The Impact of Cold and Heat on Years of Life Lost in a Northwestern Chinese City with Temperate Continental Climate

Jiangtao Liu, Yueling Ma, Yuhong Wang, Sheng Li, Shuyu Liu, Xiaotao He, Lanyu Li, Lei Guo, Jingping Niu, Bin Luo and Kai Zhang
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Jiangtao Liu: Institute of Occupational Health and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
Yueling Ma: Institute of Occupational Health and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
Yuhong Wang: Lanzhou Municipal Center for Disease Control, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
Sheng Li: Lanzhou Municipal Center for Disease Control, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
Shuyu Liu: Gansu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
Xiaotao He: Institute of Occupational Health and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
Lanyu Li: Institute of Occupational Health and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
Lei Guo: Institute of Occupational Health and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
Jingping Niu: Institute of Occupational Health and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
Bin Luo: Institute of Occupational Health and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
Kai Zhang: Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 19, 1-13

Abstract: Cold spells and heat waves in a changing climate are well known as great public-health concerns due to their adverse effects on human health. However, very few studies have quantified health impacts of heat and cold in the region of Northwestern China. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of cold and heat on years of life lost (YLL) in Lanzhou, a city with temperate continental climate. We compiled a daily dataset including deaths, weather variables, and air pollutants in Lanzhou, China, from 2014–2017. We used a distributed lag non-linear model to estimate single-day and cumulative effects of heat and cold on daily YLL. Results indicated that both cold and heat were associated with increased YLL for registered residents in Lanzhou. Estimated heat effects appeared immediately in the first two days, while estimated cold effects lasted over a longer period (up to 30 days). Cold significantly increased the YLL of all residents except for males and those with respiratory diseases (≥65 years). Our results showed that both heat and cold had more pronounced effects on cardiovascular diseases compared to respiratory diseases. Males might be more vulnerable to heat, while females might suffer more YLL from cold. The effects of cold or heat on the elderly might appear earlier and last longer than those for other age groups.

Keywords: years of life lost; distributed lag non-linear models; heat effects; cold effects; temperate continental climate (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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