Climate Change

Some communities are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change than others. The extent of the impact of climate change on a group of people can be determined by:

• Sensitivity: the degree to which the individual is affected by a climate change exposure.
• Exposure: the contact between an individual and a climate-related hazard.
• Adaptive capacity: an individual or community’s ability to cope with or evade exposure to a climate hazard.

Vulnerable groups include:

• Groups such as the elderly, children, pregnant people, certain occupational groups (for example those working outside), persons with disabilities, and those with chronic medical conditions are more adversely affected by climate hazards.
• Those living in areas of higher socioeconomic deprivation are more vulnerable and have greater exposure to climate hazards.
• Urban areas have disproportionate exposure to climate change impacts, especially among lower socioeconomic groups.
• Those living in socioeconomic disadvantage have the most to gain from some climate change mitigation measures which address health inequalities. These include improving access to green spaces and installing more efficient energy measures in homes.

The pre-existing conditions likely to become more prevalent with climate change could impact different population groups to different extents.
Asthma: More commonly diagnosed in children than adults. 11.6% of children aged 6-7 years old worldwide have a diagnosis of asthma. North Tyneside JSNA Topic: Climate Change Published: Sep 2024 8 Occupational asthma accounts for up to 15% of adult-onset asthma. Asthma accounts for 3% of primary care consultants in the UK. 
COPD: Affects around 3 million people in the UK, 2 million of these are undiagnosed. The average age of diagnosis in the UK is 67 years. COPD is the second largest cause of emergency admissions and account for 1.4 million GP consultations per year.
Hypertension: 26% of the adults in England have hypertension. It’s estimated that for every ten people diagnosed with hypertension another 7 remain undiagnosed and untreated. Prevalence increases with age, >60% of people aged >60 years old have a diagnosis. 
Stroke: There are around 100,000 strokes every year in the UK. There are approximately 1.3 million people living with stroke. Strokes are occurring at an earlier age, age on onset in males in 68.2 years. 
Coronary heart disease: 1.9 million people are living with coronary heart disease in England. 1 in 10 people die from coronary heart disease in England. It is the single biggest cause of premature death in 2019 and the leading cause of heart attacks. Incidence increases with age.
Diabetes: 3,919,505 people are diagnosed with diabetes in the UK, it’s estimated this will be over 5 million by 2025.10 1 million people with type 2 diabetes in the UK are undiagnosed. Although Type 2 diabetes occurs predominantly in all age groups, it’s increasingly diagnosed in children. 
Depression: Depression, The average age on onset in high-income countries in 25.7 years. The average lifetime prevalence was 14.6% for adults in high-income countries.