A new research by Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and Columbia University Irving Medical Center suggests that young children are much vulnerable to disasters that are caused by climate change than their adult counterparts. The research talks about how adults should provide protection and care to young children during such time.
The paper, co-authored by Lawrence Stanberry from Columbia Department of Pediatrics and Wilmot James from Columbia Department of Pediatrics and School of International and Public Affairs, was published recently in the journal PLOS Medicine.
“Because of their anatomic, cognitive, immunologic, and psychologic differences, children and adolescents are more vulnerable to climate change-related events like floods, droughts, and heatwaves than adults,” said Madeleine Thomson, who is a research scholar in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences and faculty member at Columbia’s Earth Institute.
Infants and children have small surface-to-body ratio and are therefore especially vulnerable to dehydration and heat stress. They are also at a higher risk of developing respiratory disease, kidney disease, electrolyte imbalance, and fever during heat waves.
Infants and children have small surface-to-body ratio and are therefore especially vulnerable to dehydration and heat stress. They are also at a higher risk of developing respiratory disease, kidney disease, electrolyte imbalance, and fever during heat waves. Heat waves are also known to aggravate allergens and air pollution, which also have a severe impact on children because of their underdeveloped respiratory and immune systems, children also breathe at a faster rate than adults.
The research team notes that hotter temperatures might also expand the range of the affect of vector-borne diseases, like the Zika virus- which already is a threat to the lives of many children across Latin America and the Caribbean.
Since the frequency of natural disasters all over the world has increased over the years because of climate change, Thomson and her colleagues note that it is important to address the specific needs of children who are extremely vulnerable to climate related health disorders.
The team proposes that an international consortium of experts should be established that will help develop medical and behavioural protocols that can be easiliy adopted by medical associations. Practice guidelines for how to handle a climate-change related event and work on strategies that address and improve the conditions of children vulnerable should also be developed. Last but not least, there should be reliable fund mechanisms that should especially be available to the most vulnerable nations.