Effects of Heat Wave on Body Temperature and Blood Pressure in the Poor and Elderly.
- Author:
Young Min KIM
1
;
Soyeon KIM
;
Hae Kwan CHEONG
;
Byungok AHN
;
Kyusik CHOI
Author Information
1. Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea. ymkim0218@gmail.com
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Blood pressure;
Body temperature;
Eelderly;
Heat wave;
Socioeconomic status;
Vulnerability
- MeSH:
Aged;
Blood Pressure;
Body Temperature;
Climate Change;
Hot Temperature;
Housing;
Humans;
Humidity;
Infrared Rays;
Social Class;
Vital Signs
- From:Environmental Health and Toxicology
2012;27(1):e2012013-
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate the acute effects of heat stress on body temperature and blood pressure of elderly individuals living in poor housing conditions. METHODS: Repeated measurements of the indoor temperature, relative humidity, body temperature, and blood pressure were conducted for 20 elderly individuals living in low-cost dosshouses in Seoul during hot summer days in 2010. Changes in the body temperature, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) according to variations in the indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity were analyzed using a repeated-measures ANOVA controlling for age, sex, alcohol, and smoking. RESULTS: Average indoor and outdoor temperatures were 31.47degrees C (standard deviation [SD], 0.97degrees C) and 28.15degrees C (SD, 2.03degrees C), respectively. Body temperature increased by 0.21degrees C (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.16 to 0.26degrees C) and 0.07degrees C (95% CI, 0.04 to 0.10degrees C) with an increase in the indoor and outdoor temperature of 1degrees C. DBP decreased by 2.05 mmHg (95% CI, 0.05 to 4.05 mmHg), showing a statistical significance, as the indoor temperature increased by 1degrees C, while it increased by 0.20 mmHg (95% CI, -0.83 to 1.22 mmHg) as outdoor temperature increased by 1degrees C. SBP decreased by 1.75 mmHg (95% CI, -1.11 to 4.61 mmHg) and 0.35 mmHg (95% CI, -1.04 to 1.73 mmHg), as the indoor and outdoor temperature increased by 1degrees C, respectively. The effects of relative humidity on SBP and DBP were not statistically significant for both indoor and outdoor. CONCLUSIONS: The poor and elderly are directly exposed to heat waves, while their vital signs respond sensitively to increase in temperature. Careful adaptation strategies to climate change considering socioeconomic status are therefore necessary.
