Changes in population susceptibility to heat and cold over time: assessing adaptation to climate change

摘要

BackgroundIn the context of a warming climate and increasing urbanisation (with the associated urban heat island effect), interest in understanding temperature related health effects is growing. Previous reviews have examined how the temperature-mortality relationship varies by geographical location. There have been no reviews examining the empirical evidence for changes in population susceptibility to the effects of heat and/or cold over time. The objective of this paper is to review studies which have specifically examined variations in temperature related mortality risks over the 20^th and 21^st centuries and determine whether population adaptation to heat and/or cold has occurred.