ArticleEnvironmental health perspectives2013
Climate change and older Americans: state of the science.
Article in Environmental health perspectives, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 72 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
72 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- How to communicate with older adults about climate change: a systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2024Pooled it
- The interplay between climate change and ageing: A systematic review of health indicators.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Projecting the Influence of Global Warming on Physical Activity Patterns: a Systematic Review.Current obesity reports · 2020Pooled it
- Compound drought-heat wave hazards are concentrated in US regions with multiple social vulnerabilities and agricultural dependence.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Emergency Preparedness in Older Adults With and Without COPD During Power Outages and Natural Disasters.Journal of applied gerontology : the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society · 2026Article
- Grey and green: can the two walk together? Challenges to climate planning for an aging population: perspectives of Israeli policy stakeholders and planners.The Gerontologist · 2026Article
- Climate change and older adults: mapping health impacts and intervention strategies: a scoping review.Osong public health and research perspectives · 2026Article
- Article
- Selected Impacts of Urban Heat Islands on Emergency Medical Services Utilization in Rhode Island.The western journal of emergency medicine · 2026Article
- Long-term temperature exposure and depression incidence in the Nurses' Health Study II, a U.S.-based prospective cohort.Environment international · 2026Article
- Air Conditioning in Nursing Homes and Mortality During Extreme Heat.JAMA internal medicine · 2026Article
- Climate anxiety and quality of life among older adults: the mediating role of coping with climate change.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- Article
- Machine Learning-Based Prediction of Heatwave-Related Hospitalizations: A Case Study in Matam, Senegal.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Heat and hospitalization risks among people with disabilities in South Korea.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Winter Storm Uri, Mortality, and Health Care Use of Nursing Home Residents.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Increased mortality from alcohol use disorder, alcohol-associated liver disease, and liver cancer from alcohol among older adults in the United States: 2000 to 2021.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2025Article
- Heat health assessment and risk simulation prediction in eastern China: a geospatial analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Heat exposure and self-rated health in older Chinese adults: the mediating roles of chronic disease and intergenerational support, 2008-2018 CLHLS.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
12 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOlder adults make up 13% of the U.S. population, but are projected to account for 20% by 2040. Coinciding with this demographic shift, the rate of climate change is accelerating, bringing rising temperatures; increased risk of floods, droughts, and wildfires; stronger tropical storms and hurricanes; rising sea levels; and other climate-related hazards. Older Americans are expected to be located in places that may be relatively more affected by climate change, including coastal zones and large metropolitan areas.
objectiveThe objective of this review is to assess the vulnerability of older Americans to climate change and to identify opportunities for adaptation.
methodsWe performed an extensive literature survey and summarized key findings related to demographics; climate stressors relevant to older adults; factors contributing to exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity; and adaptation strategies. DISCUSSION: A range of physiological and socioeconomic factors make older adults especially sensitive to and/or at risk for exposure to heat waves and other extreme weather events (e.g., hurricanes, floods, droughts), poor air quality, and infectious diseases. Climate change may increase the frequency or severity of these events.
conclusionsOlder Americans are likely to be especially vulnerable to stressors associated with climate change. Although a growing body of evidence reports the adverse effects of heat on the health of older adults, research gaps remain for other climate-related risks. We need additional study of the vulnerability of older adults and the interplay of vulnerability, resilience, and adaptive responses to projected climate stressors.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.