Impact of the 2011 heat wave on mortality and emergency department visits in Houston, Texas

Zhang, Kai; Chen, Tsun Hsuan; Begley, Charles E.

doi:10.1186/1476-069x-14-11

Cited by 69 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…While some areas experience more intense heat than others, this is a widespread issue; for example, cities all across the United States are projected to see an increase in the number of extremely hot days over this century [3]. Extreme heat events of the past few decades have created major disturbances including infrastructure damage, economic loss, and human illness and death [4][5][6][7][8], the latter two of which have been shown to disproportionately impact vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, low-income, and those with pre-existing health conditions [9][10][11][12]. Considering the current and expected future influence of extreme heat on public health, social welfare and urban resilience, local decision makers have a duty to identify and mitigate sources of excess heat within their cities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nature-Based Designs to Mitigate Urban Heat: The Efficacy of Green Infrastructure Treatments in Portland, Oregon

2019

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Urban heat is a growing environmental concern in cities around the world. The urban heat island effect, combined with warming effects of climate change, is likely to cause an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events. Alterations to the physical, built environment are a viable option for mitigating urban heat, yet few studies provide systematic guidance to practitioners for adapting diverse land uses. In this study, we examine the use of green infrastructure treatments to evaluate changes in ambient temperatures across diverse land uses in the city of Portland, Oregon. We apply ENVI-met® microclimate modeling at the city-block scale specifically to determine what built environment characteristics are most associated with high temperatures, and the extent to which different physical designs reduce ambient temperature. The analysis included six green infrastructure interventions modeled across six different land-use types, and indicated the varying degrees to which approaches are effective. Results were inconsistent across landscapes, and showed that one mitigation solution alone would not significantly reduce extreme heat. These results can be used to develop targeted, climate- and landscape-specific cooling interventions for different land uses, which can help to inform and refine current guidance to achieve urban climate adaptation goals.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nature-Based Designs to Mitigate Urban Heat: The Efficacy of Green Infrastructure Treatments in Portland, Oregon

2019

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“…Previous studies have found an association between high ambient temperature (specifically during extreme heat waves) and elderly health outcomes, e.g. increased mortality rates, ED visits and hospital admissions [6,7]. Thus, elderly patients are more vulnerable to dehydration and insensible loss, especially during high temperature periods even when they stay indoors [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Combined Effect of High Ambient Temperature and Antihypertensive Treatment on Renal Function in Hospitalized Elderly Patients

et al. 2016

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BackgroundThe aging kidney manifests structural, functional as well as pharmacological changes, rendering elderly patients more susceptible to adverse environmental influences on their health, dehydration in particular.HypothesisHigher temperature is associated with renal function impairment in patients 65 years and older who routinely take thiazide and/or ACE-inhibitors/ARBs.MethodsWe obtained health data of patients older than 65 who were admitted to a large tertiary center during the years 2006–2011, with a previous diagnosis of hypertension, and treated with thiazide, ACE-inhibitors/ARBs or both. We collected environmental data of daily temperature, available from collaborative public and governmental institutions. In order to estimate the effect of daily temperature on renal function we performed linear mixed models, separately for each treatment group and creatinine change during hospital admission.ResultsWe identified 26,286 admissions for 14, 268 patients with a mean age of 75.6 (±6.9) years, of whom 53.6% were men. Increment in daily temperature on admission of 5°C had significant effect on creatinine increase in the no treatment (baseline creatinine adjusted 0.824 mg/dL, % change 1.212, % change 95% C.I 0.082–2.354) and dual treatment groups (baseline creatinine adjusted 1.032mg/dL, % change 3.440, % change 95% C.I 1.227–5.700). Sub-analysis stratified by advanced age, chronic kidney disease and primary diagnosis on hospital admission, revealed a significant association within patients admitted due to acute infection and treated with dual therapy.ConclusionWhereas previous studies analyzed sporadic climate effects during heat waves and/or excluded older population taking anti-hypertensive medications, the present study is novel by showing a durable association of temperature and decreased renal function specifically in elderly patients taking anti-hypertensive medications.

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“…Insgesamt stammen viele Studien zu Hitzewellen oder Hitzebedingten gesundheitlichen Problemen aus Gebieten mit tropischem oder subtropischem Klima: Korea [14], Vietnam [15], Texas/ USA [16], Spanien und Italien [17,18] sowie Australien [19,20]. Wenige Studien existieren zur Hitze-bedingten Morbidität und Mortalität in gemäßigtem Klima [4,[21][22][23].…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Morbidität durch Hitze – eine Analyse der Krankenhauseinweisungen per Rettungseinsatz während einer Hitzewelle 2015 in Frankfurt/Main

et al. 2018

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Heatwaves are gaining in importance due to increasing climatic changes. They can impair health and increase mortality. A comparison of studies is difficult because of differences in the definition of a heatwave used and/or different populations studied. In this study, morbidity data were collected using the web-based IVENA system. This system registers hospital admissions with diagnosis by the emergency medical services. We analysed hospital admissions in Frankfurt/Main during June-August of 2014-2016. These periods included a heatwave in July 2015 (per definition>32°C for at least 5 days/more than 4 days). On days with "heatwave", there was a 22% increase in hospital admissions of patients brought in by the emergency services (excess morbidity). Considering only "heat-related diagnosis", the increase was 300%. In addition to the increase in hospital admissions on "heatwave" days, there was also a direct correlation between temperature and hospital admissions over the summer days. Using the data on hospital admission of patients brought in by the emergency services turned out to be a valid marker for "heat morbidity".

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Impact of the 2011 heat wave on mortality and emergency department visits in Houston, Texas

Cited by 69 publications

References 23 publications

Nature-Based Designs to Mitigate Urban Heat: The Efficacy of Green Infrastructure Treatments in Portland, Oregon

Nature-Based Designs to Mitigate Urban Heat: The Efficacy of Green Infrastructure Treatments in Portland, Oregon

The Combined Effect of High Ambient Temperature and Antihypertensive Treatment on Renal Function in Hospitalized Elderly Patients

Morbidität durch Hitze – eine Analyse der Krankenhauseinweisungen per Rettungseinsatz während einer Hitzewelle 2015 in Frankfurt/Main

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