Heat, Disparities, and Health Outcomes in San Diego County's Diverse Climate Zones
Abstract Climate variability and change are issues of growing public health importance. Numerous studies have documented risks of extreme heat on human health in different locations around the world. Strategies to prevent heat‐related morbidity and reduce disparities are possible but require improve...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
2018-07-01
|
| Series: | GeoHealth |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2017GH000127 |
| _version_ | 1819146972005662720 |
|---|---|
| author | Kristen Guirguis Rupa Basu Wael K. Al‐Delaimy Tarik Benmarhnia Rachel E. S. Clemesha Isabel Corcos Janin Guzman‐Morales Brittany Hailey Ivory Small Alexander Tardy Devesh Vashishtha Joshua G. Zivin Alexander Gershunov |
| author_facet | Kristen Guirguis Rupa Basu Wael K. Al‐Delaimy Tarik Benmarhnia Rachel E. S. Clemesha Isabel Corcos Janin Guzman‐Morales Brittany Hailey Ivory Small Alexander Tardy Devesh Vashishtha Joshua G. Zivin Alexander Gershunov |
| author_sort | Kristen Guirguis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Climate variability and change are issues of growing public health importance. Numerous studies have documented risks of extreme heat on human health in different locations around the world. Strategies to prevent heat‐related morbidity and reduce disparities are possible but require improved knowledge of health outcomes during hot days at a small‐scale level as important within‐city variability in local weather conditions, socio‐demographic composition, and access to air conditioning (AC) may exist. We analyzed hospitalization data for three unique climate regions of San Diego County alongside temperature data spanning 14 years to quantify the health impact of ambient air temperature at varying exceedance threshold levels. Within San Diego, coastal residents were more sensitive to heat than inland residents. At the coast, we detected a health impact at lower temperatures compared to inland locations for multiple disease categories including heat illness, dehydration, acute renal failure, and respiratory disease. Within the milder coastal region where access to AC is not prevalent, heat‐related morbidity was higher in the subset of zip codes where AC saturation is lowest. We detected a 14.6% increase (95% confidence interval [4.5%, 24.6%]) in hospitalizations during hot weather in comparison to colder days in coastal locations where AC is less common, while no significant impact was observed in areas with higher AC saturation. Disparities in AC ownership were associated with income, race/ethnicity, and homeownership. Given that heat waves are expected to increase with climate change, understanding health impacts of heat and the role of acclimation is critical for improving outcomes in the future. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T13:22:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7146624157e34c33bcd5eb53a351c816 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2471-1403 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T13:22:24Z |
| publishDate | 2018-07-01 |
| publisher | American Geophysical Union (AGU) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | GeoHealth |
| spelling | doaj.art-7146624157e34c33bcd5eb53a351c8162022-12-21T18:24:25ZengAmerican Geophysical Union (AGU)GeoHealth2471-14032018-07-012721222310.1029/2017GH000127Heat, Disparities, and Health Outcomes in San Diego County's Diverse Climate ZonesKristen Guirguis0Rupa Basu1Wael K. Al‐Delaimy2Tarik Benmarhnia3Rachel E. S. Clemesha4Isabel Corcos5Janin Guzman‐Morales6Brittany Hailey7Ivory Small8Alexander Tardy9Devesh Vashishtha10Joshua G. Zivin11Alexander Gershunov12Scripps Institution of Oceanography University of California, San Diego La Jolla CA USAOffice of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment California Environmental Protection Agency Oakland CA USASchool of Medicine University of California, San Diego La Jolla CA USAScripps Institution of Oceanography University of California, San Diego La Jolla CA USAScripps Institution of Oceanography University of California, San Diego La Jolla CA USASan Diego Health and Human Services Agency San Diego CA USAScripps Institution of Oceanography University of California, San Diego La Jolla CA USACity of Dallas Office of Environmental Quality Dallas TX USANOAA/National Weather Service San Diego CA USANOAA/National Weather