CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 184Climate Change and Health ImpactsAir Quality and Health ImpactsUrban Heat Island Mitigation

Children's health and vulnerability in outdoor microclimates: a comprehensive review

Vanos, Jennifer K.·2015·Environment International
DOI 10.1016/j.envint.2014.11.016
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Background Children are routinely identified as a vulnerable population in environmental health risk assessments, experiencing adverse health outcomes due to exposure to a suite of atmospheric constituents.Objective To provide a substantive overview of the research literature pertaining to biometeorological effects on children. Key information areas within urban environmental health research related to atmospheric variables (heat, air pollution, radiation) are assessed and integrated to better understand health outcomes and vulnerabilities in children. Critical avenues for improvement and understanding of children's health related to such biophysical parameters are also identified.Methods This comprehensive review assesses past and current primary studies, organizational reports, educational books, and review articles. Emphasis is placed on the differential ambient exposures to temperature, air pollution, and radiation within urban microclimates commonly used by children (e.g., schoolyards, urban parks), and the resulting health impacts.Discussion Exposure to heat, air pollution, and radiation are often enhanced in urban areas, specifically under the current design of the majority of outdoor child play places. Many heat indices, energy budget models, and health outcome studies fail to adequately parameterize children, yet those that do find enhanced vulnerability to ambient stressors, particularly heat and air pollution. Such environmental exposures relate strongly to behavior, activity, asthma, obesity, and overall child well-being. Current research indicates that a changing climate, growing urban population, and unsustainable design are projected to pose increasing complications.Conclusions Evidence-based research to link children's health, physiology, and behavior to atmospheric extremes is an important future research avenue, underscoring the fact that children are among the population groups disproportionately affected by ambient extremes. However, current methods and population-based models lack child-specific inputs and outputs, as well as designated thresholds for accurate predictions of child health impacts. More substantive evidence is needed for applicable child-specific policies and guidelines.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.envint.2014.11.016

Cites

175 of 175 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Vanos, J. K.
Affiliations
Texas Tech University (US)
Corresponding author
Vanos, Jennifer K.
ORCID
Vanos, Jennifer K.
Venue
Environment International
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2015-03
Volume
76
Pages
1-15
ISSN
0160-4120 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.envint.2014.11.016
OpenAlex
W2091751736
Cited by
184
References
175
Citations by year
2026: 20 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 3
FWCI
1.19
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Environment International (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Climate Change and Health Impacts
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Air Quality and Health Impacts
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Urban Heat Island Mitigation
Keywords
child health, urban microclimate, biometeorology, heat exposure, air pollution, ultraviolet radiation, heat index, energy balance model, schoolyard, urban parks, asthma, childhood obesity, climate change, urban heat island, environmental health risk assessment
MeSH terms
Air Pollution, Child, Environmental Exposure, Environmental Health, Hot Temperature, Humans, Microclimate, Models, Theoretical, Ultraviolet Rays, Urban Health, Urban Population, Risk Assessment

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review