ISMED-CLIM Presents New Evidence on Temperature-Related Health Risks in the Mediterranean at ISEE 2026

ISMED-CLIM participated in the 38th Annual Conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE 2026), held from 30 August to 2 September 2026 in Munich, Germany.

The conference brought together researchers and experts working across environmental epidemiology and public health, providing an important opportunity for the ISMED-CLIM team to share emerging evidence on the health impacts of non-optimal temperatures across the European Mediterranean region.

Two ISMED-CLIM studies were presented at the conference by Dimitris Stamatiou, researcher at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

Temperature and mortality from neurological and mental health conditions

The oral presentation, “Short-term high and low temperature effects on mortality due to neurological and mental causes in the Mediterranean region,” examined temperature-related mortality across 22 cities in the European Mediterranean region.

The findings indicated that higher temperatures during the warm period of the year were associated with an increased risk of mortality from neurological and mental health conditions.

Authors: D. Stamatiou, A. Analitis, K. Dimakopoulou, M. Stafoggia, A. Felici, F. de’ Donato, C. Iñiguez, A. Tobias, C. Di Napoli, C. Barnard, A. Monteiro, S. Coelho, P. Kouis, A. Michanikou, G. K. Nikolopoulos, P. K. Yiallouros, E. Samoli

Non-optimal temperatures and cardio-respiratory hospital admissions

The second study, presented as a poster, was titled “Short-term effects of non-optimal temperatures on cardio-respiratory hospital admissions in the Mediterranean region.”

Using data from 31 cities across the European Mediterranean region, the study found an increased risk of hospital admissions for cardiovascular causes as temperatures decreased during the cold period, while respiratory admissions increased with rising temperatures during the warm period.

Authors: D. Stamatiou, A. Analitis, K. Dimakopoulou, M. Stafoggia, A. Felici, F. de’ Donato, C. Iñiguez, A. Tobias, C. Di Napoli, C. Barnard, A. Monteiro, S. Coelho, E. Verykakis, G. Kontonasiou, A. Karakatsani, P. Kouis, A. Michanikou, G. K. Nikolopoulos, P. K. Yiallouros, E. Samoli

These findings contribute to ISMED-CLIM’s wider work to better understand the links between climate-related environmental exposures and human health in Mediterranean populations, supporting the development of more effective approaches to climate adaptation and health protection.

We thank the ISEE 2026 organisers for the opportunity to present this work and the conference participants for their valuable comments and discussions.