Effects of Desert Dust and Sandstorms on Human Health: A Scoping Review
Kaung Suu Lwin,
Aurelio Tobias,
Paul Lester Chua,
Lei Yuan,
Ramita Thawonmas,
Sophearen Ith,
Zin Wai Htay,
Lin Szu Yu,
Lisa Yamasaki,
Marta Roqué,
Xavier Querol,
Julia C. Fussell,
Kari Christine Nadeau,
Massimo Stafoggia,
Najat A. Saliba,
Chris Fook Sheng Ng,
Masahiro Hashizume
Affiliations
Kaung Suu Lwin
Department of Global Health Policy Graduate School of Medicine The University of Tokyo Tokyo Japan
Aurelio Tobias
Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research Spanish Council for Scientific Research Barcelona Spain
Paul Lester Chua
Department of Global Health Policy Graduate School of Medicine The University of Tokyo Tokyo Japan
Lei Yuan
Department of Global Health Policy Graduate School of Medicine The University of Tokyo Tokyo Japan
Ramita Thawonmas
Department of Global Health Policy Graduate School of Medicine The University of Tokyo Tokyo Japan
Sophearen Ith
Department of Global Health Policy Graduate School of Medicine The University of Tokyo Tokyo Japan
Zin Wai Htay
Department of Global Health Policy Graduate School of Medicine The University of Tokyo Tokyo Japan
Lin Szu Yu
Department of Global Health Policy Graduate School of Medicine The University of Tokyo Tokyo Japan
Lisa Yamasaki
Department of Global Health Policy Graduate School of Medicine The University of Tokyo Tokyo Japan
Marta Roqué
Iberoamerican Cochrane Centre ‐ Institut d’Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau (IIB SANT PAU) Barcelona Spain
Xavier Querol
Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research Spanish Council for Scientific Research Barcelona Spain
Julia C. Fussell
National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Environmental Exposures and Health School of Public Health Imperial College London London UK
Kari Christine Nadeau
Sean N Parker Center for Allergy & Asthma Research Stanford University Mountain View CA USA
Massimo Stafoggia
Department of Epidemiology Lazio Region Health Service Rome Italy
Najat A. Saliba
Faculty of Arts and Sciences American University of Beirut Beirut Lebanon
Chris Fook Sheng Ng
Department of Global Health Policy Graduate School of Medicine The University of Tokyo Tokyo Japan
Masahiro Hashizume
Department of Global Health Policy Graduate School of Medicine The University of Tokyo Tokyo Japan
Abstract Desert dust and sandstorms are recurring environmental phenomena that are reported to produce serious health risks worldwide. This scoping review was conducted to identify the most likely health effects of desert dust and sandstorms and the methods used to characterize desert dust exposure from the existing epidemiological literature. We systematically searched PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Scopus to identify studies that reported the effects of desert dust and sandstorms on human health. Search terms referred to desert dust or sandstorm exposure, names of major deserts, and health outcomes. Health effects were cross‐tabulated with study design variables (e.g., epidemiological design and methods to quantify dust exposure), desert dust source, health outcomes and conditions. We identified 204 studies that met the inclusion criteria for the scoping review. More than half of the studies (52.9%) used a time‐series study design. However, we found a substantial variation in the methods used to identify and quantify desert dust exposure. The binary metric of dust exposure was more frequently used than the continuous metric for all desert dust source locations. Most studies (84.8%) reported significant associations between desert dust and adverse health effects, mainly for respiratory and cardiovascular mortality and morbidity causes. Although there is a large body of evidence on the health effects of desert dust and sandstorms, the existing epidemiological studies have significant limitations related to exposure measurement and statistical analysis that potentially contribute to inconsistencies in determining the effect of desert dust on human health.