Ta-Chen Su, MD, PhD
Vice President of Innovation, Tung’s Taichung MetroHarbor Hospital, Taiwan1. Vice President of Innovation, Tung’s Taichung MetroHarbor Hospital, Taiwan
2. Adjunct Professor, School of Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
3. Distinguished Adjunct Attending Physician, Department of Internal Medicine, and Environmental and Occupational Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
4. Adjunct Professor, Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, National University College of Public Health, Taipei, Taiwan
Education：Bachelor, Department of Public Health, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan, 1983
M.D., School of Medicine, National Cheng-Kung University College of Medicine, Tainan, Taiwan, 1990
Ph.D., Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, National University College of Public Health, Taipei, Taiwan, 2005
Career Experience：Dr. Su has 30 years of experience in academic research and teaching in the fields of preventive cardiology, hyperlipidemia, and occupational and environmental medicine. In past 2 decades, he investigated the impact of environmental pollution on subclinical cardiovascular diseases and endocrine/metabolic health, particularly air pollution and endocrine disrupting chemicals on cardiovascular health in susceptible populations. He led a familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) cohort study and hyperchylomicronemia genetic study in Taiwan since 2008, and established a platform of next generation sequencing for molecular genetic study of FH in National Taiwan University Hospital. He also devoted in forest medicine research since 2013, and a general education course on "Forest Medicine " was launched since 2022 at NTU to translate scientific research into life science medicine for college students and disseminate it to the general public.
Dr. Su serves as an executive committee member of preventive cardiology in Taiwan Society of Cardiology since 2012. He serves as the executive committee member of Asian Pacific Society of Atherosclerosis and Vascular Diseases since 2016. He also serves as the executive committee member of International Atherosclerosis Society Asia Pacific Federation since 2016. He was appointed as the EAS FH Studies Collaboration National Lead Investigator of Taiwan since 2014.
He was invited to join as one of the Air Pollution Expert Group, World Heart Federation, from Nov. 2019 to Nov. 2022. He served as the Director, Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine during August 2018 through July 2024. He has published more than 250 papers in famous peer-review journals.
Special Honor：Distinguished Alumni Awards, National Cheng-Kung University 2018
Speaking Topics
Climate Change and Cardiovascular Health in Working Population
Extreme weather and climate events have major socio-economic impacts on all inhabited continents. Climate change, particularly inappropriate temperature increases, can elevate the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The physiological stress imposed by high temperatures can lead to increased cardiovascular strain, exacerbation of pre-existing conditions, and higher rates of hospitalizations and deaths due to cardiovascular events. Moreover, climate change-related factors such as air pollution, changes in infectious disease patterns, and alterations in food availability can further contribute to the burden of CVDs.
Outdoor workers in certain occupational sectors such as agriculture, construction, transportation, utility maintenance, oil production and other emergency services are usually the most to experience the effects of climate change. The agricultural workers has been recognized as a vulnerable occupational group with an increased risk of adverse cardiovascular effects from rising global temperatures. Workers in forest environment were more susceptible to higher vascular stress and athero-thrombosis during winter compared with summer.
Among office workers in Taipei city, cardiovascular hemodynamics monitoring showed a greater susceptibility to CV events in winter compared with other seasons, with ambient temperature, relative humidity, and PM2.5 as the major factors of seasonal variation of CV functions. A significantly negative correlation between indoor temperature and both systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) during winter and summer, as well as a significant positive correlation with heart rate and body temperature. The impact of real-time, diurnal, and day by day variations of temperature and humidity on BP and heart rate is equally important, but more significant in winter. A negative impact on peripheral capillary oxygen saturation (SpO2) while indoor CO2 elevation was noted in winter season. Therefore, it is essential to maintain appropriate and stable indoor temperature, relative humidity, and adequate ventilation in working environments to minimize their adverse CV effects.
In conclusion, there is an urgent need for further studies around the health and socioeconomic impacts of climate change in the workplace. Workers may benefit from the implementation of the mitigation measures needed to address the problem, particularly among subtropical and tropical countries.
Key words: Climate change, temperature, relative humidity, cardiovascular health, blood pressure, heart rate
