
The most affected region by stroke death rate that was based on temperature was Central Asia (18 per 100,000).
“More research is needed to determine the impact of temperature change on stroke and to target solutions to address health inequalities,” Cheng said. “Future research should aim to reduce this threat by finding effective health policies that address potential causes of climate change, such as the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial processes.”