Long heat waves boost hospital admissionsAugust 09, 2007Summer heat waves significantly increase pressure on hospitals, according to research published in the online open access journal, BMC Public Health. The good news for hospital staff is that scorching weather must last four or more days before admissions rise significantly. Giuseppe Mastrangelo and his team from the University of Padova, Italy, examined hospital discharge records for patients aged 75 or over during five heat waves which hit the Veneto Region in Northeast Italy between 2002 and 2003. They found that for each additional day of heat wave duration hospital admissions for disorders of fluid and electrolyte balance, acute renal failure, and heat stroke rose by 16 percent, and breathing disorders by five percent. Individual hot days cause fewer problems, suggesting that people can recover during cooler breaks in the weather. Usually the first heat wave of the summer is considered the most deadly, however the team found that hospital admissions peaked during both the first and last heat waves of the year. This suggested that physiologic adaptations to the heat or behavioural changes following initial exposure to high temperatures did not prevent people from falling ill. Hospitals should not expect heat-related admissions to decrease as the summer progresses. The results support previous studies linking heat waves with increased death rates, especially amongst the elderly. However this is the first investigation into whether heat wave intensity and duration have any effects on general health. Many heat-related diseases may be preventable with adequate warning and an appropriate response to predicted heat waves, the authors conclude. "These results have important implications upon ongoing efforts to forecast health-related impacts in the heat watch/warning systems," says Mastrangelo. "The first part of a heat wave having only minor effects supports heat health systems where alerts are based on duration of hot humid days." BioMed Central |
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| Related Heat Wave Current Events and Heat Wave News Articles Water scarcity will create global security concerns Water scarcity as a result of climate change will create far-reaching global security concerns, says Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, chair of the intergovernmental panel on climate change, a co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Deadly heat waves are becoming more frequent in California From mid July to early August 2006, a heat wave swept through the southwestern United States. Temperature records were broken at many locations and unusually high humidity levels for this typically arid region led to the deaths of more than 600 people, 25,000 cattle and 70,000 poultry in California alone. Frail elderly disaster Planning for emergencies must take into account the growing numbers of frail elderly people who will by virtue of shifting demographics be involved in any natural or manmade disaster. Climate change to spur rapid shifts in wildfire hotspots Climate change will bring about major shifts in worldwide fire patterns, and those changes are coming fast. When it comes to sea level changing glaciers, new NASA technique measures up A NASA-led research team has used satellite data to make the most precise measurements to date of changes in the mass of mountain glaciers in the Gulf of Alaska, a region expected to be a significant contributor to global sea level rise over the next 50-100 years. Projected California warming promises cycle of more heat waves, energy use for next century As the 21st century progresses, major cities in heavily air-conditioned California can expect more frequent extreme-heat events because of climate change. Toll of climate change on world food supply could be worse than thought Global agriculture, already predicted to be stressed by climate change in coming decades, could go into steep, unanticipated declines in some regions due to complications that scientists have so far inadequately considered, say three new scientific reports. Study, meta-analysis examine factors associated with death from heatstroke Individuals who live in a nursing home or take medication to lower blood pressure appear more likely to die during or following hospitalization for heatstroke. European heat waves double in length since 1880 The most accurate measures of European daily temperatures ever indicate that the length of heat waves on the continent has doubled and the frequency of extremely hot days has nearly tripled in the past century. Reduced greenhouse gas emissions required to avoid dangerous increases in heat stress, researchers say A study led by a Purdue University researcher projects a 200 percent to 500 percent increase in the number of dangerously hot days in the Mediterranean by the end of the 21st century if the current rate of greenhouse gas emissions continues. The study found France would be subjected to the largest projected increase of high-temperature extremes. More Heat Wave Current Events and Heat Wave News Articles |
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