Identifying Individual Risk Factors and Documenting the Pattern of Heat-Related Illness through Analyses of Hospitalization and Patterns of Household Cooling

Schmeltz, Michael T.; Sembajwe, Grace; Marcotullio, Peter J.; Grassman, Jean; Himmelstein, David U.; Woolhandler, Stephanie

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0118958

Cited by 19 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…A number of studies have shown stronger heat-related morbidity for females [52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63], but other studies have found stronger effects for males [26,29,64,65] as was found in our study. The finding of males having a significantly stronger RR than females is supported by studies of ED visits [66] and hospital admissions [64] that have shown that men are more likely than women to seek care for heat-related diagnoses [20].…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 67%

Susceptibility to Heat-Related Fluid and Electrolyte Imbalance Emergency Department Visits in Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Heidari

Winquist

Klein

et al. 2016

IJERPH

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Identification of populations susceptible to heat effects is critical for targeted prevention and more accurate risk assessment. Fluid and electrolyte imbalance (FEI) may provide an objective indicator of heat morbidity. Data on daily ambient temperature and FEI emergency department (ED) visits were collected in Atlanta, Georgia, USA during 1993–2012. Associations of warm-season same-day temperatures and FEI ED visits were estimated using Poisson generalized linear models. Analyses explored associations between FEI ED visits and various temperature metrics (maximum, minimum, average, and diurnal change in ambient temperature, apparent temperature, and heat index) modeled using linear, quadratic, and cubic terms to allow for non-linear associations. Effect modification by potential determinants of heat susceptibility (sex; race; comorbid congestive heart failure, kidney disease, and diabetes; and neighborhood poverty and education levels) was assessed via stratification. Higher warm-season ambient temperature was significantly associated with FEI ED visits, regardless of temperature metric used. Stratified analyses suggested heat-related risks for all populations, but particularly for males. This work highlights the utility of FEI as an indicator of heat morbidity, the health threat posed by warm-season temperatures, and the importance of considering susceptible populations in heat-health research.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 67%

Susceptibility to Heat-Related Fluid and Electrolyte Imbalance Emergency Department Visits in Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Heidari

Winquist

Klein

et al. 2016

IJERPH

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“…Research has shown that HRI hospitalizations have increased during our study period, with more recent climate data indicating that average global temperatures continued to rise during and after the 2001 to 2010 period [ 31 , 32 ]. Studies have already projected that there are likely to be increases in heat-related mortality, across the U.S., particularly under higher greenhouse gas emission scenarios [ 2 , 33 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Economic Burden of Hospitalizations for Heat-Related Illnesses in the United States, 2001–2010

Schmeltz

Petkova

Gamble

2016

IJERPH

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Understanding how heat waves affect morbidity and mortality, as well as the associated economic costs, is essential for characterizing the human health impacts of extreme heat under a changing climate. Only a handful of studies have examined healthcare costs associated with exposures to high temperatures. This research explores costs associated with hospitalizations for heat-related illness (HRI) in the United States using the 2001 to 2010 Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS). Descriptive statistics of patient data for HRI hospitalizations were examined and costs of hospitalizations were reported using the all-payer inpatient cost-to-charge ratio. Costs were examined using a log-gamma model with patient and hospital characteristics included as fixed effects. Adjusted mean costs were then compared across racial groups. The mean costs of HRI hospitalizations were higher among racial/ethnic minorities compared to Whites, who accounted for almost 65% of all HRI hospitalizations. Observed differences in costs based on income, insurance, and gender were also significant. These results suggest that these populations are suffering disproportionately from health inequity, thus, they could shoulder greater disease and financial burdens due to climate change. These findings may have important implications in understanding the economic impact public health planning and interventions will have on preventing hospitalizations related to extreme heat.

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“…Raised temperatures can lead to heat stress, heat stroke, and premature death as the body's temperature increases beyond its normal range of 36.0 to 37.5°C-hyperthermia (Schmeltz et al 2015;Knowlton et al 2007). The Center for Disease control estimates 8000 premature deaths between 1979 and 1999 were affected by excessive heat exposure (CDC 2007).…”

Section: Human Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vertical Greenery Systems as a Strategy in Urban Heat Island Mitigation

Price

Jones

Jefferson

2015

Water Air Soil Pollut

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Integrating vegetation into architecture has become widely recognized as a multi-beneficial practice in architecture and engineering design to combat an array of environmental issues. Urban areas have microclimates that are different than the climates of their surrounding rural areas. Patterns in these differences over the years have shown that urban microclimates tend to be significantly warmer in comparison. This phenomenon is now recognized as the urban Bheat island^effect. While the associated consequences of this urban heating are far reaching, excess energy expenditure, air pollution emissions, and threats to human health are among the most critical for evaluation. The integration of vegetative green space in urban planning, coupled with highly reflective materials in place of conventional paved surfaces on roads and rooftops have proven to be effective methods of urban heat island mitigation. While as separate entities these methods are effective, innovative technology has brought forth greening roofs which allows vegetation to compensate where other roof-cooling strategies fall short. Substantially, vertical greenery systems compensate where greening roofs fall short. This paper explores both integrated vegetation as an optimal mitigation strategy for urban heat islands and vertical plant walls as an optimal design.

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Identifying Individual Risk Factors and Documenting the Pattern of Heat-Related Illness through Analyses of Hospitalization and Patterns of Household Cooling

Cited by 19 publications

References 58 publications

Susceptibility to Heat-Related Fluid and Electrolyte Imbalance Emergency Department Visits in Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Susceptibility to Heat-Related Fluid and Electrolyte Imbalance Emergency Department Visits in Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Economic Burden of Hospitalizations for Heat-Related Illnesses in the United States, 2001–2010

Vertical Greenery Systems as a Strategy in Urban Heat Island Mitigation

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