摘要: Heat waves that struck later in the summer didn‘t appear to lead to fewerhospitalizations than heat waves that hit earlier in the season。 ? Heat Wave Health More than 8,000 people in the U。 Heat-related deaths and illnesses are often preventable。...
Aug. 9, 2007 -- When heat waves hit, more senior citizens are hospitalized, a new Italian study shows.
The researchers included Giuseppe Mastrangelo, MD, of Italy's University of Padova.
They tracked hospitalizations among people age 75 and older during five heat waves that took place in Italy's Veneto region during 2002 and 2003.
Mastrangelo's team noted a rise in hospitalizations for heat-related conditions (dehydration, heat stroke, and acute kidney failure) among elders.
"At least four consecutive hot, humid days were required to observe a major increase in hospital admissions," write Mastrangelo and colleagues.
For instance, elders' hospitalizations for heat-related conditions more than doubled and their hospitalizations for respiratory diseases rose by about 50% when heat waves lasted for at least four days.
Heat waves that struck later in the summer didn't appear to lead to fewer hospitalizations than heat waves that hit earlier in the season.
That finding suggests that people don't get used to the heat as the summer progresses, the researchers note online in the journal BMC Public Health.
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More than 8,000 people in the U.S. died from excessive heat exposure between 1979 and 2003, according to the CDC.
Heat-related deaths and illnesses are often preventable. Here are the CDC's tips:
