Global diarrhoea morbidity, weather and climate
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CR Climate Research Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials CR 34:119-127 (2007) - doi:10.3354/cr034119 Global diarrhoea morbidity, weather and climate Simon J. Lloyd, R. Sari Kovats*, Ben G. Armstrong Department of Public Health and Health Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK *Corresponding author. Email: sari.kovats@lshtm.ac.uk ABSTRACT: Diarrhoea rates are influenced by weather and climate; transmission can be affected by temperature and rainfall extremes, although few studies have quantified this effect. We undertook a global cross-sectional study of diarrhoea incidence in children under 5, drawing on studies published in the last 50 yr, and assessed the association with climate variables. Log-linear regression was used to quantify any association, controlling for the effects of age, socio-economic conditions and access to improved water and sanitation. We found a negative association between rainfall and diarrhoea rates, with a 4% increase in diarrhoea incidence (95% confidence interval, CI: 1–7%, p = 0.02) for each 10 mm mo–1 decrease in rainfall. Little evidence for association with temperature or climate type was found. Our result for rainfall is consistent with a similar study covering a smaller geographic region. Though biases cannot be excluded, the most likely mechanism is that low rainfall leads to water scarcity, which in turn leads to the use of unprotected water sources and reduces hygiene practices. In the future, greater numbers are expected to experience water scarcity, which may lead to more diarrhoea cases in some locations. This study lends support to programmes for hygiene and water and sanitation coverage, as well as lending support to actions to adapt to and mitigate climate change. KEY WORDS: Diarrhoea · Weather · Climate · Temperature · Rainfall · Water scarcity · Developing countries · Climate change Full text in pdf format PreviousNextExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in CR Vol. 34, No. 2. Online publication date: July 19, 2007 Print ISSN: 0936-577X; Online ISSN: 1616-1572 Copyright © 2007 Inter-Research.
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Rural areas experiencing lower amounts of rainfall suffer from higher diarrhoea incidence rate among children due to the use of unsafe drinking sources and limited hygiene.
“Rural areas experiencing lower amounts of rainfall suffer from higher diarrhoea incidence rate among children due to the use of unsafe drinking sources and limited hygiene.52,67”
From Climate change and child health: A scoping review and an expanded conceptual framework (2021) · cites this paper as [67]
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References 22 · Cited by 67
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Ahern M (2006) Water and health: a world water crisis? In: Wilkinson P (ed) Environmental epidemiology. Open University Press, Maidenhead, p 109-124
- McMichael A, Campbell-Lendrum D, Kovats RS, Edwards S and 8 others (2004) Global climate change. In: Ezzati M, Lopez AD, Rodgers A, Murray CJ (eds) Comparative quantification of health risks: global and regional burden of disease due to selected major risk factors, Vol 2. WHO, Geneva, p 1543-1649
- Authors
- Lloyd, S., Kovats, R., & Armstrong, B.
- Venue
- Climate Research
- Publisher
- Inter-Research Science Center
- Published
- 2007-07-19
- Volume
- 34
- Pages
- 119-127
- ISSN
- 0936-577X (ISSN-L)
- 1616-1572
- OpenAlex
- W1989876410
- Cited by
- 67
- References
- 22
- Citations by year
- 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 1.27
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Climate Research (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- European Commission (505539)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Climate Change and Health Impacts
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Child Nutrition and Water Access
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Public Health and Environmental Issues
- Keywords
- diarrhea, childhood diarrhea, climate, weather, rainfall, temperature, water scarcity, water and sanitation, hygiene practices, climate change adaptation, diarrhea incidence, developing countries
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