SORA

Advancing, promoting and sharing knowledge of health through excellence in teaching, clinical practice and research into the prevention and treatment of illness

The impact of heat waves on mortality in 9 European cities: results from the EuroHEAT project

D'Ippoliti, D; Michelozzi, P; Marino, C; de'Donato, F; Menne, B; Katsouyanni, K; Kirchmayer, U; Analitis, A; Medina-Ramón, M; Paldy, A; et al. D'Ippoliti, D; Michelozzi, P; Marino, C; de'Donato, F; Menne, B; Katsouyanni, K; Kirchmayer, U; Analitis, A; Medina-Ramón, M; Paldy, A; Atkinson, R; Kovats, S; Bisanti, L; Schneider, A; Lefranc, A; Iñiguez, C; Perucci, CA (2010) The impact of heat waves on mortality in 9 European cities: results from the EuroHEAT project. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, 9 (37). ISSN 1476-069X https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-9-37
SGUL Authors: Atkinson, Richard William

[img]
Preview
["document_typename_application/pdf; charset=binary" not defined] Published Version
Download (749kB) | Preview

Abstract

Background: The present study aimed at developing a standardized heat wave definition to estimate and compare the impact on mortality by gender, age and death causes in Europe during summers 1990-2004 and 2003, separately, accounting for heat wave duration and intensity. Methods: Heat waves were defined considering both maximum apparent temperature and minimum temperature and classified by intensity, duration and timing during summer. The effect was estimated as percent increase in daily mortality during heat wave days compared to non heat wave days in people over 65 years. City specific and pooled estimates by gender, age and cause of death were calculated. Results: The effect of heat waves showed great geographical heterogeneity among cities. Considering all years, except 2003, the increase in mortality during heat wave days ranged from + 7.6% in Munich to + 33.6% in Milan. The increase was up to 3-times greater during episodes of long duration and high intensity. Pooled results showed a greater impact in Mediterranean (+ 21.8% for total mortality) than in North Continental (+ 12.4%) cities. The highest effect was observed for respiratory diseases and among women aged 75-84 years. In 2003 the highest impact was observed in cities where heat wave episode was characterized by unusual meteorological conditions. Conclusions: Climate change scenarios indicate that extreme events are expected to increase in the future even in regions where heat waves are not frequent. Considering our results prevention programs should specifically target the elderly, women and those suffering from chronic respiratory disorders, thus reducing the impact on mortality.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: © 2010 D'Ippoliti et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Keywords: Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Disasters, Europe, Female, Hot Temperature, Humans, Male, Mortality, Sex Factors, Time Factors, Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Environmental Sciences, Public, Environmental & Occupational Health, Environmental Sciences & Ecology, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES, PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH, SCI, TIME-SERIES, US CITIES, TEMPERATURE, WEATHER, DEATHS, LONDON, FRANCE, HEALTH, Toxicology
SGUL Research Institute / Research Centre: Academic Structure > Population Health Research Institute (INPH)
Journal or Publication Title: ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
ISSN: 1476-069X
Related URLs:
Dates:
DateEvent
16 July 2010Published
Web of Science ID: WOS:000282289600001
URI: https://openaccess.sgul.ac.uk/id/eprint/107086
Publisher's version: https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-9-37

Actions (login required)

Edit Item Edit Item