These Cairo scientists note precisely and objectively that global warming in the Middle East and North Africa increases the incidence of breast, ovary and cervix and associated mortality cancers.
The increase in rates is low, but statistically significant,
This suggests a significant increase in the risk of cancer and mortality over time.
One of the main authors, Dr. Wafa Abuelkheir Mataria from the American University of Cairo, notes that “although the increases by degree of temperature increases are modest, their cumulative impact on public health, on the population level, is considerable”
Climate change is generally harmful, recall the authors: it aggravates multiple environmental factors of diseases, including exposure, for example, to environmental toxins and can also delay diagnosis and treatment, delaying access to care.
The study Covers 17 countries of the Middle East and North Africa: Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia and Palestine, all countries very vulnerable to climate change and which are already experiencing spectacular temperature. The analysis of data on the prevalence and mortality of breast cancer, ovary, cervix and close uterus of temperature data between 1998 and 2019, reveals that:
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women are physiologically more vulnerable to the health risks linked to the climate,
- especially during pregnancy;
- This biological vulnerability, in particular at certain periods of life, is reinforced by inequalities in access to health care;
- Women are, on average and worldwide, more exposed to these environmental risks;
- The prevalence of various female cancers increased from 173 to 280 cases per 100,000 people for each additional degree Celsius;
- Ovary cancer cases have increased the most, while the incidence of breast cancer has increased the least;
- Mortality increased from 171 to 332 deaths per 100,000 women for each degree of temperature increase, the highest increase being observed for ovary cancer and the weakest for cervical cancer;
- The country sub-analyzes show that the prevalence of cancer and cancer deaths have increased only in 6 countries: Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Syria. This increase coincides with particularly extreme summer temperatures in these countries;
- This higher prevalence could also reflect the improvement in cancer screening, however, in this case we should see a decrease in deaths, however, mortality rates and prevalence have increased, which suggests that the determining factor is exposure to risk factors.
In conclusion, The increase in ambient temperature is a probable risk factor for these cancers, in women, whose study illustrates vulnerability in certain countries of the world.
It remains complex to apprehend the globality of the health effects of the increase in temperatures, “Which probably acts in multiple ways: it increases exposure to known carcinogens, disrupts the provision of health care and could even influence biological processes at the cellular level.”
“If we do not attack these underlying vulnerabilities, the burden of cancer linked to climate change will continue to grow.”
