A new research programme funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will explore the role that a changing climate has on human health. Led by NIH’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the programme will research the risk factors that make people more vulnerable to heat exposure; changing weather patterns; changes in environmental exposures, such as air pollution and toxic chemicals; and the negative effects of climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts.

In addition to better understanding the direct and indirect human health risks in the United States and globally, one of the programmes goals is to determine which populations will be more susceptible and vulnerable to diseases exacerbated by climate change. Children, pregnant women, the elderly, people from low socio-economic backgrounds, and those living in urban or coastal areas and storm centres may be at elevated risk. This programme will also help to develop data, methods, and models to support health impact predictions.

“Governments and policy makers need to know what the health effects from climate change are and who is most at risk,” said John Balbus, MD, NIEHS senior advisor for public health and lead for NIEHS’ efforts on climate change. “The research from this programme will help guide public health interventions, to ultimately prevent harm to the most vulnerable people.”

The funding programme is an outgrowth of two previous efforts led by NIH. A December 2009 workshop, sponsored by a trans-NIH working group, brought leaders in the field together to begin identifying priorities for NIH climate change research. NIH then led the ad hoc Interagency Working Group on Climate Change and Health in developing an outline of research needs, which are described in a report available at www.niehs.nih.gov/climatereport.

Caroline Dilworth, PhD, health scientist administrator in the NIEHS Division of Extramural Research and Training, oversees the grants and anticipates funding additional projects in this important portfolio. “This research will clarify how changes in climate and our environment affect not just heat stress, but also common diseases, such as asthma, cardiovascular disease, and stroke,” she said.

The NIEHS supports research to understand the effects of the environment on human health and is part of NIH.

NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases.