Assessment of Heat-Related Health Impacts in Brisbane, Australia: Comparison of Different Heatwave Definitions
نویسندگان
چکیده
BACKGROUND There is no global definition of a heatwave because local acclimatisation and adaptation influence the impact of extreme heat. Even at a local level there can be multiple heatwave definitions, based on varying temperature levels or time periods. We investigated the relationship between heatwaves and health outcomes using ten different heatwave definitions in Brisbane, Australia. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We used daily data on climate, air pollution, and emergency hospital admissions in Brisbane between January 1996 and December 2005; and mortality between January 1996 and November 2004. Case-crossover analyses were used to assess the relationship between each of the ten heatwave definitions and health outcomes. During heatwaves there was a statistically significant increase in emergency hospital admissions for all ten definitions, with odds ratios ranging from 1.03 to 1.18. A statistically significant increase in the odds ratios of mortality was also found for eight definitions. The size of the heat-related impact varied between definitions. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Even a small change in the heatwave definition had an appreciable effect on the estimated health impact. It is important to identify an appropriate definition of heatwave locally and to understand its health effects in order to develop appropriate public health intervention strategies to prevent and mitigate the impact of heatwaves.
منابع مشابه
Development of health risk-based metrics for defining a heatwave: a time series study in Brisbane, Australia
BACKGROUND This study attempted to develop health risk-based metrics for defining a heatwave in Brisbane, Australia. METHODS Poisson generalised additive model was performed to assess the impact of heatwaves on mortality and emergency hospital admissions (EHAs) in Brisbane. RESULTS In general, the higher the intensity and the longer the duration of a heatwave, the greater the health impacts...
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