Nonoptimal temperatures affect CVD burden globally
Key takeaways:
- Nonoptimal temperatures were associated with a significant proportion of CVD deaths.
- People in lower socioeconomic regions were more vulnerable to the effects of nonoptimal temperatures.
Nonoptimal temperatures may be responsible for an increase in global CVD deaths and disability-adjusted life-years, according to data published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
“Climate change has resulted in more extreme seasonal and daily temperatures across the world, with more frequent heat waves and cold spells, in addition to various weather effects,” Sadeer Al-Kindi, MD, co-director of the Center for Integrated and Novel Approaches in Vascular Metabolic Disease and associate professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, and colleagues wrote. “These ambient temperature changes can result in additional indirect impact on CVD health, via population displacement, reduction in health care access, disruption of health care services and emotional stresses, further increasing risk of cardiovascular events.”
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Using data from the Global Burden of Disease study data, the researchers examined nonoptimal, low and high temperature-related CVD burden and DALYs from 1990 to 2019.
Nonoptimal temperatures were defined as temperature above or below a region’s theoretical minimum-risk exposure level, according to the study.
The researchers found that in 2019, low temperature was associated with 1,104,200 CVD deaths and 19,768,986 CVD DALYs. High temperature was associated with 93,095 CVD deaths and 2,098,989 DALYs. The total nonoptimal temperature-associated CVD deaths were 1,194,195.53 and CVD DALYs were 21,799,370.
The number of nonoptimal temperature-associated CVD deaths in 2019 marked a 45% increase since 1990, when there were 824,813 CVD deaths associated with nonoptimal temperature and 16,583,759 DALYs. Low temperature-related deaths increased by 36% between 1990 and 2019, and high temperature-related deaths increased by 600%.
However, the death rate per 100,000 people from nonoptimal temperature-related CVD decreased by 38%.
When stratified by income, countries with a low sociodemographic index had a greater chance of experiencing CVD-related disability or death as a result of nonoptimal temperatures compared with countries with a high sociodemographic index.
“Our analysis shows that many lower-income countries bear a disproportionately higher burden of nonoptimal temperatures compared to high-income countries.” The researchers wrote. “Specifically, our findings reveal that countries in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of nonoptimal temperatures.”
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