Previously submitted to: JMIR Dermatology (no longer under consideration since Dec 01, 2025)
Date Submitted: Apr 8, 2025
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Climate Change and Emerging Dermatologic Diseases in the Americas: A Review of Shifting Exposures and Vulnerable Populations
ABSTRACT
Background:
Climate change has profoundly altered disease dynamics across the globe, including dermatologic conditions. The skin, as the body’s interface with the environment, is uniquely susceptible to climate-driven exposures such as ultraviolet (UV) radiation, vector expansion, wildfires, pollution, and displacement.
Objective:
This review synthesizes emerging data on the dermatologic impacts of climate change in the Americas, with particular attention to high-risk and underserved populations.
Methods:
A comprehensive literature review was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science to identify studies published between 2000 and 2025. Search terms targeted climate-related dermatologic outcomes across North, Central, and South America. Inclusion criteria focused on peer-reviewed studies involving human populations in the Americas and cutaneous conditions influenced by environmental change.
Results:
Climate change has driven the geographic expansion of vector-borne skin diseases (e.g., Lyme disease, cutaneous leishmaniasis), increased UV radiation exposure and associated skin cancers, and exacerbated inflammatory dermatoses linked to wildfire smoke and pollution. Pediatric populations, outdoor laborers, and climate-displaced individuals are disproportionately affected. Data highlight regional disparities in dermatologic access and reveal emerging disease patterns in both endemic and non-endemic areas.
Conclusions:
Dermatologists across the Americas are witnessing a transformation in the presentation, prevalence, and geographic distribution of skin diseases due to climate change. This shift demands a climate-informed clinical approach, targeted surveillance, expanded public health infrastructure, and advocacy for vulnerable communities. Dermatology must evolve to meet the challenges of a warming world, ensuring equity, preparedness, and resilience.
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Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.