Impacto en la salud laboral de la exposición al calor extremo: una revisión sistemática

Autores/as

Palabras clave:

Cambio climático, calentamiento global, estrés por calor, salud ocupacional, enfermedades ocupacionales.

Resumen

Introducción: El conocimiento actual de los peligros del estrés térmico por calor en el entorno laboral, relacionado con el calentamiento global y los efectos sobre la tensión por calor es incipiente.

Objetivo: Recopilar la evidencia disponible sobre los efectos del calentamiento global, para la salud de los trabajadores.

Material y Métodos: Se realizó una revisión sistemática recuperando revisiones y metaanálisis disponibles en PubMed/MEDLINE y ScienceDirect utilizando las palabras claves: cambio climático; calentamiento global; estrés por calor; salud ocupacional y enfermedades ocupacionales para obtener tantas referencias como fuese posible, filtradas por “revisión sistemática y metaanálisis”. La búsqueda se restringió a artículos publicados en inglés desde 2012 hasta julio de 2022.

Resultados: Se recuperaron 541 referencias y finalmente 10 artículos fueron seleccionados para un análisis en profundidad. Los artículos incluidos se publicaron entre 2014 y 2022, pero la mayoría se emitieron a partir de 2018. La mayor parte de los estudios abordó las enfermedades y lesiones asociadas al estrés térmico por calor en el lugar de trabajo. Los factores de riesgo y exposición al calor en trabajadores al aire libre y las métricas de estrés térmico por calor aparecieron en seis estudios. Cuatro artículos hicieron mención a las medidas de enfriamiento o mitigación del calor.

Conclusiones: Los trabajadores expuestos al calor extremo tienen mayor riesgo de estrés térmico por calor, especialmente aquellos de países en desarrollo de regiones tropicales. Esos trabajadores incluyen el sector agrícola, de la construcción, bomberos, mineros, soldados y trabajadores de manufactura entre otros.

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Publicado

2023-10-26

Cómo citar

1.
Moreno Martín G, Inglés Torruella J. Impacto en la salud laboral de la exposición al calor extremo: una revisión sistemática. Rev haban cienc méd [Internet]. 26 de octubre de 2023 [citado 1 de julio de 2025];22(3):e5328. Disponible en: https://revhabanera.sld.cu/index.php/rhab/article/view/5328

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Ciencias Epidemiológicas y Salubristas