The Effects of Heatwaves on Human Morbidity in Primary Care Settings: A Case-Crossover Study.

ABSTRACT: This study assesses the potential acute effects of heatwaves on human morbidities in primary care settings. We performed a time-stratified case-crossover study to assess the acute effects of heatwaves on selected morbidities in primary care settings in Flanders, Belgium, between 2000 and 2015. We used conditional logistic regression models. We assessed the effect of heatwaves on the day of the event (lag 0) and X days earlier (lags 1 to X). The associations are presented as Incidence Density Ratios (IDR). We included 22,344 events. Heatwaves are associated with increased heat-related morbidities such as heat stroke IDR 3.93 [2.94-5.26] at lag 0, dehydration IDR 3.93 [2.94-5.26] at lag 1, and orthostatic hypotension IDR 2.06 [1.37-3.10] at lag 1. For cardiovascular morbidities studied, ther

SUBMITTER: Alsaiqali M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8775418 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature