Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Institute of Physiology, Center for Space Medicine and Extreme Environment, Berlin, Germany.
JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2024 Jul 4;12:e54669. doi: 10.2196/54669.
Climate change increasingly impacts health, particularly of rural populations in sub-Saharan Africa due to their limited resources for adaptation. Understanding these impacts remains a challenge, as continuous monitoring of vital signs in such populations is limited. Wearable devices (wearables) present a viable approach to studying these impacts on human health in real time.
The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of consumer-grade wearables in measuring the health impacts of weather exposure on physiological responses (including activity, heart rate, body shell temperature, and sleep) of rural populations in western Kenya and to identify the health impacts associated with the weather exposures.
We conducted an observational case study in western Kenya by utilizing wearables over a 3-week period to continuously monitor various health metrics such as step count, sleep patterns, heart rate, and body shell temperature. Additionally, a local weather station provided detailed data on environmental conditions such as rainfall and heat, with measurements taken every 15 minutes.
Our cohort comprised 83 participants (42 women and 41 men), with an average age of 33 years. We observed a positive correlation between step count and maximum wet bulb globe temperature (estimate 0.06, SE 0.02; P=.008). Although there was a negative correlation between minimum nighttime temperatures and heat index with sleep duration, these were not statistically significant. No significant correlations were found in other applied models. A cautionary heat index level was recorded on 194 (95.1%) of 204 days. Heavy rainfall (>20 mm/day) occurred on 16 (7.8%) out of 204 days. Despite 10 (21%) out of 47 devices failing, data completeness was high for sleep and step count (mean 82.6%, SD 21.3% and mean 86.1%, SD 18.9%, respectively), but low for heart rate (mean 7%, SD 14%), with adult women showing significantly higher data completeness for heart rate than men (2-sided t test: P=.003; Mann-Whitney U test: P=.001). Body shell temperature data achieved 36.2% (SD 24.5%) completeness.
Our study provides a nuanced understanding of the health impacts of weather exposures in rural Kenya. Our study's application of wearables reveals a significant correlation between physical activity levels and high temperature stress, contrasting with other studies suggesting decreased activity in hotter conditions. This discrepancy invites further investigation into the unique socioenvironmental dynamics at play, particularly in sub-Saharan African contexts. Moreover, the nonsignificant trends observed in sleep disruption due to heat expose the need for localized climate change mitigation strategies, considering the vital role of sleep in health. These findings emphasize the need for context-specific research to inform policy and practice in regions susceptible to the adverse health effects of climate change.
气候变化对健康的影响日益加剧，尤其是对撒哈拉以南非洲的农村人口，因为他们适应气候变化的资源有限。了解这些影响仍然具有挑战性，因为对这些人群的生命体征进行持续监测的能力有限。可穿戴设备为实时研究这些对人类健康的影响提供了一种可行的方法。
本研究旨在评估消费级可穿戴设备在测量天气暴露对肯尼亚西部农村人口生理反应（包括活动、心率、体壳温度和睡眠）的健康影响方面的可行性和有效性，并确定与天气暴露相关的健康影响。
我们在肯尼亚西部进行了一项观察性病例研究，使用可穿戴设备连续监测了 3 周的各种健康指标，如步数、睡眠模式、心率和体壳温度。此外，当地的气象站提供了有关环境条件的详细数据，如降雨量和热量，每 15 分钟测量一次。
我们的队列包括 83 名参与者（42 名女性和 41 名男性），平均年龄为 33 岁。我们观察到步数与最高湿球温度（估计值 0.06，SE 0.02；P=.008）之间存在正相关。尽管最低夜间温度和热指数与睡眠时间之间存在负相关，但这些相关性并不显著。在其他应用模型中未发现显著相关性。在 204 天中有 194 天（95.1%）记录了谨慎的热指数水平。在 204 天中有 16 天（7.8%）发生了大雨（>20 毫米/天）。尽管有 10 个（21%）设备中的 47 个设备出现故障，但睡眠和步数的数据完整性较高（分别为平均 82.6%，SD 21.3%和平均 86.1%，SD 18.9%），但心率数据完整性较低（平均 7%，SD 14%），成年女性的心率数据完整性明显高于男性（双侧 t 检验：P=.003；Mann-Whitney U 检验：P=.001）。体壳温度数据的完整性为 36.2%（SD 24.5%）。
本研究提供了对肯尼亚农村地区天气暴露对健康影响的细致理解。我们的研究应用可穿戴设备揭示了身体活动水平与高温应激之间的显著相关性，与其他研究表明在较热条件下活动减少的结果形成对比。这种差异呼吁进一步调查发挥作用的独特社会环境动态，特别是在撒哈拉以南非洲的背景下。此外，由于热暴露导致的睡眠中断的非显著趋势表明需要采取地方性的气候变化缓解策略，因为睡眠对健康至关重要。这些发现强调了需要进行特定于上下文的研究，以为易受气候变化对健康的不利影响的地区的政策和实践提供信息。
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