Climate Change and Occupational Risks in Outdoor Workers: A Systematic Review of the Health Effects of Extreme Temperatures
Maria Francesca Rossi, Raimondo Leone, Umberto Moscato
Abstract
Climate change is one of the most important current threats to global health. Outdoor workers are among the most vulnerable people to its effects. The aim of this systematic review is to assess the occupational risks related to climate change, investigating health outcomes in outdoor workers and estimating its impact in the occupational context. The review was performed following PRISMA guidelines, screening three databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus). Studies written in English or Italian languages, performed on outdoor workers, assessing occupational risks linked to climate change, and reporting on health outcomes were included. A quality assessment was performed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. Thirteen studies were included in the review, performed mostly on construction (seven studies, 53.8%) and agricultural (five studies, 38.5%) workers. Twelve of the included studies (92.3%) reported on occupational risks related to heat stress, one on the effects of cold weather. Four studies (30.8%) reported a high prevalence of heat-related symptoms, ranging from 64.0% to 90.3% of workers. This systematic review highlights heat-related stress in outdoor workers as an important occupational risk, but it also underlines an important gap in scientific knowledge regarding other occupational risks relating to climate change.