# Extreme Weather Impacts on Children's Acute and Chronic Health Outcomes: A Multi-Site Study with Evaluation of Vulnerabilities

> **NIH NIH R56** · DREXEL UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $687,343

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Climate change-related extreme weather – extreme heat, heatwaves, and intense rainfall – pose an urgent
threat to public health. Children may bear a disproportionate burden of the adverse effects of extreme weather
for a multitude of reasons, including their immature and developing bodies, low body mass, and dependence
on caregivers to respond to environmental threats. A growing body of literature, including studies from our own
research group, shows links between extreme weather and acute childhood morbidity. Nevertheless, there
remain critical knowledge gaps, including incomplete characterization of the scope of pediatric health
outcomes related to weather extremes and almost no assessment of chronic health (lasting) impacts. We
propose to conduct a large, multi-site study of the relationship between extreme weather and children’s health
by linking data from PEDSnet – a research consortium of U.S. pediatric health systems, including over 12
million children, spanning the years 2009 through 2023 – with high-resolution geospatial measures of extreme
weather and residential neighborhood environments. Specifically, we aim to: 1) Estimate associations of
extreme weather events – hot temperatures, heatwaves, heavy rainfall, and intense rainstorms – with a broad
scope of acute adverse health events in children, such as dehydration, asthma exacerbation, respiratory
infections, acute gastroenteritis, injuries, and acute care for mental health disorders; 2) Investigate the
relationship between cumulative exposure to multiple, possibly repeated extreme weather events, and
development of chronic health conditions during childhood – including mental health disorders, asthma and
allergic rhinitis, and overweight/obesity – assessing initial development of the condition, as well as its
persistence; 3) Quantify disproportionate impacts of extreme weather on children according to small-area
(census-tract) indicators of residential neighborhood-level social and infrastructural vulnerability. Our study will
considerably advance scientific understanding of relationships between climate-change related weather
extremes and children’s health. Given the geographical diversity of the study area, the size of the patient
population included, the detailed richness of our compiled database, and the novel investigation of chronic
health outcomes, this project will have a sustained impact on the state of knowledge about the scope,
magnitude, and inequities of children’s health outcomes from extreme weather.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11160091
- **Project number:** 1R56ES036250-01
- **Recipient organization:** DREXEL UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** ANNECLAIRE J DE ROOS
- **Activity code:** R56 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $687,343
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-16 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11160091

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11160091, Extreme Weather Impacts on Children's Acute and Chronic Health Outcomes: A Multi-Site Study with Evaluation of Vulnerabilities (1R56ES036250-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11160091. Licensed CC0.

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