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Citation
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Zhou L, Liu C, He C, Lei J, Zhu Y, Gao Y, Xuan J, Kan H, Chen R. Environ. Health Perspect. 2024; 132(5): e57005. |
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Abstract
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BACKGROUND: Although ambient temperature has been linked with injury incidence, there have been few nationwide studies to quantify the temperature-related risk and burden of cause-specific injury hospitalizations. Additionally, the impact of human-induced climate change to injury burden remains unknown.
OBJECTIVES: Our objectives are to examine the associations between ambient temperature and injury hospitalizations from various causes and to quantify the contribution of human-induced warming to the heat-related burden.
METHODS: We collected injury hospitalization data from a nationwide hospital-based registry in China during 2000-2019. Using a time-stratified case-crossover design, we investigated the associations between daily mean temperature (°C) and cause-specific injury hospitalizations. We also quantified the burden of heat-related injuries under the scenarios with and without anthropogenic forcing, using the Detection and Attribution Model Intercomparison Project to assess the contribution of human-induced warming.
RESULTS: Our study included a total of 988,087 patients with hospitalization records for injuries. Overall, compared to the temperature at minimum risk of hospitalization ( - 12.1°C), the relative risk of hospitalization at extreme hot temperature (30.8°C, 97.5th percentile) was 1.18 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.14, 1.22], with an approximately linear association between temperature and hospitalization. Vulnerability to heat-related injuries was more pronounced among males, young ( < 18 years of age) or middle-aged (45-64 years of age) individuals, and those living in the North. The heat-related attributable fraction increased from 23.2% in the 2000s to 23.6% in the 2010s, with a corresponding increase in the contribution of human-induced change over time. In the 2010s, the heat-related attributable fractions for specific causes of injury ranged from 12.4% to 54.4%, with human-induced change accounting for 6.7% to 10.6% of the burden.
DISCUSSION: This nationwide study presents new evidence of significant associations between temperature and cause-specific injury hospitalizations in China and highlights the increasing contribution of human-induced warming to the injury burden. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP14057.
Language: en |
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Keywords
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*Climate Change; *Cross-Over Studies; *Hospitalization/statistics & numerical data; *Hot Temperature/adverse effects; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Child; Child, Preschool; China/epidemiology; Female; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Male; Middle Aged; Wounds and Injuries/epidemiology; Young Adult |