Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of extreme ambient temperature on hospital emergency room (ER) visits related to mental and behavior disorders in Toronto, Canada.
Methods: A time series study was conducted using health and climatic data from April 1st 2002 to March 31st 2010. Relative risks for increases in ER visits were estimated for specific mental and behavior disorders (MBD) after exposure to hot and cold temperatures while using 50th percentile of the mean temperature distribution as the reference. The non-linear nature of the exposure–outcome relationship was accounted for using a distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM). The effects of seasonality, humidity, day of the week and outdoor air pollutants (CO2, O3, PM2.5, NO2, and SO2) were also adjusted.
Results: We observed positive associations between elevated mean temperatures and hospital ER visits for MBD. For hot temperatures, significant increases in ER visits for MBD were observed after a mean temperature threshold of about 24°C. The association generally lasted about 3 to 4 lag days with the strongest effect occuring at lag 0 (RR = 1.06; 95% CI: 1.03 - 1.09). Similar trends and associations were observed for specific mental illnesses such as mood, neurotic, substance abuse, and schizophrenia related disorders. Cold temperature associations were only observed for schizophrenia.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that extreme temperature poses a risk to the health and wellbeing for individuals with mental and behavior disorders. Patient management and education may need to be improved as extreme temperatures become more prevalent. / Thesis (Master, Community Health & Epidemiology) -- Queen's University, 2013-05-24 14:46:14.57
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:OKQ.1974/8040 |
| Date | 27 May 2013 |
| Creators | Wang, XIANG |
| Contributors | Queen's University (Kingston, Ont.). Theses (Queen's University (Kingston, Ont.)) |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner. |
| Relation | Canadian theses |
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