Burden of Outpatient Visits Attributable to Ambient Temperature in Qingdao, China.
- Author:
Zi Xian WANG
1
;
Yi Bin CHENG
1
;
Yu WANG
1
;
Yan WANG
1
;
Xin Hang ZHANG
1
;
He Jia SONG
1
;
Yong Hong LI
1
;
Xiao Yuan YAO
1
Author Information
- Publication Type:Letter
- Keywords: Attributable fraction; Distributed lag non-linear model; Outpatient visits; Temperature
- MeSH: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Ambulatory Care/statistics & numerical data*; Cardiovascular Diseases/therapy*; Child; Child, Preschool; China/epidemiology*; Cold Temperature/adverse effects*; Cost of Illness; Digestive System Diseases/therapy*; Facilities and Services Utilization/statistics & numerical data*; Female; Hot Temperature/adverse effects*; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Male; Middle Aged; Poisson Distribution; Respiratory Tract Diseases/therapy*; Risk Factors; Young Adult
- From: Biomedical and Environmental Sciences 2021;34(5):395-399
- CountryChina
- Language:English
- Abstract: Climate change has been referred to as one of the greatest threats to human health, with reports citing likely increases in extreme meteorological events. In this study, we estimated the relationships between temperature and outpatients at a major hospital in Qingdao, China, during 2015-2017, and assessed the morbidity burden. The results showed that both low and high temperatures were associated with an increased risk of outpatient visits. High temperatures were responsible for more morbidity than low temperatures, with an attributed fraction (AF) of 16.86%. Most temperature-related burdens were attributed to moderate cold and hot temperatures, with AFs of 5.99% and 14.44%, respectively, with the young (0-17) and male showing greater susceptibility. The results suggest that governments should implement intervention measures to reduce the adverse effects of non-optimal temperatures on public health-especially in vulnerable groups.
