Extreme heat and paediatric emergency department visits in Southwestern Ontario.

Wilk, Piotr; Gunz, Anna; Maltby, Alana; Ravichakaravarthy, Tharsha; Clemens, Kristin K; Lavigne, Éric; Lim, Rodrick; Vicedo-Cabrera, Ana Maria (2020). Extreme heat and paediatric emergency department visits in Southwestern Ontario. Paediatrics & Child Health, 26(5), pp. 305-309. Oxford University Press 10.1093/pch/pxaa096

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Objective

The risk of adverse health events is expected to increase with hotter temperatures, particularly among the most vulnerable groups such as elderly persons and children. The objective of this study was to assess the association between extreme heat and daily emergency department visits among children (0 to 17 years) in Southwestern Ontario.

Methods

We examined the average maximum temperature, relative humidity, and daily paediatric emergency department visits in June through August of 2002 to 2019. We reviewed emergency department visits from two academic hospitals. Daily meteorological data from the local weather station were obtained from Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Results

Extreme heat, defined as the 99th percentile of the maximum temperature distribution, occurred at 33.1°C and was associated with an overall 22% increase in emergency department visits, compared to the reference temperature of 21°C. This association was mostly found between the second and fifth day after the exposure, suggesting a slightly delayed effect. The results of the sub-group analysis indicate that the risk of an emergency department visit due to infectious disease increases by 35% and the most pronounced association was noted in children aged 1 to 12 years.

Conclusions

Extreme heat is associated with an increased incidence of emergency department visits in children. As temperatures continue to increase, strategies to mitigate heat-related health risks among children should be developed.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

04 Faculty of Medicine > Pre-clinic Human Medicine > Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM)

UniBE Contributor:

Vicedo Cabrera, Ana Maria

Subjects:

600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health
300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology > 360 Social problems & social services

ISSN:

1205-7088

Publisher:

Oxford University Press

Language:

English

Submitter:

Doris Kopp Heim

Date Deposited:

07 Jan 2021 18:16

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:44

Publisher DOI:

10.1093/pch/pxaa096

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/151066

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/151066

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