US Climate and Health Alliance

Climate change, human health, and biomedical research: analysis of the National Institutes of Health research portfolio

Abstract

BACKGROUND: According to a wide variety of analyses and projections, the potential effects of global climate change on human health are large and diverse. The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), through its basic, clinical, and population research portfolio of grants, has been increasing efforts to understand how the complex interrelationships among humans, ecosystems, climate, climate variability, and climate change affect domestic and global health. OBJECTIVES: In this commentary we present a systematic review and categorization of the fiscal year (FY) 2008 NIH climate and health research portfolio. METHODS: A list of candidate climate and health projects funded from FY 2008 budget appropriations were identified and characterized based on their relevance to climate change and health and based on climate pathway, health impact, study type, and objective. RESULTS: This analysis identified seven FY 2008 projects focused on climate change, 85 climate-related projects, and 706 projects that focused on disease areas associated with climate change but did not study those associations. Of the nearly 53,000 awards that NIH made in 2008, approximately 0.17% focused on or were related to climate. CONCLUSIONS: Given the nature and scale of the potential effects of climate change on human health and the degree of uncertainty that we have about these effects, we think that it is helpful for the NIH to engage in open discussions with science and policy communities about government-wide needs and opportunities in climate and health, and about how NIH’s strengths in human health research can contribute to understanding the health implications of global climate change. This internal review has been used to inform more recent initiatives by the NIH in climate and health.

Resource Type
Peer-reviewed article
Authors
Christine M. Jessup John M. Balbus Carole Christian Ehsanul Haque Sally E. Howe Sheila A. Newton Britt C. Reid Luci Roberts Erin Wilhelm Joshua P. Rosenthal
Resource URL
http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1104518/
Publication
Environmental Health Perspectives
Journal Abbr.
Environ. Health Perspect.
Volume
121
Issue
4
Pages
399-404
Date
Apr 2013
DOI
10.1289/ehp.1104518
ISSN
1552-9924
Short Title
Climate change, human health, and biomedical research
Organization Type
Academic
Other
US policy Policy United states

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