Abstract:
Objective To assess the association of heatwaves with hospital admissions for specific causes among residents in Hengyang, Hunan Province, China.
Methods Based on daily meteorological and air pollutant data as well as hospitalization data from six tertiary hospitals in urban Hengyang from June to September of 2017 to 2023, a case-crossover design was used to evaluate the relationship between heatwaves and hospital admissions for specific causes. Lag effects were assessed using a distributed lag non-linear model with a maximum lag of 7 days.
Results The maximum impacts of heatwaves on hospitalizations due to non-accidental diseases, respiratory diseases, and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases occurred at lag04, lag06, and lag06 days, with relative risks (RR) of 1.16 (1.04, 1.29), 1.33 (1.08, 1.62), and 1.34 (1.13, 1.59), respectively. In sex-stratified analyses, for males, the maximum effects of heatwaves on hospitalizations for non-accidental diseases, respiratory diseases, and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases were observed at lag04, lag06, and lag05 days, with corresponding RR values of 1.15 (1.02, 1.29), 1.39 (1.10, 1.76), and 1.21 (1.01, 1.45), respectively. For females, the maximum effects of heatwaves on hospitalizations for non-accidental diseases and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases occurred at lag05 and lag06 days, with RR of 1.17 (1.02, 1.34) and 1.55 (1.22, 1.95), respectively. However, the effect of heatwaves on hospitalizations for respiratory diseases in females was not statistically significant. In the age-specific analyses, heatwaves only had a statistically significant impact on hospitalizations for non-accidental diseases in the population aged 0 to less than 65 years, with the maximum effect at lag03 day (RR=1.11;1.01, 1.23). No statistically significant effects were found on hospitalizations for respiratory diseases or cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in this age group. For the population aged 65 years and above, the maximum impacts of heatwaves on hospitalizations due to non-accidental diseases, respiratory diseases, and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases were observed at lag05, lag07, and lag06 days, with RR values of 1.26 (1.08, 1.46), 1.63 (1.15, 2.32), and 1.39 (1.14, 1.69), respectively. There were no statistically significant gender or age differences in the effects of heatwaves on non-accidental diseases, respiratory diseases, or cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases (z-values ranged from -1.532 to 0.749, all P>0.05).
Conclusion Heatwaves in Hengyang may increase hospitalization risks for non-accidental, respiratory, and cardio-cerebrovascular diseases among residents. We recommend to construct and improve high-temperature early warning systems to timely provide high-temperature early warning information to the public.