Class 6- Climate and Weather Flashcards
1
Q
Climate and Weather’s effects on human health
A
- Direct and indirect effects on human health
- Creation of biomes
- Landscapes of disease
- Humans create “buffers” to shield themselves from the elements
- Conversely, humans also make choices that increase susceptibility (living by flood zones, fault lines, volcanos, etc.)
- Creation of biomes
2
Q
Difference between Climate and Weather
A
- Climate – Long term conditions
- Weather – Short term conditions
- Climate and weather patterns vary from place to place
- Understanding the patterns and changes within a particular region is essential
3
Q
Biometeorology
A
- Variation and change in the characteristics of the atmosphere that affect the physiological status of humans
4
Q
Physiological state
A
- The state of your body and bodily functions
- Influenced by time of year, time of day, light, temperature, altitude
- Physiological state influences susceptibility to disease, toxins, and pharmaceutical drugs
- Influenced by time of year, time of day, light, temperature, altitude
5
Q
Ultraviolet radiation
A
- Shorter wavelength than visible light
- Causes sunburn
- Reaction in humans produces Vitamin D
- Human evolutionary reaction to living in high and low radiation regions
- Differences in melanin (dark vs. light skin)
- Important for biological rhythms
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
6
Q
Acclimatization
A
- Behavioral and genetic adaptation to their climate
- Physiological differences among people as a result of their environment
- e.g., body type and shape, reaction to temperature, lung size/function (altitude)
- Behavior and technology
- Less exposure to extremes
- Physiological differences among people as a result of their environment
7
Q
Temperature and Humidity
A
- Surrounding temperature, humidity, and air flow affect human body temperature regulation
- Affects body’s ability to warm itself up and cool itself down
- e.g., shivering and sweating
- Not simply temperature
- Heat index (temperature + humidity)
- Wind chill (temperature + wind speed)
- Affects body’s ability to warm itself up and cool itself down
8
Q
Survival and dispersion of infectious agents
A
- Weather and climate affect the survival of infectious agents outside of their hosts/reservoirs
- Each have unique climate conditions for survival
- Air movement may disperse from one place to another
9
Q
Seasonality
A
- Cyclic yearly weather patterns
- Caused by the tilt of Earth’s axis
- In mid-latitudes, produces 4 seasons: spring, summer, fall, winter
- In equatorial/tropical latitudes, produces rainy and dry seasons
- The seasonal patterns in some places are much more extreme than others
- e.g., rainy season (monsoons)
- Caused by the tilt of Earth’s axis
10
Q
What does Climate Change alter?
A
- Changing temperature and precipitation patterns
- Vector habitats
- Food production systems
- Population movement/displacement
- Increase in extreme weather events
- Short term temperature and precipitation events
11
Q
Hazards (air, water, soil)
A
- Metals, gases, toxic chemicals
- Outdoor air pollution, indoor air pollution, water pollution, radioactive pollution (radiation)
12
Q
Factors relevant to exposure
A
- Dose and duration
- Threshold value
13
Q
What helps us understand the relationship between exposure and disease
A
- The relationship is understood thanks to epidemiology
14
Q
Basic types of epidemiological studies
A
- Clinical
- Cohort
- Case Control
- Cross-sectional
15
Q
Confounding
A
- When a factor that is not being examined is associated with both the exposure and the health outcome
- Major problem in ecological studies
- Modifies the observed relationship!
- Example:
- A study finds that people who work at a rocket fuel plant are more likely to suffer from lung cancer than the general population. Unfortunately, the study overlooked the fact that plant workers were also more likely to smoke. In this case, a correlation between working at the factory and smoking has made it appear that working at the factory causes lung cancer.
