Heat, Heat Waves, and Hospital Admissions among the Elderly in the United States, 1992–2006

Details

• Journal Article:
  Environmental Health Perspectives
• Personal Author:
  Gronlund, Carina J. ; Zanobetti, Antonella ; Schwartz, Joel D. ; Wellenius, Gregory A. ; O'Neill, Marie S.
• Description:
  Background: Heat-wave frequency, intensity and duration are increasing with global climate change. The association between heat and mortality in the elderly is well documented, but less is known regarding associations with hospital admissions. Objectives: To determine associations between moderate and extreme heat, heat waves and hospital admissions for non-accidental causes among Medicare beneficiaries aged .65 years in 114 cities across 5 U.S. climate zones. Methods: We used Medicare inpatient billing records and city-specific temperature, humidity and ozone data from 1992-2006 in a time-stratified case-crossover design to estimate the association between hospitalization and moderate (90th percentile of apparent temperature (AT)) and extreme (99th percentile of AT) heat and heat waves (AT above the 95th percentile over 2-8 days). In sensitivity analyses we additionally considered confounding by ozone and holidays, different temperature metrics, and alternate models of the exposure-response relationship. Results: Associations between moderate heat and hospital admissions were minimal, but extreme heat was associated with a 3% (95% CI: 2%, 4%) increase in all-cause hospital admissions over the following 8 days. In cause-specific analyses, extreme heat was associated with increased hospitalizations for renal (15%, 95% CI: 9%, 21%) and respiratory (4%, 95% CI: 2%, 7%) diseases, but not for cardiovascular diseases. An added heat-wave effect was observed for renal and respiratory admissions. Conclusion: Extreme heat is associated with increased hospital admissions, particularly for renal causes, among the elderly in the U.S. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aging Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Climate Change Cross-Over Studies Heat Stress Disorders Hospitalization Hot Temperature Humidity Kidney Diseases Occupational Health Ozone Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Temperature Urban Population

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• Keywords:
  Heat; Heat-exposure; Heat-stress; Humans; Men; Women; Age-groups; Analytical-processes; Statistical-analysis; Temperature-effects; Temperature-measurement; Models; Exposure-levels
• Source:
  Environ Health Perspect 2014 Nov; 122(11):1187-1192
• ISSN:
  0091-6765
• Pubmed ID:
  24905551
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC4216145
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  2T42OH008455/OH/NIOSH CDC HHS/United States ; EH000348/EH/NCEH CDC HHS/United States ; ES015774/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United States ; P30 ES000002/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United States ; P30 ES017885/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United States ; R21-ES020695/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United States ; R832752010/PHS HHS/United States ; T32AG027708/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; Michigan ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 5 ; Rhode Island
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  6 pdf pages
• Volume:
  122
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20044471
• Contact Point Address:
  Carina J. Gronlund, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, 2669 SPH Tower, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029
• Email:
  gronlund@umich.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Performing Organization:
  University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8dea7376ae14acd98c89da60cbbd9958d435746b4a41403d8edc1c0b434d5d223919a69b6b101f1385364fc7284ef9d49e1b54b8c5f4dbc8b40735e6502f3b12
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/32263/cdc_32263_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 415.81 KB ]