Analysis of Mortality Change Rate from Temperature in Summer by Age, Occupation, Household Type, and Chronic Diseases in 229 Korean Municipalities from 2007–2016

Jongchul Park, Yeora Chae and Seo Hyung Choi
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Jongchul Park: Korea Environment Institute, 370 Sicheong-daero, Sejong 30147, Korea
Yeora Chae: Korea Environment Institute, 370 Sicheong-daero, Sejong 30147, Korea
Seo Hyung Choi: Korea Environment Institute, 370 Sicheong-daero, Sejong 30147, Korea

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: This study analyzed mortality change rate (MCR: daily change rate of mortality at a given temperature per average summer mortality) for 229 municipalities in Korea considering age, occupation, household type, chronic diseases, and regional temperature distribution. We found that the MCR for heat wave differs depending on socioeconomic factors and the temperature distribution in the region. The MCRs for the elderly (≥65 years of age), outdoor workers, one-person households, and chronic disease patients start to increase at lower temperatures and react more sensitively to temperature than others. For the socioeconomic factors considered in this study, occupation was found to be the most significant factor for the MCR differences (outdoor workers 1.17 and others 1.10 above 35 °C, p < 0.01). The MCRs of elderly outdoor workers increased consistently with temperature, while the MCRs of younger outdoor workers decreased at 33 °C, the heat wave warning level in Korea. The MCRs in lower temperature regions start to increase at 28 °C, whereas the MCRs start to increase at 30 °C in higher temperature regions. The results of this study suggest that heat wave policies should be based on contextualized impacts considering age, occupation, household type, chronic disease, and regional temperature distribution.

Keywords: heat waves; mortality; age; occupation; household type; chronic diseases; temperature distribution; Korea (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 (3)

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