Medical diagnoses of heat wave-related hospital admissions in older adults.
Prev Med
; 110: 81-85, 2018 05.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-29428173
ABSTRACT
Heat waves have been associated with adverse human health effects, including higher rates of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, and these health effects may be exacerbated under continued climate change. However, specific causes of hospitalizations associated with heat waves have not been characterized on a national scale. We systematically estimated the risks of cause-specific hospitalizations during heat waves in a national cohort of 23.7 million Medicare enrollees residing in 1943â¯U.S. counties during 1999-2010. Heat waves were defined as ≥2 consecutive days exceeding the county's 99th percentile of daily temperatures, and were matched to non-heat wave periods by county and week. We considered 50 outcomes from broad disease groups previously associated with heat wave-related hospitalizations, and estimated cause-specific relative risks (RRs) of hospital admissions on heat wave days. We identified 11 diagnoses with a higher admission risk on heat wave days, with heat stroke and sunstroke having the highest risk (RRâ¯=â¯22.5, [95% CI 14.9-34.2]). Other diseases with elevated risks included fluid and electrolyte disorders [(Hyperosmolality RRâ¯=â¯1.4, [95% CI 1.1-1.3]; Hypoosmolaltiy RRâ¯=â¯1.2, [95% CI 1.1-1.3])] and acute kidney failure (RRâ¯=â¯1.1, [95% CI 1.1-1.2]). These risks tended to be higher under more severe heat wave events. In addition, risks were higher among adults in the oldest (≥85) category (reference 65-74) for volume depletion and heat exhaustion. Several causes of hospitalization identified are preventable, and public health interventions, including early warning systems and plans targeting risk factors for these illnesses, could reduce adverse effects of heat in the present and under climate change.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Saúde Pública
/
Doença Crônica
/
Temperatura Alta
/
Hospitalização
Tipo de estudo:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Etiology_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Aged
/
Aged80
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
País como assunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2018
Tipo de documento:
Article