Wearables for measuring health effects of climate change-induced weather extremes: A scoping review (Preprint)

Abstract

Individual-level data on direct exposure and health impacts are scarce in the field of climate change and health. Wearable electronic devices (wearables) have become widely accepted in various areas of health research for the so-called ecological momentary assessment.

We conducted this scoping review to map existing research on wearables used to detect direct health impacts and individual exposure during climate change-induced weather extremes such as heatwaves or wildfires.

We conducted a scoping review and systematically searched six databases (PubMed, IEEE Xplore, CINAHL, WoS, Scopus, Ovid) and Google Scholar. A total of 1,871 references were screened.

The review comprised a total of 55,284 study participants using wearables in 53 studies. Most studies were conducted in upper-middle and high-income countries (50/53; 94%) in urban environments (25/53; 47%) or in a climatic chamber (19/53; 36%) and assessed health effects of heat exposure (52/53; 98%). The majority found adverse health effects of heat exposure on sleep, physical activity, and heart rate. Remaining studies assessed occupational heat stress or compared individual and area-level heat exposure. Fourteen studies (14/53; 26%) determined that all examined wearables were valid and reliable for measuring health parameters during heat exposure when compared to standard methods.

Wearables have been utilized successfully in large-scale research to measure the health implications of climate change-related weather extremes. Further research is needed in low-income countries and vulnerable populations with pre-existing conditions.