Kai Chen, PhD
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology (Environmental Health); Director of Research, Climate Change and Health; Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Research & Publications
Biography
News
Locations
Research Summary
Climate change affects human health in many ways, including both direct impacts from changed extreme weather events and indirect impacts mediated through air pollution. Given the significant health burdens associated with extreme temperatures and air pollution, identifying and quantifying their individual and interactive health effects under a changing climate is of crucial importance for designing policies that maximize future health protection under climate change.
Dr. Chen’s research examines the health impacts of extreme temperature and ambient air pollution under a changing climate. He studies heat-related mortality and morbidity, the acute effects of air pollution on daily mortality and hospital admission, and the health impacts of climate change under different climate and population scenarios.
Coauthors
Public Health Interests
Environmental Health; Epidemiology Methods; Global Health; Climate Change; Infectious Diseases; Pollution; COVID-19
Selected Publications
- Role of meteorological factors in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the United States.Ma Y, Pei S, Shaman J, Dubrow R, Chen K. Role of meteorological factors in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the United States. Nature Communications 2021, 12: 3602. PMID: 34127665, PMCID: PMC8203661, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23866-7.
- Association between extreme temperatures and emergency room visits related to mental disorders: A multi-region time-series study in New York, USA.Yoo EH, Eum Y, Roberts JE, Gao Q, Chen K. Association between extreme temperatures and emergency room visits related to mental disorders: A multi-region time-series study in New York, USA. The Science Of The Total Environment 2021, 792: 148246. PMID: 34144243, DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148246.
- Ambient carbon monoxide and daily mortality: a global time-series study in 337 cities.Chen K, Breitner S, Wolf K, Stafoggia M, Sera F, Vicedo-Cabrera AM, Guo Y, Tong S, Lavigne E, Matus P, Valdés N, Kan H, Jaakkola JJK, Ryti NRI, Huber V, Scortichini M, Hashizume M, Honda Y, Nunes B, Madureira J, Holobâcă IH, Fratianni S, Kim H, Lee W, Tobias A, Íñiguez C, Forsberg B, Åström C, Ragettli MS, Guo YL, Chen BY, Li S, Milojevic A, Zanobetti A, Schwartz J, Bell ML, Gasparrini A, Schneider A. Ambient carbon monoxide and daily mortality: a global time-series study in 337 cities. The Lancet. Planetary Health 2021, 5: e191-e199. PMID: 33838734, DOI: 10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00026-7.
- Hourly Exposure to Ultrafine Particle Metrics and the Onset of Myocardial Infarction in Augsburg, Germany.Chen K, Schneider A, Cyrys J, Wolf K, Meisinger C, Heier M, von Scheidt W, Kuch B, Pitz M, Peters A, Breitner S. Hourly Exposure to Ultrafine Particle Metrics and the Onset of Myocardial Infarction in Augsburg, Germany. Environmental Health Perspectives 2020, 128: 17003. PMID: 31939685, PMCID: PMC7015564, DOI: 10.1289/EHP5478.
- Air pollution reduction and mortality benefit during the COVID-19 outbreak in China.Chen K, Wang M, Huang C, Kinney PL, Anastas PT. Air pollution reduction and mortality benefit during the COVID-19 outbreak in China. The Lancet. Planetary Health 2020, 4: e210-e212. PMID: 32411944, PMCID: PMC7220178, DOI: 10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30107-8.
- Temporal variations in the triggering of myocardial infarction by air temperature in Augsburg, Germany, 1987-2014.Chen K, Breitner S, Wolf K, Hampel R, Meisinger C, Heier M, von Scheidt W, Kuch B, Peters A, Schneider A. Temporal variations in the triggering of myocardial infarction by air temperature in Augsburg, Germany, 1987-2014. European Heart Journal 2019, 40: 1600-1608. PMID: 30859207, DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehz116.
- Two-way effect modifications of air pollution and air temperature on total natural and cardiovascular mortality in eight European urban areas.Chen K, Wolf K, Breitner S, Gasparrini A, Stafoggia M, Samoli E, Andersen ZJ, Bero-Bedada G, Bellander T, Hennig F, Jacquemin B, Pekkanen J, Hampel R, Cyrys J, Peters A, Schneider A. Two-way effect modifications of air pollution and air temperature on total natural and cardiovascular mortality in eight European urban areas. Environment International 2018, 116: 186-196. PMID: 29689465, DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2018.04.021.
- Future ozone-related acute excess mortality under climate and population change scenarios in China: A modeling study.Chen K, Fiore AM, Chen R, Jiang L, Jones B, Schneider A, Peters A, Bi J, Kan H, Kinney PL. Future ozone-related acute excess mortality under climate and population change scenarios in China: A modeling study. PLoS Medicine 2018, 15: e1002598. PMID: 29969446, PMCID: PMC6029756, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002598.
- Impact of climate change on heat-related mortality in Jiangsu Province, China.Chen K, Horton RM, Bader DA, Lesk C, Jiang L, Jones B, Zhou L, Chen X, Bi J, Kinney PL. Impact of climate change on heat-related mortality in Jiangsu Province, China. Environmental Pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987) 2017, 224: 317-325. PMID: 28237309, PMCID: PMC5387110, DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2017.02.011.
- Urbanization Level and Vulnerability to Heat-Related Mortality in Jiangsu Province, China.Chen K, Zhou L, Chen X, Ma Z, Liu Y, Huang L, Bi J, Kinney PL. Urbanization Level and Vulnerability to Heat-Related Mortality in Jiangsu Province, China. Environmental Health Perspectives 2016, 124: 1863-1869. PMID: 27152420, PMCID: PMC5132638, DOI: 10.1289/EHP204.
- Influence of heat wave definitions to the added effect of heat waves on daily mortality in Nanjing, China.Chen K, Bi J, Chen J, Chen X, Huang L, Zhou L. Influence of heat wave definitions to the added effect of heat waves on daily mortality in Nanjing, China. The Science Of The Total Environment 2015, 506-507: 18-25. PMID: 25460935, DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.10.092.