Service San Diego CA USASchool of Medicine University of California, San Diego La Jolla CA USASchool of Global Policy University of California, San Diego La Jolla CA USAScripps Institution of Oceanography University of California, San Diego La Jolla CA USAAbstract Climate variability and change are issues of growing public health importance. Numerous studies have documented risks of extreme heat on human health in different locations around the world. Strategies to prevent heat‐related morbidity and reduce disparities are possible but require improved knowledge of health outcomes during hot days at a small‐scale level as important within‐city variability in local weather conditions, socio‐demographic composition, and access to air conditioning (AC) may exist. We analyzed hospitalization data for three unique climate regions of San Diego County alongside temperature data spanning 14 years to quantify the health impact of ambient air temperature at varying exceedance threshold levels. Within San Diego, coastal residents were more sensitive to heat than inland residents. At the coast, we detected a health impact at lower temperatures compared to inland locations for multiple disease categories including heat illness, dehydration, acute renal failure, and respiratory disease. Within the milder coastal region where access to AC is not prevalent, heat‐related morbidity was higher in the subset of zip codes where AC saturation is lowest. We detected a 14.6% increase (95% confidence interval [4.5%, 24.6%]) in hospitalizations during hot weather in comparison to colder days in coastal locations where AC is less common, while no significant impact was observed in areas with higher AC saturation. Disparities in AC ownership were associated with income, race/ethnicity, and homeownership. Given that heat waves are expected to increase with climate change, understanding health impacts of heat and the role of acclimation is critical for improving outcomes in the future.https://doi.org/10.1029/2017GH000127temperatureheat extremeshealth outcomesdisparitiesair conditioningclimate zones |
| spellingShingle | Kristen Guirguis Rupa Basu Wael K. Al‐Delaimy Tarik Benmarhnia Rachel E. S. Clemesha Isabel Corcos Janin Guzman‐Morales Brittany Hailey Ivory Small Alexander Tardy Devesh Vashishtha Joshua G. Zivin Alexander Gershunov Heat, Disparities, and Health Outcomes in San Diego County's Diverse Climate Zones GeoHealth temperature heat extremes health outcomes disparities air conditioning climate zones |
| title | Heat, Disparities, and Health Outcomes in San Diego County's Diverse Climate Zones |
| title_full | Heat, Disparities, and Health Outcomes in San Diego County's Diverse Climate Zones |
| title_fullStr | Heat, Disparities, and Health Outcomes in San Diego County's Diverse Climate Zones |
| title_full_unstemmed | Heat, Disparities, and Health Outcomes in San Diego County's Diverse Climate Zones |
| title_short | Heat, Disparities, and Health Outcomes in San Diego County's Diverse Climate Zones |
| title_sort | heat disparities and health outcomes in san diego county s diverse climate zones |
| topic | temperature heat extremes health outcomes disparities air conditioning climate zones |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2017GH000127 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kristenguirguis heatdisparitiesandhealthoutcomesinsandiegocountysdiverseclimatezones AT rupabasu heatdisparitiesandhealthoutcomesinsandiegocountysdiverseclimatezones AT waelkaldelaimy heatdisparitiesandhealthoutcomesinsandiegocountysdiverseclimatezones AT tarikbenmarhnia heatdisparitiesandhealthoutcomesinsandiegocountysdiverseclimatezones AT rachelesclemesha heatdisparitiesandhealthoutcomesinsandiegocountysdiverseclimatezones AT isabelcorcos heatdisparitiesandhealthoutcomesinsandiegocountysdiverseclimatezones AT janinguzmanmorales heatdisparitiesandhealthoutcomesinsandiegocountysdiverseclimatezones AT brittanyhailey heatdisparitiesandhealthoutcomesinsandiegocountysdiverseclimatezones AT ivorysmall heatdisparitiesandhealthoutcomesinsandiegocountysdiverseclimatezones AT alexandertardy heatdisparitiesandhealthoutcomesinsandiegocountysdiverseclimatezones AT deveshvashishtha heatdisparitiesandhealthoutcomesinsandiegocountysdiverseclimatezones AT joshuagzivin heatdisparitiesandhealthoutcomesinsandiegocountysdiverseclimatezones AT alexandergershunov heatdisparitiesandhealthoutcomesinsandiegocountysdiverseclimatezones |