Effect Modification by Environmental Quality on the Association between Heatwaves and Mortality in Alabama, United States.

ABSTRACT: Background: Previous studies have shown that heatwaves are associated with increased mortality. However, it remains unclear whether the associations between heatwaves and mortality are modified by the environmental quality. Methods: We used the United States (US) Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Quality Index (EQI) and its five domain indices (air, water, land, built, and sociodemographic) to represent the cumulative environmental quality. We applied a time-stratified case-crossover design to analyze the disparities in the association between heatwaves and non-accidental deaths (NAD) among counties with different environmental qualities, in metropolitan areas in Alabama (AL), United States. Results: We found significant associations between heatwaves and NAD and a significan

SUBMITTER: Jian Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5664644 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature