Journal Article

Heat health risk assessment analysing heatstroke patients in Fukuoka City, Japan

Hagishima, Aya, Tanaka, Ken-Ichi, Toosty, Nishat Tasnim

2021

Overview

Climate change, as a defining issue of the current time, is causing severe heat-related illness in the context of extremely hot weather conditions. In Japan, the remarkable temperature increase in summer caused by an urban heat island and climate change has become a threat to public health in recent years. This study aimed to determine the potential risk factors for heatstroke by analysing data extracted from the records of emergency transport to the hospital due to heatstroke in Fukuoka City, Japan. In this regard, a negative binomial regression model was used to account for overdispersion in the data. Age-structure analyses of heatstroke patients were also embodied to identify the sub-population of Fukuoka City with the highest susceptibility. The daily maximum temperature and wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT), along with differences in both the mean temperature and time-weighted temperature from those of the consecutive past days were detected as significant risk factors for heatstroke. Results indicated that there was a positive association between the resulting risk factors and the probability of heatstroke occurrence. The elderly of Fukuoka City aged 70 years or older were found to be the most vulnerable to heatstroke. Most of the aforementioned risk factors also encountered significant and positive associations with the risk of heatstroke occurrence for the group with highest susceptibility. These results can provide insights for health professionals and stakeholders in designing their strategies to reduce heatstroke patients and to secure the emergency transport systems in summer.

• Publisher: Public Library of Science,Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subject: Age composition / Age groups / Aging / Biology and Life Sciences / Body temperature / Central nervous system / Cities / Climate change / Climatic changes / Diagnosis / Earth Sciences / Engineering and Technology / Engineering schools / Environmental engineering / Evaluation / Fire prevention / Geriatrics / Health aspects / Health risk assessment / Health risks / Heat / Heat stroke / Heatstroke / High temperature / Hot weather / Interdisciplinary aspects / Investigations / Medicine and Health Sciences / Morbidity / Older people / People and Places / Risk analysis / Risk assessment / Risk factors / Social Sciences / Temperature / Temperature changes / Temperature effects / Urban areas / Urban heat islands / Weather / Weathering