![]() ![]() In the United States (US), roughly 700 heat-related deaths per year are attributable to ambient temperature exposure. Heat waves are associated with an increased risk of HRI outcomes. (2010) reported that epidemiologic-based algorithms (temperature−mortality relationship) identified the days with higher heat-related mortality. Heat waves are typically classified using a synoptic (e.g., air mass, temperature-humidity index), physiologic (e.g., Environmental Stress Index, Wet Bulb Global Temperature), or epidemiologic approach. However, no standard definition exists to identify heat waves. Our findings could be used for public health education and suggest recalibrating NWS heat products.Ī heat wave is often described as an acute episode of one or more consecutive days with temperatures or heat indices exceeding a threshold value. This study compared the HRI morbidity risk associated with epidemiologic-based HWDs and with NWS heat products. The HWDs with optimal model performance included in this study captured moderate and frequent heat episodes compared to the National Weather Service (NWS) heat products. In the Piedmont region, HWD based on the daily minimum temperature with a threshold value > 90th percentile for two or more consecutive days was optimal. In the Coastal region, HWDs based on daily maximum temperature with a threshold > 90th percentile for two or more consecutive days had the optimal model fit. We compared the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) values across the HWDs to identify an optimal HWD. The HRI rate ratios associated with heat waves were estimated using the generalized linear regression framework assuming a negative binomial distribution. ![]() This study compared the sensitivity of 28 HWDs associated with HRI emergency department visits over five summer seasons (2011–2016), stratified by two physiographic regions (Coastal and Piedmont) in North Carolina. The relevance of heat wave definitions (HWDs) could change across health conditions and geographies due to the heterogenous climate profile. Exposure to extreme heat is a known risk factor that is associated with increased heat-related illness (HRI) outcomes.
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