# Climate Change and Longitudinal Lung Function

> **NIH NIH R01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $389,705

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Human lung function is determined by a complex combination of both genetic and
environmental factors. Climate change is an environmental factor with the potential to affect
lung health on a large scale. While transient changes in local weather have been associated
with increased rates of asthma and COPD exacerbations, less is known about the effects of
climate on long-term respiratory outcomes. A prior retrospective cross-sectional study has
shown that warmer ambient air temperatures are associated with lower lung function in a
general healthy U.S. population (NHANES), which may have implications given climate change.
The primary goal of our proposal is to identify associations between changes in lung function
and climate over time by analyzing data from the U.S. Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation Patient
Registry, which includes longitudinal data from over 30,000 individuals with CF receiving care at
accredited CF centers in the U.S. We are utilizing CF as a model as warmer temperatures have
been associated with lower lung function in 3 separate populations of individuals with CF in the
U.S. and Australia, again through retrospective cross-sectional studies. Additionally, dense
demographic and clinical information is collected routinely every three months for the entire
lifetime of people with CF, which will facilitate this unique longitudinal study. In addition to
testing whether temperature changes are associated with changes in lung function, we also plan
to assess the roles of respiratory pathogens and socioeconomic factors in this relationship as
well. Our methods include several different modeling approaches to account for subject mobility
over time, non-linear temperature changes, CFTR modulator therapies, and time-varying
confounders. We will also test approaches for interaction models (socioeconomic factors) and
mediation models (respiratory pathogens). Completion of this research will provide information
on the potential effects of climate change on long-term respiratory outcomes with relevance to
respiratory morbidities and mortality as well as inform analytic techniques for future climate
change studies of longitudinal outcomes. Understanding the effect of climate change on
longitudinal outcomes is essential in quantifying the burden of disease imposed by climate
change.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10879391
- **Project number:** 1R01HL169330-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Joseph Michael Collaco
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $389,705
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-05-15 → 2028-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10879391

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10879391, Climate Change and Longitudinal Lung Function (1R01HL169330-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10879391. Licensed CC0.

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