The Impact of Climate Change on People Living with Diabetes: A Scoping Review

Objective:There is substantial literature detailing the interaction between climate change and diabetes incidence, prevalence, and development. However, there is limited understanding on the impact of climate change on People Living with Diabetes (PWD). This scoping review describes the impact of climate change on morbidity and mortality for PWD.

Materials and methods:The scoping review was conducted between November 2022 and February 2023, using articles published in PubMed Central and Google Scholar databases. Articles published from 1970 to 2022 with the following key terms “diabetes”, “type 1 diabetes”, “type 2 diabetes”, “climate change”, “global warming”, and “natural disaster” were reviewed.

Results:A total of 13,838 articles were identified and reviewed. After applying the review criteria, 42 applicable articles were included in the scoping review. PWD are impacted directly by climate change-induced events including extreme temperatures, air pollution, and natural disasters. Difficulty in storing insulin, maintaining special diets, and accessing diabetes supplies are indirect results of the climate crisis on people with diabetes leading to adverse outcomes
such as increased risk of hospitalizations, morbidity, and mortality.

Conclusions:Environmental hazards due to climate change increase morbidity and mortality for PWD. Policies that address the interconnection between the two phenomena would improve global diabetes population health. Future research should explore potential solutions to addressing this crisis across multiple populations and settings.