Heatwave and infants' hospital admissions under different heatwave definitions

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Xu, Zhiwei
Crooks, James Lewis
Black, Deborah
Hu, Wenbiao
Tong, Shilu
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2017
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Abstract

Objectives: Data on the health impacts of heatwaves in infants are limited, and this study aimed to examine how heatwaves affect hospital admissions in infants. Methods: A quasi-Poisson generalized additive model was used to assess the effects of heatwaves on hospital admissions in infants from 1st January 2005 to 31st December 2015 in Brisbane, Australia, using a series of heatwave definitions after controlling for possible confounders. A case-only analysis was conducted to examine the possible modification effects of personal and community characteristics on the heatwaves effects on infants' hospital admissions. Results: There was no significant increase in infants' hospital admissions when heatwave intensity was defined as mean temperature ≥90th percentile or ≥95th percentile of the mean temperature across the study period. When heatwave intensity increased to ≥97th percentile, infants' hospital admissions increased significantly (RR: 1.05, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.10), and this increase raised with the increase of heatwave duration. No modification effect of gender, indigenous status, or Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) level on heatwave effect was observed. Conclusions: Infants in Brisbane were sensitive to intense heatwaves, and future heat early warning system based on a local evidence-based heatwave definition is needed to protect infants from heatwave impacts. Community-based heatwave adaptation programs aiming at raising the awareness of the adverse health impacts of intense heatwaves among infants' caregivers may relieve the postnatal health care demand in infants.

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Environmental Pollution

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229

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© 2017. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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Public health

Science & Technology

Life Sciences & Biomedicine

Environmental Sciences

Environmental Sciences & Ecology

Heatwave definition

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Xu, Z; Crooks, JL; Black, D; Hu, W; Tong, S, Heatwave and infants' hospital admissions under different heatwave definitions, Environmental Pollution, 2017, 229, pp. 525-530

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