Climatic shifts and vision: understanding the impact of climate change on ocular health
Keywords:
Ocular health, Heat, cold, hurricanes, rainfall, droughtAbstract
Climate change poses multifaceted challenges to global health. Among its lesser-known repercussions is the significant impact on ocular health. Firstly, climate change exacerbates air pollution, leading to an increase in airborne particulate matter and pollutants. These pollutants, including ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and fine particulate matter, can exacerbate ocular surface diseases such as dry eye syndrome, conjunctivitis, and allergic eye diseases. Moreover, prolonged exposure to air pollution has been linked to the progression of age-related macular degeneration and cataracts. Secondly, alterations in climate patterns contribute to the spread of infectious diseases, including vector-borne illnesses. Mosquito-borne diseases like dengue fever and Zika virus, whose prevalence is escalating due to changing climatic conditions, can cause ocular complications such as uveitis and retinitis. Thirdly, extreme weather events associated with climate change, such as hurricanes, floods, and wildfires, pose direct threats to ocular health. Traumatic injuries to the eyes, corneal abrasions, and chemical burns from debris and contaminated water are common ocular emergencies following such disasters. Furthermore, climate change-induced shifts in environmental allergens and pollen seasons heighten the incidence and severity of allergic conjunctivitis and other allergic eye diseases. Addressing these challenges requires interdisciplinary collaboration among public health experts, policymakers, ophthalmologists, and environmental scientists.
Downloads
References
Smith, K.R.; Woodward, A. Human Health: Impacts, Adaptation, and Co-Benefits—IPCC. 2014. Available online: https: //www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg2/human-health-impacts-adaptation-and-co-benefits/ (accessed on 8 April 2020).
Arrhenius S. On the influence of carbonic acid in the air upon the temperature of the ground. Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science. 1896;41:237–276.
Curriero FC, Heiner KS, Samet JM, Zeger SL, Strug L, Patz JA. Temperature and mortality in 11 cities of the eastern United States. Am J Epidemiol. 2002;155:80–87. [PubMed] [Google Scholar] [Ref list]
Tsai, M.-J.; Hsu, Y.-L.; Wu, K.-Y.; Yang, R.-C.; Chen, Y.-J.; Yu, H.-S.; Kuo, P.-L. Heat Effect Induces Production of Inflammatory Cytokines Through Heat Shock Protein 90 Pathway in Cornea Cells. Curr. Eye Res. 2013, 38, 464–471. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
Ludema, C.; Cole, S.R.; Poole, C.; Smith, J.S.; Schoenbach, V.J.; Wilhelmus, K.R. Association between unprotected ultraviolet radiation exposure and recurrence of ocular herpes simplex virus. Am. J. Epidemiol. 2013, 179, 208–215. [CrossRef]
van der Molen RG, Out-Luiting C, Claas FH, et al. Ultraviolet-B radiation induces modulation of antigen presentation of herpes simplex virus by human epidermal cells. Hum Immunol. 2001;62(6):589–597. [PubMed] [Google Scholar] [Ref list]
Norval M. The effect of ultraviolet radiation on human viral infections. Photochem Photobiol. 2006;82(6):1495–1504. [PubMed] [Google Scholar] [Ref list]
Loiacono CM, Taus NS, Mitchell WJ. The herpes simplex virus type 1 ICP0 promoter is activated by viral reactivation stimuli in trigeminal ganglia neurons of transgenic mice. J Neurovirol. 2003;9(3):336–345. [PubMed] [Google Scholar] [Ref list]
Yam, J.C.S.; Kwok, A.K.H. Ultraviolet light and ocular diseases. Int. Ophthalmol. 2014, 34, 383–400. [CrossRef]
Auger, N.; Rhéaume, M.-A.; Bilodeau-Bertrand, M.; Tang, T.; Kosatsky, T. Climate and the eye: Case-crossover analysis of retinal detachment after exposure to ambient heat. Environ. Res. 2017, 157, 103–109. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
Yip, V.C.-H.; Sanjay, S.; Koh, Y.T. Ophthalmic Complications of Dengue Fever: A Systematic Review. Ophthalmol. Ther. 2012, 1, 1–19. [CrossRef]
Mahendradas, P.; Avadhani, K.; Shetty, R. Chikungunya and the eye: A review. J. Ophthalmic Inflamm. Infect. 2013, 3, 35. [CrossRef] Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 7197 17 of 25
Ghosh, D.; Basu, A. Japanese Encephalitis—A Pathological and Clinical Perspective. PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis. 2009, 3, e437. [CrossRef]
Brunekreef B, Holgate ST. Air pollution and health. Lancet. 2002;360:1233–1242. [PubMed] [Google Scholar] [Ref list]
Bell, M.L.; Peng, R.D.; Dominici, F. The Exposure–Response Curve for Ozone and Risk of Mortality and the Adequacy of Current Ozone Regulations. Environ. Health Perspect. 2006, 114, 532–536. [CrossRef]
Beggs, P.J. Adaptation to Impacts of Climate Change on Aeroallergens and Allergic Respiratory Diseases. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2010, 7, 3006–3021. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
Kuparinen A, Katul G, Nathan R, Schurr FM. Increases in air temperature can promote wind-driven dispersal and spread of plants. Proc. R. Soc. B-Biol. Sci. 2009;276:3081–3087. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar] [Ref list]
Beggs PJ. Impacts of climate change on aeroallergens and allergic respiratory diseases in children in rural areas. Int Public Health J. 2010;2 in press. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar] [Ref list]
Saxena, R.; Srivastava, S.; Trivedi, D.; Anand, E.; Joshi, S.; Gupta, S.K. Impact of environmental pollution on the eye. Acta Ophthalmol. Scand. 2003, 81, 491–494. [CrossRef]
Knox, J.; Hess, T.; Daccache, A.; Wheeler, T. Climate change impacts on crop productivity in Africa and South Asia. Environ. Res. Lett. 2012, 7. [CrossRef] 21 Jovanovic, N.; Peek-Asa, C.; Swanton, A.; Young, T.; Alajbegovic-Halimic, J.; Cavaljuga, S.; Nisic, F. Prevalence and risk factors associated with work-related eye injuries in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Int. J. Occup. Environ. Health 2016, 22, 325–332. [CrossRef]
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2024 International journal of health sciences
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Articles published in the International Journal of Health Sciences (IJHS) are available under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives Licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Authors retain copyright in their work and grant IJHS right of first publication under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Users have the right to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles in this journal, and to use them for any other lawful purpose.
Articles published in IJHS can be copied, communicated and shared in their published form for non-commercial purposes provided full attribution is given to the author and the journal. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
This copyright notice applies to articles published in IJHS volumes 4 onwards. Please read about the copyright notices for previous volumes under Journal History.
