Variation in Cold-Related Mortality in England Since the Introduction of the Cold Weather Plan: Which Areas Have the Greatest Unmet Needs?

Abstract

The Cold Weather Plan (CWP) in England was introduced to prevent the adverse health effects of cold weather; however, its impact is currently unknown. This study characterizes cold-related mortality and fuel poverty at STP (Sustainability and Transformation Partnership) level, and assesses changes in cold risk since the introduction of the CWP. Time series regression was used to estimate mortality risk for up to 28 days following exposure. Area level fuel poverty was used to indicate mitigation against cold exposure and mapped alongside area level risk. We found STP variations in mortality risk, ranging from 1.74, 1.44–2.09 (relative risk (RR), 95% CI) in Somerset, to 1.19, 1.01–1.40 in Cambridge and Peterborough. Following the introduction of the CWP, national-level mortality risk declined significantly in those aged 0–64 (1.34, 1.23–1.45, to 1.09, 1.00–1.19), but increased significantly among those aged 75+ (1.36, 1.28–1.44, to 1.58, 1.47–1.70) and for respiratory conditions (1.78, 1.56–2.02, to 2.4, 2.10–2.79). We show how spatial variation in cold mortality risk has increased since the introduction of the CWP, which may reflect differences in implementation of the plan. Combining risk with fuel poverty information identifies 14 STPs with the greatest need to address the cold effect, and that would gain most from enhanced CWP activity or additional intervention measures.

Mortality Related to Cold Temperatures in Two Capitals of the Baltics: Tallinn and Riga

“…The results in Tallinn support evidence from previous observations that cold risks are highest in the oldest age group (75+ years or sometimes also starting from 65+ years) [12,19,33,34,35,36,37]. In Riga, however, the relative risk is higher in the younger age group (0–74 years, RR = 1.58 95% CI 1.12–2.22), and no statistically significant association was found in older age groups (Table 3).…”

Hot and cold weather based on the spatial synoptic classification and cause-specific mortality in Sweden: a time-stratified case-crossover study

“…Huynen and Martens (2015) also found a lower effect of cold than heat exposure on cardiovascular mortality in a study conducted in the Netherlands. Similarly, other authors have demonstrated the association between cold weather and cardiovascular mortality in different geographic areas (Han et al 2017;Murage et al 2018).…”

“…We did not find a substantial effect of cold weather (DP and MP) on respiratory mortality, consistent with other studies from Sweden (Rocklöv et al 2011 ; Rocklöv et al 2014 ) or the U.S. (Braga et al 2002 ). Nonetheless, previous studies have suggested that low temperatures increase the risk of death by respiratory diseases; these studies have been conducted in geographic areas including England, UK (Murage et al 2018 ), China (Han et al 2017 ), Spain (Linares et al 2015 ), and 15 European cities (Analitis et al 2008 ). In addition, in the present study the duration of cold events did not show a relevant impact on respiratory mortality, in line with two previous Swedish studies (Rocklöv et al 2011 ; Rocklöv et al 2014 ).…”

Salud física y mental de personas mayores que viven en pobreza energética

“…De un corpus de 18 artículos, 15 son de origen europeo (Armstrong, Winder & Wallis, 2006;Camprubi et al, 2016;Chard & Walker, 2016;Cotter, Monaha, McAvoy & Goodman, 2012;El Ansari & El-Silimy, 2008;Gilchrist, Kamara & Rudge, 2009;Murage, Hajat & Bone, 2018;Ormandy & Ezratty, 2016;Peralta et al, 2017;Romero-Ortuno, Tempany, Dennis, O'Riordan & Silke, 2013;Rudge & Gilchrist, 2005;Stewart & Dhesi, 2016;Webb et al 2013;Wolf et al, 2010), dos de Oceanía (O'Sullivan et al, 2011;Viggers et al, 2013) y uno de Norteamérica (Kwon & Jang, 2017).…”

“…Las principal metodología utilizada es la cuantitativa, presente en 11 artículos, donde se observan análisis estadísticos de bases de datos como English Longitudinal Study of Aging Webb et al, 2013), de datos de ingresos hospitalarios (Romero-Ortuno et al, 2013;Rudge & Gilchrist, 2005) y de encuestas como American Housing Survey (Kwon & Jang, 2017), además de la aplicación de encuestas (Cotter et al, 2012;Viggers et al, 2013) y evaluaciones de éxito de programas (El Ansari & El-Silimy, 2008;Gilchrist, 2009;Murage et al, 2018;Peralta et al, 2017). Cuatro de los artículos son de carácter cualitativo, existiendo dos análisis de fuentes secundarias (Ormandy & Ezratty, 2016;Stewart & Dhesi, 2016) y dos que estudian la experiencia de la pobreza energética mediante el uso de entrevistas (Chard & Walker, 2016;Wolf et al, 2010).…”