Estimation of Relative Risk of Mortality and Economic Burden Attributable to High Temperature in Wuhan, China

Abstract

In the context of climate change, most of the global regions are facing the threat of high temperature. Influenced by tropical cyclones in the western North Pacific Ocean, high temperatures are more likely to occur in central China, and the economic losses caused by heat are in urgent need of quantification to form the basis for health decisions. In order to study the economic burden of high temperature on the health of Wuhan residents between 2013 and 2019, we employed meta-analysis and the value of statistical life (VSL) approach to calculate the relative risk of high temperature health endpoints, the number of premature deaths, and the corresponding economic losses in Wuhan City, China. The results suggested that the pooled estimates of relative risk of death from high temperature health endpoints was 1.26 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.15, 1.39]. The average number of premature deaths caused by high temperature was estimated to be 77,369 (95% CI: 48,906–105,198) during 2013–2019, and the induced economic losses were 156.1 billion RMB (95% CI: 92.28–211.40 billion RMB), accounting for 1.81% (95% CI: 1.14–2.45%) of Wuhan's annual GDP in the seven-year period. It can be seen that high temperature drives an increase in the premature deaths, and the influence of high temperature on human health results in an economic burden on the health system and population in Wuhan City. It is necessary for the decision-makers to take measures to reduce the risk of premature death and the proportion of economic loss of residents under the impacts of climate change.

A study on the monitoring of heatwaves and bivariate frequency analysis based on mortality risk assessment in Wuhan, China

“…At the end of 2022, Wuhan had a resident population of 13.739 million and a gross domestic product of 1.89 trillion yuan. Because high temperatures cause death and economic losses ( 33 ), the need to analyze their characteristics in Wuhan and to develop plans to reduce their effects is urgent.…”

Community public health safety emergency management and nursing insurance service optimization for digital healthy urban environment construction

“…In addition, many studies in China have provided research references for public health security emergency management in digital health cities. Chen et al ( 8 ) pointed out that under the influence of various factors, emergencies occur frequently, and public health emergencies are at the forefront, bringing many negative impacts on human life safety, social harmony and stability, and healthy economic development. Therefore, effectively responding to emergencies in the field of public health and strengthening research on public health emergency management have become one of the practical problems that governments at all levels need to solve urgently ( 8 ).…”

“…Chen et al ( 8 ) pointed out that under the influence of various factors, emergencies occur frequently, and public health emergencies are at the forefront, bringing many negative impacts on human life safety, social harmony and stability, and healthy economic development. Therefore, effectively responding to emergencies in the field of public health and strengthening research on public health emergency management have become one of the practical problems that governments at all levels need to solve urgently ( 8 ). Kang et al ( 9 ) constructed an emergency management system framework for urban public health security based on data warehouse, emergency response support platform, unified management of information, and interconnection with other e-government systems, and elaborated on the basic functions of each business module and key technical methods for system implementation ( 9 ).…”