According to a study published in the journal Neurology, climate change may be linked to an increase in death and disability from stroke worldwide.
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Scientists have found that suboptimal temperatures, above or below the temperature associated with the lowest mortality rates, are increasingly associated with death and disability due to stroke. The study does not prove that climate change causes stroke, only an association. The study also did not examine other risk factors, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
The researchers found that most of these strokes were caused by below-optimal temperatures, but they also found an increase in the number of strokes associated with above-optimal temperatures. At colder temperatures, a person's blood vessels can constrict, raising blood pressure. High blood pressure is a risk factor for stroke. Warmer temperatures can cause dehydration, which affects cholesterol levels and slows blood flow, which can also lead to stroke.
Scientists examined 30 years of medical records from more than 200 countries and territories: the number of stroke deaths and the burden of stroke-related disability due to suboptimal temperatures. They then split the data to look at different regions, countries and territories, and also separated them by age and gender.
In 2019, there were 521,031 stroke deaths associated with suboptimal temperatures. There were also 9.4 million disability-adjusted life years due to stroke associated with suboptimal temperatures. Disability-adjusted life years are the number of years of life lost due to premature death and the years lived with the disease.
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Comparing low temperatures with high temperatures, scientists found that 474,002 of the total deaths were associated with low temperatures. The death rate from stroke due to temperature changes for male participants was 7.7 per 100,000 compared to 5.9 per 100,000 for female participants.
By region, Central Asia had the highest high mortality rate from stroke associated with suboptimal temperatures – 18 per 100,000 people. At the national level, North Macedonia had the highest death rate at 33 per 100,000 people.