Impact of Individual and Community-Level Deprivation on Cold Spells and Respiratory Health: A Nationwide Study from 2007 to 2018

Climate change poses a serious threat to human health,
emphasizing the need to understand social vulnerability,
particularly deprivation, in implementing effective
adaptation strategies. Despite chronic respiratory diseases
affecting 454.6 million people globally, current research
often focuses on the respiratory health and extremely hot
temperature, overlooking the impact of extreme cold
exposure. Prior studies have mainly explored
sociodemographic indicators, leaving dimensions like
housing and community facilities understudied. In addition
to considering deprivation indicators such as age, sex,
education, and occupation, my proposed research aims to
address this gap comprehensively. It will assess various
deprivation indicators, including housing and neighborhood
characteristics (such as access to health facilities,
proportion of home central heating, average age of
buildings, household deprivation), and urbaneness
(urbanicity and population density) in the context of cold
spells and respiratory health. By examining individual and
community-level factors, I aim to uncover the short-term
effects of cold spells on respiratory health and understand
how deprivation influences this impact. This research
addresses a critical gap in understanding spatial and
temporal patterns, helping identify vulnerable populations
and providing valuable insights for targeted intervention
strategies.