Heat, Disparities, and Health Outcomes in San Diego County's Diverse Climate Zones

Autor: Janin Guzman-Morales, Tarik Benmarhnia, Alexander Gershunov, Rachel E. S. Clemesha, Wael K. Al-Delaimy, Rupa Basu, Brittany Hailey, Kirsten Guirguis, Joshua Graff Zivin, Isabel Corcos, Ivory J. Small, Devesh Vashishtha, Alexander O. Tardy
Rok vydání: 2018
Předmět:
medicine.medical_specialty
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Epidemiology
Climate Change
lcsh:Environmental protection
Health
Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Climate change
air conditioning
010501 environmental sciences
Management
Monitoring
Policy and Law
Health outcomes
01 natural sciences
Zip code
Extreme heat
Heat illness
Environmental health
medicine
health outcomes
Climate-Related Exposures and Conditions
lcsh:TD169-171.8
Waste Management and Disposal
Research Articles
disparities
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Water Science and Technology
Climate zones
Global and Planetary Change
climate zones
Public health
Public Health
Environmental and Occupational Health
temperature
Geohealth
Impacts of Climate Change: Human Health
medicine.disease
Pollution
3. Good health
Ambient air
Climate Action
Geography
Global Warming Climate Change
13. Climate action
heat extremes
Public Health
Research Article
Zdroj: GeoHealth, Vol 2, Iss 7, Pp 212-223 (2018)
GeoHealth, vol 2, iss 7
GeoHealth
ISSN: 2471-1403
DOI: 10.1029/2017gh000127
Popis: Climate variability and change are issues of growing public health importance. Numerous studies have documented risks of extreme heat on human health in different locations around the world. Strategies to prevent heat‐related morbidity and reduce disparities are possible but require improved knowledge of health outcomes during hot days at a small‐scale level as important within‐city variability in local weather conditions, socio‐demographic composition, and access to air conditioning (AC) may exist. We analyzed hospitalization data for three unique climate regions of San Diego County alongside temperature data spanning 14 years to quantify the health impact of ambient air temperature at varying exceedance threshold levels. Within San Diego, coastal residents were more sensitive to heat than inland residents. At the coast, we detected a health impact at lower temperatures compared to inland locations for multiple disease categories including heat illness, dehydration, acute renal failure, and respiratory disease. Within the milder coastal region where access to AC is not prevalent, heat‐related morbidity was higher in the subset of zip codes where AC saturation is lowest. We detected a 14.6% increase (95% confidence interval [4.5%, 24.6%]) in hospitalizations during hot weather in comparison to colder days in coastal locations where AC is less common, while no significant impact was observed in areas with higher AC saturation. Disparities in AC ownership were associated with income, race/ethnicity, and homeownership. Given that heat waves are expected to increase with climate change, understanding health impacts of heat and the role of acclimation is critical for improving outcomes in the future.
Key Points Analysis of hospitalization data for three climate zones in San Diego County shows disparities in health outcomes during hot weatherCoastal residents are more sensitive to heat than inland residents with significant impacts found for multiple disease categoriesHeat sensitivity is reduced through air conditioning access, which is not prevalent at the coast due to generally mild weather
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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