Biometeorology - How the Weather Affects Our Health?

Data

Official data in SubjectManager for the following academic year: 2024-2025

Course director

Number of hours/semester

lectures: 12 hours

practices: 0 hours

seminars: 0 hours

total of: 12 hours

Subject data

  • Code of subject: OSF-IJE-T
  • 1 kredit
  • Dentistry
  • Optional modul
  • autumn
Prerequisites:

-

Course headcount limitations

min. 5 – max. 30

Topic

The climate and weather of the Earth have a significant impact on the biological functions and health of the human body. This is even more true today as we face the wide-ranging effects of global climate change. The science of biometeorology, which is concerned with the description and analysis of these complex systems, has emerged as a result of the collaboration between climatology and medicine. The course will use the current state-of-the-art literature to present examples and illustrate the effects of weather on both infectious and chronic diseases.

The aim of the course is to familiarise medical students with this aspect and context of environmental effects, thus helping them to acquire complex thinking and problem-solving skills.

Lectures

  • 1. Introduction to biometeorology - Márovics Gergely Péter
  • 2. History of biometeorolog - Márovics Gergely Péter
  • 3. Climatology 1. – Climate, weather - Márovics Gergely Péter
  • 4. Climatology 2. – Global climate change - Márovics Gergely Péter
  • 5. The effects of weather on communicable diseases 1. – Airborne infections - Márovics Gergely Péter
  • 6. The effects of weather on communicable diseases 2. – Enteral infections - Márovics Gergely Péter
  • 7. The effects of weather on non–communicable diseases 1. – Cardiovascular diseases: High blood pressure - Márovics Gergely Péter
  • 8. The effects of weather on non–communicable diseases 2. – Cardiovascular diseases: Heart diseases - Márovics Gergely Péter
  • 9. The effects of weather on non–communicable diseases 3. – Respiratory diseases: Asthma - Márovics Gergely Péter
  • 10. The effects of weather on non–communicable diseases 4. – Respiratory diseases: COPD - Márovics Gergely Péter
  • 11. The weather and the health care system 1. – Emergency calls - Márovics Gergely Péter
  • 12. The weather and the health care system 2. – Hospital admissions - Márovics Gergely Péter

Practices

Seminars

Reading material

Obligatory literature

Literature developed by the Department

Notes

Recommended literature

International Journal of Biometeorology

Essentials of Medical Meteorology. Curic, Zafirovski and Spiridonov, Springer 2021.

Biometeorology for Adaptation to Climate Variability and Change. Ian Burton and Glenn McGregor, Springer 2010.

Conditions for acceptance of the semester

-

Mid-term exams

-

Making up for missed classes

No possibility for making up missed classes.

Exam topics/questions

Electronic material uploaded to Neptun

Examiners

Instructor / tutor of practices and seminars