Heat Wave and Mortality: A Multicountry, Multicommunity Study

Guo, Yuming; Gasparrini, Antonio; Armstrong, Ben; Tawatsupa, Benjawan; Tobías, Aurelio; Lavigne, Éric; Coêlho, Micheline de Sousa Zanotti Stagliorio; Pan, Xiaochuan; Kim, Ho; Hashizume, Masahiro; Honda, Yasushi; Guo, Yueliang Leon; Wu, Chang‐Fu; Zanobetti, Antonella; Schwartz, Joel; Bell, Michelle L.; Scortichini, Matteo; Michelozzi, Paola; Punnasiri, Kornwipa; Li, Shanshan; Tian, Linwei; García, Samuel David Osorio; Seposo, Xerxes; Overcenco, Ala; Zeka, Ariana; Goodman, Patrick; Đăng, Trần Ngọc; Dung, Do Van; Mayvaneh, Fatemeh; Saldiva, Paulo Hilário Nascimento; Williams, Gail M.; Tong, Shilu

doi:10.1289/ehp1026

Cited by 410 publications

(286 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Global environmental change is exacerbating human vulnerability to atmospheric environmental hazards including air pollution, aeroallergens (such as pollen) and extreme weather events. For example, poor air quality and extremes of heat or cold cause exacerbations of heart, lung and other chronic conditions leading to increases in symptoms, hospitalisations and deaths [1][2][3]. Global environmental change increases the threat from these hazards in a number of ways.…”

Section: Introduction and Purposementioning

confidence: 99%

Using smartphone technology to reduce health impacts from atmospheric environmental hazards

Johnston

Wheeler

Williamson

et al. 2018

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Background: Global environmental change is exacerbating human vulnerability to adverse atmospheric conditions including air pollution, aeroallergens such as pollen, and extreme weather events. Public information and advisories are a central component of responses to mitigate the human impacts of environmental hazards. Digital technologies are emerging as a means of providing personalised, timely and accessible warnings.Method: We describe AirRater, an integrated online platform that combines symptom surveillance, environmental monitoring, and notifications of changing environmental conditions via a free smartphone app. It was developed and launched in Tasmania, Australia (population 510 000), with the aim of reducing health impacts and improving quality of life in people with conditions such as asthma and allergic rhinitis. We present environmental data, user uptake and results from three online evaluation surveys conducted during the first 22 months of operation, from October 2015 through August 2017.Results: There were 3,443 downloads of the app from all regions of Tasmania. Of the 1,959 individuals who registered, 79% reported having either asthma or allergic rhinitis. Downloads increased during adverse environmental conditions and following publicity. Symptom reports per active user were highest during spring (72%), lowest in autumn (37%) and spiked during periods of reduced air quality. In response to online surveys, most users reported that the app was useful and had improved their understanding of how environmental conditions affect their health, and in some cases had prompted action such as the timely use of medication.Conclusion: Active engagement and consistent positive feedback from users demonstrates the potential for considerable individual, clinical and wider public health benefits from integrated and personalised monitoring systems such as AirRater. The perceived health benefits require objective verification, and such systems need to address several challenges in providing timely, reliable and valid environmental data.

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Section: Introduction and Purposementioning

confidence: 99%

Using smartphone technology to reduce health impacts from atmospheric environmental hazards

Johnston

Wheeler

Williamson

et al. 2018

Environ. Res. Lett.

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“…The World Health Organization has declared climate change as the greatest threat to global human health in the twenty-first century (Watts et al, 2015;WHO, 2018). Climate change has contributed to the annual increase in heat-related mortality (HRM) worldwide over the past few decades (Davis et al, 2003;Gasparrini et al, 2015;Guo et al, 2017). In the United States, heat waves have been a prominent cause of human mortality during summer (Bell et al, 2018;Bobb et al, 2014;Davis et al, 2003;Guo et al, 2017;Semenza et al, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Climate change has contributed to the annual increase in heat-related mortality (HRM) worldwide over the past few decades (Davis et al, 2003;Gasparrini et al, 2015;Guo et al, 2017). In the United States, heat waves have been a prominent cause of human mortality during summer (Bell et al, 2018;Bobb et al, 2014;Davis et al, 2003;Guo et al, 2017;Semenza et al, 1996). For example, a record setting heat spell in Chicago during the summer of 1995, where temperatures in excess of 38°C (excluding the humidex) over a period of a week, led to more than 700 deaths (Semenza et al, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Atlantic and Pacific Sea Surface Temperatures on Heat‐Related Mortality in the United States

