Heat Index: An Alternative Indicator for Measuring the Impacts of Meteorological Factors on Diarrhoea in the Climate Change Era: A Time Series Study in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Farhana Haque (), Fiona C. Lampe, Shakoor Hajat, Katerina Stavrianaki, S. M. Tafsir Hasan, A. S. G. Faruque, Tahmeed Ahmed, Shamim Jubayer and Ilan Kelman
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Farhana Haque: Institute for Global Health (IGH), University College London (UCL), London WC1N 1EH, UK
Fiona C. Lampe: Institute for Global Health (IGH), University College London (UCL), London WC1N 1EH, UK
Shakoor Hajat: Department of Public Health, Environments and Society, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), London WC1H 9SH, UK
Katerina Stavrianaki: Department of Statistical Science, Department of Risk and Disaster Reduction, University College London (UCL), London WC1E 6BT, UK
S. M. Tafsir Hasan: Nutrition Research Division (NRD), International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
A. S. G. Faruque: Nutrition Research Division (NRD), International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Tahmeed Ahmed: Nutrition Research Division (NRD), International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Shamim Jubayer: Department of Epidemiology and Research, National Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute, Dhaka 1216, Bangladesh
Ilan Kelman: Institute for Global Health (IGH) and Department of Risk and Disaster Reduction, University College London (UCL), London WC1E 6BT, UK

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 11, 1-13

Abstract: Heat index (HI) is a biometeorological indicator that combines temperature and relative humidity. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the Heat Index and daily counts of diarrhoea hospitalisation in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Data on daily diarrhoea hospitalisations and meteorological variables from 1981 to 2010 were collected. We categorised the Heat Index of >94.3 °F (>34.6 °C), >100.7 °F (>38.2 °C) and >105 °F (>40.6 °C) as high, very high and extremely high Heat Index, respectively. We applied a time series adjusted generalised linear model (GLM) with negative binomial distribution to investigate the effects of the Heat Index and extreme Heat Index on hospitalisations for diarrhoea. Effects were assessed for all ages, children under 5 years old and by gender. A unit higher HI and high, very high and extremely high HI were associated with 0.8%, 8%, 7% and 9% increase in diarrhoea hospitalisations in all ages, respectively. The effects varied slightly by gender and were most pronounced in children under 5 years old with a rise of 1°F in high, very high and extremely high HI associated with a 14.1% (95% CI: 11.3–17.0%), 18.3% (95% CI: 13.4–23.5%) and 18.1% (95% CI: 8.4–28.6%) increase of diarrhoea, respectively. This suggests that the Heat Index may serve as an alternative indicator for measuring the combined effects of temperature and humidity on diarrhoea.

Keywords: heat index; diarrhoeal disease; HI; diarrhoea; Bangladesh (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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