Effects of High Temperature on COVID‐19 Deaths in U.S. Counties
Abstract The United States of America (USA) was afflicted by extreme heat in the summer of 2021 and some states experienced a record‐hot or top‐10 hottest summer. Meanwhile, the United States was also one of the countries impacted most by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. Growing num...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Geophysical Union (AGU)
2023-03-01
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| Series: | GeoHealth |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GH000705 |
| _version_ | 1827957216076890112 |
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| author | Bowen Chu Renjie Chen Qi Liu Haikun Wang |
| author_facet | Bowen Chu Renjie Chen Qi Liu Haikun Wang |
| author_sort | Bowen Chu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The United States of America (USA) was afflicted by extreme heat in the summer of 2021 and some states experienced a record‐hot or top‐10 hottest summer. Meanwhile, the United States was also one of the countries impacted most by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. Growing numbers of studies have revealed that meteorological factors such as temperature may influence the number of confirmed COVID‐19 cases and deaths. However, the associations between temperature and COVID‐19 severity differ in various study areas and periods, especially in periods of high temperatures. Here we choose 119 US counties with large counts of COVID‐19 deaths during the summer of 2021 to examine the relationship between COVID‐19 deaths and temperature by applying a two‐stage epidemiological analytical approach. We also calculate the years of life lost (YLL) owing to COVID‐19 and the corresponding values attributable to high temperature exposure. The daily mean temperature is approximately positively correlated with COVID‐19 deaths nationwide, with a relative risk of 1.108 (95% confidence interval: 1.046, 1.173) in the 90th percentile of the mean temperature distribution compared with the median temperature. In addition, 0.02 YLL per COVID‐19 death attributable to high temperature are estimated at the national level, and distinct spatial variability from −0.10 to 0.08 years is observed in different states. Our results provide new evidence on the relationship between high temperature and COVID‐19 deaths, which might help us to understand the underlying modulation of the COVID‐19 pandemic by meteorological variables and to develop epidemic policy response strategies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T15:15:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0e85148f4cc746d39b3277d144c207f5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2471-1403 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T15:15:44Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | American Geophysical Union (AGU) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | GeoHealth |
| spelling | doaj.art-0e85148f4cc746d39b3277d144c207f52023-04-29T16:55:25ZengAmerican Geophysical Union (AGU)GeoHealth2471-14032023-03-0173n/an/a10.1029/2022GH000705Effects of High Temperature on COVID‐19 Deaths in U.S. CountiesBowen Chu0Renjie Chen1Qi Liu2Haikun Wang3Joint International Research Laboratory of Atmospheric and Earth System Sciences School of Atmospheric Sciences Nanjing University Nanjing ChinaSchool of Public Health Key Lab of Public Health Safety of the Ministry of Education and National Health Commission Key Lab of Health Technology Assessment Fudan University Shanghai ChinaJoint International Research Laboratory of Atmospheric and Earth System Sciences School of Atmospheric Sciences Nanjing University Nanjing ChinaJoint International Research Laboratory of Atmospheric and Earth System Sciences School of Atmospheric Sciences Nanjing University Nanjing ChinaAbstract The United States of America (USA) was afflicted by extreme heat in the summer of 2021 and some states experienced a record‐hot or top‐10 hottest summer. Meanwhile, the United States was also one of the countries impacted most by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. Growing numbers of studies have revealed that meteorological factors such as temperature may influence the number of confirmed COVID‐19 cases and deaths. However, the associations between temperature and COVID‐19 severity differ in various study areas and periods, especially in periods of high temperatures. Here we choose 119 US counties with large counts of COVID‐19 deaths during the summer of 2021 to examine the relationship between COVID‐19 deaths and temperature by applying a two‐stage epidemiological analytical approach. We also calculate the years of life lost (YLL) owing to COVID‐19 and the corresponding values attributable to high temperature exposure. The daily mean temperature is approximately positively correlated with COVID‐19 deaths nationwide, with a relative risk of 1.108 (95% confidence interval: 1.046, 1.173) in the 90th percentile of the mean temperature distribution compared with the median temperature. In addition, 0.02 YLL per COVID‐19 death attributable to high temperature are estimated at the national level, and distinct spatial variability from −0.10 to 0.08 years is observed in different states. Our results provide new evidence on the relationship between high temperature and COVID‐19 deaths, which might help us to understand the underlying modulation of the COVID‐19 pandemic by meteorological variables and to develop epidemic policy response strategies.https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GH000705COVID‐19high temperaturemortalityThe United StatesSARS‐CoV‐2 |
| spellingShingle | Bowen Chu Renjie Chen Qi Liu Haikun Wang Effects of High Temperature on COVID‐19 Deaths in U.S. Counties GeoHealth COVID‐19 high temperature mortality The United States SARS‐CoV‐2 |
| title | Effects of High Temperature on COVID‐19 Deaths in U.S. Counties |
| title_full | Effects of High Temperature on COVID‐19 Deaths in U.S. Counties |
| title_fullStr | Effects of High Temperature on COVID‐19 Deaths in U.S. Counties |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of High Temperature on COVID‐19 Deaths in U.S. Counties |
| title_short | Effects of High Temperature on COVID‐19 Deaths in U.S. Counties |
| title_sort | effects of high temperature on covid 19 deaths in u s counties |
| topic | COVID‐19 high temperature mortality The United States SARS‐CoV‐2 |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GH000705 |
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