Pressing issues of environmental health and medical challenges in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions

Abstract

The paper concentrates on reviewing results of studies that address the influence exerted by climate change in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions on local population health, ecological situation and ongoing sanitary-epidemiological processes. The systemic review includes research articles available in PubMed (maintained by The United States National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health), Scopus (the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature), WoS (the abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature) and BVS (Virtual Health Library) that were published over the period from 1960 to 2021. The review covers pressing environmental, sanitary-hygienic and social issues and identifies priority risk factors for public health and wildlife. Global pollution and communicable diseases are shown to pose threats for indigenous people living in the Arctic. These threats are likely to be greater than those faced by populations living elsewhere in the world. We suggest certain solutions to the existing issues. Our conclusion is that climate is changing faster in the Arctic than anywhere else on the planet. Global pollution and communicable diseases pose threats for public health, including the health of indigenous people living in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. It is necessary to intensify cooperation among different states to reduce external influences on the Arctic environment and to maintain public health.