Temperature and age–gender effects on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases

Abstract

Introduction: Temperature is a key factor influencing the occurrence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, yet there is no equivalent study in Hong Kong. This study reports results involving a large-scale territory-wide investigation on the impacts of ambient temperature and age-gender differences on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest outcome in Hong Kong. Methods: This study included 25,467 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases treated by the Hong Kong Fire Services Department between December 2011 and November 2016 inclusive. Simple correlation and regression analyses were used to examine the relationships between out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases and temperature, age and gender. Calendar charts were used to visualise temporal patterns of pre-hospital emergency medical services related to out-ofhospital cardiac arrest cases. Results: A strong negative curvilinear relationship was found between out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and daily temperature (r 2 > 0.9) with prominent effects on elderly people aged ≥85 years. For each unit decrease in mean temperature in °C, there was a maximum of 5.6% increase in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases among all age groups and 7.3% increase in the ≥85 years elderly age group. Men were slightly more at risk of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest compared with women. The demand for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest-related emergency medical services was highest between 06:00 and 11:00 in the wintertime. Conclusion: This study provides the first local evidence linking weather and demographic effects with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Hong Kong. It offers empirical evidence to policymakers in support of strengthening existing emergency medical services to deal with the expected increase in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the wintertime and in regions with a large number of elderly population.

A spatiotemporal data mining study to identify high-risk neighborhoods for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) incidents

“…All cases were extracted from the Hong Kong emergency call database/dispatch systems and were reported according to the Utstein style 2 , 19 . Incomplete and duplicated records have been excluded and cleaned by the EMS 5 . Each OHCA record was anonymized and contained demographic data (i.e.…”

“…Many factors apart from personal characteristics—including environmental, sociodemographic, and geographical influences—can put a person at risk of sudden cardiac arrest. A local study reported that OHCA in Hong Kong showed greater impact on males, the elderly 65+, overweight individuals, and people suffering from cardiovascular and respiratory issues 5 . Also, daily temperature was strongly related to OHCA incidence in Hong Kong, whereby a unit decrease in temperature (°C) would result in a 5.6% increase in OHCA cases 5 .…”

Progress on the Impact of Climate Change on Cardiac Arrest

“…In the onset population, the effects of cold and heat on OHCA were more pronounced in those with hypertension, diabetes or heart disease [2,5]. At the age of onset, older people are more likely to be affected by these two extreme weather [2,6]. In terms of pathophysiological mechanisms, it is generally believed that the effects of high temperatures and heat waves on OHCA are pathophysiologically due to dehydration [7], Dehydration can lead to electrolyte disorders, cardiomyocyte dysfunction, induce cardiac arrhythmias, and high temperature can also lead to peripheral vascular dilatation and reduced coronary blood flow [8], And cause arrhythmia and heart failure and other cardiovascular diseases.…”

Exploring Ethical Dilemma in Big Data Analytics: A Literature Review

“…Though her information was subsequently removed, it caused worry for advocates of open access that privacy concerns might significantly slow the progress of Big Data research. Nevertheless, health data collected without personal information would still provide accurate research findings to understand exact occurrence time, temperature, age and gender that affecting our life in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest situation (Low et al, 2018).…”