2020

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The frequency and magnitude of extreme summer temperature events in the United States have increased in the past few decades. Long‐term exposure to extreme summer temperatures can be detrimental to human health, due to potential risks of dehydration and thermoregulation strains on the cardiovascular system, which may often lead to heat‐related mortality (HRM). The summer climate of the United States is influenced by variability in Atlantic and Pacific sea surface temperatures, driven in part by Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and El‐Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), respectively. However, the influence of AMO and ENSO on HRM in the United States has not been investigated. Here the longest time series of HRM spanning the past five decades is analyzed in relation with AMO and ENSO. We find that HRM doubled in the early‐1990s, coinciding with the positive phase of the AMO. Furthermore, we note a positive association between the variability in HRM and summer temperatures across all regions of the United States, with the strongest association found over the Southern United States. Therefore, this research suggests that variability in Atlantic and Pacific sea surface temperatures has both a nationwide and regional impact on HRM in the United States. Hence, by understanding variability in sea surface temperatures, the future burden of heat‐attributed emergencies during extreme summer temperature events can be reduced not only for the United States, but also worldwide.

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“…The adverse impact of high heat on population health is widely documented, particularly in the United States (US) and Europe, with growing evidence for other regions (Anderson and Bell 2011, Anderson et al 2013, Guo et al 2017, Green et al 2019. Days of high heat have a substantial public health burden by impacting different organs (heart, kidneys, brain or lungs) through various mechanisms (heat cytotoxicity, inflammatory response or ischemia for example).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying the impact of changing the threshold of New York City heat emergency plan in reducing heat-related illnesses

Benmarhnia

Schwarz

Nori-Sarma

et al. 2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

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The adverse health impact of high heat is widely documented and can lead to a substantial public health burden. Although heat-related illness in western countries is largely preventable, extreme heat remains the main weather contributor to the burden of disease in the United States. In most US cities, local National Weather Service offices issue heat alerts in advance of forecast periods of high heat. In some locations, additional local heat emergency plans that include additional community-based actions to protect the public from the health impacts of heat are also triggered. In 2008, the NYC Health Department made changes in their local heat emergency plan by lowering the threshold for triggering heat advisories based on evidence from local epidemiological studies. This study aims to quantify the potential benefits associated with the change in the threshold the NYC Heat Emergency Plan in reducing heat-related illnesses for Medicare fee-for service beneficiaries aged 65 years or older. We apply a quasi-experimental study design using the Difference-in-Differences (DID) method coupled with the propensity-score matching and compare the difference in daily rates of heat-related illnesses between eligible and non-eligible days before and after implementing the threshold change (2006-2007 versus 2009-2010). We reveal that the change in threshold for the NYC Heat Emergency Plan is associated with reduced daily number of 0.80 (95%CI: 0.27; 1.33) Heat-related Illnesses during hot days as compared to a counterfactual scenario in which the original threshold did not change. This highlights the benefits of local epidemiological evidence in informing emergency heat action plans, in decreasing the health burden of high ambient heat.

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Heat Wave and Mortality: A Multicountry, Multicommunity Study

Cited by 410 publications

References 48 publications

Using smartphone technology to reduce health impacts from atmospheric environmental hazards

Using smartphone technology to reduce health impacts from atmospheric environmental hazards

Influence of Atlantic and Pacific Sea Surface Temperatures on Heat‐Related Mortality in the United States

Quantifying the impact of changing the threshold of New York City heat emergency plan in reducing heat-related illnesses

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