Systematic review of the association between temperature and mortality in South Asia
Year: 2019
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: PDS 72: Environmental health issues in LMIC, Exhibition Hall (PDS), Ground floor, August 28, 2019, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM Background: South Asia is recognised as being highly vulnerable to climate change and is projected to experience rising temperatures and intensified heatwaves in the coming decades. Although the adverse impacts of ambient temperature on human health have been extensively documented in the literature, only a limited number of studies have attempted to quantify these effects for the population in this region. Objective: The aim of this review is to establish the current state and quality of evidence on the direct impact of hot and cold temperature on mortality in South Asia, to quantify this relationship and to identify knowledge gaps. Methods: The databases Pubmed, Web of Science, Scopus and Embase were searched for quantitative studies, which examined the direct relationship between ambient temperature and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in South Asia. We considered studies, which used temperature as an exposure measure as well as those referring to heat waves or combining measures of temperature and humidity. Study quality was assessed based on the Office of Health Assessment and Translation Risk of Bias Rating Tool. Until now we have conducted a narrative synthesis on all included studies and we are currently applying a meta-analytical approach to quantify the relationship between mean daily temperature and all-cause mortality. Results: Of the 21 selected publications, 12 focused on India, 8 on Bangladesh and one on Pakistan. 81 % of the studies reported a positive association between high temperature and mortality, while 48 % also observed an association for low temperature. Effects were found to vary with cause of death, age, sex, location (urban vs. rural), socio-economic status and lag period. Conclusions: Existing evidence supports that both high and low temperatures have an impact on mortality in South Asia, but this is limited to studies conducted predominantly in India and Bangladesh.
Source: Environmental Epidemiology
Authors: Dimitrova A, Ingole V, Basagaña X, Tonne C
Institution: Barcelona Institute for Global Health
Language: English
Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,200
OpenAlex ID: W2981757004