Association of atmospheric temperature with out-of-hospital natural deaths occurrence before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Osaka, Japan

Abstract In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between out-of-hospital natural death (OHND) and ambient temperature and examine the seriousness of the impact of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on this relationship. We used data from the Osaka Prefectural Office of...

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Main Authors: Hidenori Yoshizawa, Satoshi Hattori, Ken-ichi Yoshida, Hideyuki Maeda, Tetsuhisa Kitamura, Eiichi Morii
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2023-10-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45816-7
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author Hidenori Yoshizawa
Satoshi Hattori
Ken-ichi Yoshida
Hideyuki Maeda
Tetsuhisa Kitamura
Eiichi Morii
author_facet Hidenori Yoshizawa
Satoshi Hattori
Ken-ichi Yoshida
Hideyuki Maeda
Tetsuhisa Kitamura
Eiichi Morii
author_sort Hidenori Yoshizawa
collection DOAJ
description Abstract In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between out-of-hospital natural death (OHND) and ambient temperature and examine the seriousness of the impact of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on this relationship. We used data from the Osaka Prefectural Office of Medical Examiners between 2018 and 2022 and performed a retrospective observational study. A Poisson regression model was applied to examine the relationship between OHND and temperature in Osaka City. The relative risk of OHND at 5 °C and 32 °C compared to the minimum mortality temperature increased from 1.81 in the pre-COVID-19 period to 2.03 in the post-COVID-19 period at 5 °C and from 1.29 in the pre-COVID-19 period to 1.60 in the post-COVID-19 period at 32 °C. The increase in relative risk per 1 °C increase from the pre- to post-COVID-19 period was 1.0551 (rate ratio [RR], p = 0.003) in the hot environment and 1.0233 (RR, p = 0.013) in the cold environment, which was larger than that in the hot environment. Although the risk of OHND increased at both temperatures, the change in OHND risk during post-COVID-19 was larger in the hot environment than in the cold environment, implicating the effect of pandemics in the current scenario of global warming.
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spelling doaj.art-3fefd842eb4244a1a524713dc0aa702a2023-10-29T12:24:23ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-10-0113111010.1038/s41598-023-45816-7Association of atmospheric temperature with out-of-hospital natural deaths occurrence before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Osaka, JapanHidenori Yoshizawa0Satoshi Hattori1Ken-ichi Yoshida2Hideyuki Maeda3Tetsuhisa Kitamura4Eiichi Morii5Department of Diagnostic Pathology, Osaka University HospitalDepartment of Biomedical Statistics, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka UniversityOsaka Prefectural Office of Medical ExaminerOsaka Prefectural Office of Medical ExaminerDepartment of Social and Environmental Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka UniversityDepartment of Diagnostic Pathology, Osaka University HospitalAbstract In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between out-of-hospital natural death (OHND) and ambient temperature and examine the seriousness of the impact of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on this relationship. We used data from the Osaka Prefectural Office of Medical Examiners between 2018 and 2022 and performed a retrospective observational study. A Poisson regression model was applied to examine the relationship between OHND and temperature in Osaka City. The relative risk of OHND at 5 °C and 32 °C compared to the minimum mortality temperature increased from 1.81 in the pre-COVID-19 period to 2.03 in the post-COVID-19 period at 5 °C and from 1.29 in the pre-COVID-19 period to 1.60 in the post-COVID-19 period at 32 °C. The increase in relative risk per 1 °C increase from the pre- to post-COVID-19 period was 1.0551 (rate ratio [RR], p = 0.003) in the hot environment and 1.0233 (RR, p = 0.013) in the cold environment, which was larger than that in the hot environment. Although the risk of OHND increased at both temperatures, the change in OHND risk during post-COVID-19 was larger in the hot environment than in the cold environment, implicating the effect of pandemics in the current scenario of global warming.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45816-7
spellingShingle Hidenori Yoshizawa
Satoshi Hattori
Ken-ichi Yoshida
Hideyuki Maeda
Tetsuhisa Kitamura
Eiichi Morii
Association of atmospheric temperature with out-of-hospital natural deaths occurrence before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Osaka, Japan
Scientific Reports
title Association of atmospheric temperature with out-of-hospital natural deaths occurrence before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Osaka, Japan
title_full Association of atmospheric temperature with out-of-hospital natural deaths occurrence before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Osaka, Japan
title_fullStr Association of atmospheric temperature with out-of-hospital natural deaths occurrence before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Osaka, Japan
title_full_unstemmed Association of atmospheric temperature with out-of-hospital natural deaths occurrence before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Osaka, Japan
title_short Association of atmospheric temperature with out-of-hospital natural deaths occurrence before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Osaka, Japan
title_sort association of atmospheric temperature with out of hospital natural deaths occurrence before and during the covid 19 pandemic in osaka japan
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45816-7
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