Role of Climate Change in Changing Hepatic Health Maps.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Climate change (CC) is currently responsible for global weather extremes. These weather extremes could contribute to changes in the pattern of health problems. The purpose of this review is to discuss the role of CC on remapping of hepatic diseases and the mechanisms of re-mapping. RECENT FINDINGS: CC was found to have a major influence on the distribution and severity of hepatic diseases, such as outbreaks of vector-borne, water or food-borne, parasitic diseases, re-emerging of disappeared diseases, or emerging of new forms of infectious agents. Migration of infected people from endemic areas due to the CC disasters results in rapid dissemination of infectious diseases that leads to outbreaks or endemicity of diseases in new areas. CC could cause increasing chemical emissions, or change in its biodegradability, or restriction in its dispersion, such as PM, PAHs, heavy metals, mycotoxins, and aquatic toxins. Increase in the concentrations of these chemicals may have significant impacts in changing the health map of hepatic toxicity and liver cancer. The current review confirms the role of CC in changing the pattern of several liver health problems and remapping of these problems in several regions of the world. This review could be of high importance to the health decision-makers as an early alarm and prediction of hepatic health problems with the projected CC.