Temperature Variability and Gastrointestinal Infections: A Review of Impacts and Future Perspectives

Maryam Ghazani, Gerard FitzGerald, Wenbiao Hu, Ghasem (Sam) Toloo and Zhiwei Xu
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Maryam Ghazani: School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Rd, Kelvin Grove 4059, Queensland, Australia
Gerard FitzGerald: School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Rd, Kelvin Grove 4059, Queensland, Australia
Wenbiao Hu: School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Rd, Kelvin Grove 4059, Queensland, Australia
Ghasem (Sam) Toloo: School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Rd, Kelvin Grove 4059, Queensland, Australia
Zhiwei Xu: School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Rd, Kelvin Grove 4059, Queensland, Australia

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 4, 1-12

Abstract: The objectives of this research are to review and assess the current state of knowledge of the association between environmental temperature and gastrointestinal (GI) infections. A review of the published literature was undertaken using standard approaches. Initially, four electronic databases including Embase, Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science were chosen to retrieve studies published from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2017 based on selected keywords used in the primary search. After the elimination of duplicates, the titles were reviewed for relevance to the principal research question. Secondly, the abstracts of titles deemed to be relevant were reviewed for significance and finally the articles were reviewed in their entirety to identify their contribution to the principal research question. Initially, 8201 articles were identified, and eight studies finally met the inclusion criteria. A secondary phase involving scrutiny of the references of key identified articles found three further studies. Consequently, 11 papers were selected for the final review. Current literature confirms a significant association between temperature and infectious gastroenteritis worldwide. Also, a most-likely non-linear correlation between rainfall and GI infections has been identified in that the rate of such infections can be increased with either high or low precipitation. Finally, some studies suggest high relative humidity may not increase the rate of GI infections and some have found it may decrease it. These findings help inform predictions of risk, particularly under future climate change scenarios.

Keywords: gastrointestinal infection; diarrhea; climate change; temperature; heat wave (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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