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Muhamad SN, How V, Lim FL, Md Akim A, Karuppiah K, Mohd Shabri NSA. Assessment of heat stress contributing factors in the indoor environment among vulnerable populations in Klang Valley using principal component analysis (PCA). Sci Rep 2024; 14:16265. [PMID: 39009671 PMCID: PMC11251149 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-67110-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2024] [Accepted: 07/08/2024] [Indexed: 07/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Rising global temperatures can lead to heat waves, which in turn can pose health risks to the community. However, a notable gap remains in highlighting the primary contributing factors that amplify heat-health risk among vulnerable populations. This study aims to evaluate the precedence of heat stress contributing factors in urban and rural vulnerable populations living in hot and humid tropical regions. A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted, involving 108 respondents from urban and rural areas in Klang Valley, Malaysia, using a face-to-face interview and a validated questionnaire. Data was analyzed using the principal component analysis, categorizing factors into exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity indicators. In urban areas, five principal components (PCs) explained 64.3% of variability, with primary factors being sensitivity (health morbidity, medicine intake, increased age), adaptive capacity (outdoor occupation type, lack of ceiling, longer residency duration), and exposure (lower ceiling height, increased building age). In rural, five PCs explained 71.5% of variability, with primary factors being exposure (lack of ceiling, high thermal conductivity roof material, increased building age, shorter residency duration), sensitivity (health morbidity, medicine intake, increased age), and adaptive capacity (female, non-smoking, higher BMI). The order of heat-health vulnerability indicators was sensitivity > adaptive capacity > exposure for urban areas, and exposure > sensitivity > adaptive capacity for rural areas. This study demonstrated a different pattern of leading contributors to heat stress between urban and rural vulnerable populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siti Nurfahirah Muhamad
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Vivien How
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
| | - Fang Lee Lim
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology (FEGT), Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kampar, Perak, Malaysia
| | - Abdah Md Akim
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Karmegam Karuppiah
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Nur Shabrina Azreen Mohd Shabri
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
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Amoatey P, Osborne NJ, Darssan D, Xu Z, Doan QV, Phung D. The effects of diurnal temperature range on mortality and emergency department presentations in Victoria state of Australia: A time-series analysis. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2024; 240:117397. [PMID: 37879389 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Revised: 07/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023]
Abstract
State of Victoria, Australia (SVA) has a wide variation of diurnal temperatures (DTR). DTR has been reported to be associated with risk of mortality and morbidity. We examined the association between exposure to DTR and risk of all-cause mortality and emergency department (ED) presentations in the SVA. We obtained data on daily counts of deaths and ED presentations, and weather data from 1 st January 2000─2019. We applied a quasi-Poisson time-series regression analysis to examine the association between daily DTR exposures and risk of mortality and ED presentations. The analyses were queried by age, sex, seasons, ED presentations triages, and departure status. Risk of mortality and ED presentation increased by 0.33% (95% CI: 0.24%-0.43%), and 0.094% (95% CI: 0.077%-0.11%) in relation to one degree increase in the daily DTR. The association between DTR and ED presentations was stronger in children (0-15 years) (0.38% [95% CI: 0.34%-0.42%]) and the elderly (75+ years) (0.34% [95% CI: 0.29%-0.39%]). Resuscitation, which was consistently accounted for the highest vulnerability to DTR variation, increased by 0.79% (95% CI: 0.60%-0.99%). This study suggests that the risk of mortality and ED presentations associates with the increase of DTR. Children, the elderly, and their caregivers need to be made aware of the health risk posed by DTR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Amoatey
- School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Australia
| | - Nicholas J Osborne
- School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Australia; School of Population Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia; European Centre for Environment and Human Health (ECEHH), University of Exeter Medical School, Knowledge Spa, Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro TR1 3HD, Cornwall, UK; Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, The University of Queensland, Australia
| | - Darsy Darssan
- School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Australia
| | - Zhiwei Xu
- School of Medicine and Dentistry, Griffith University, Australia
| | - Quang-Van Doan
- Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Dung Phung
- School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Australia; Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, The University of Queensland, Australia.
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Jiang Q, Dill SE, Sylvia S, Singh MK, She X, Wang E, Medina A, Rozelle S. Parenting centers and caregiver mental health: Evidence from a large-scale randomized controlled trial in China. Child Dev 2022; 93:1559-1573. [PMID: 35481708 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
This study conducts an exploratory analysis of the impacts of a center-based early childhood development intervention on the mental health of caregivers, using data from a cluster-randomized controlled trial of 1664 caregivers (Mage = 36.87 years old) of 6- to 24-month-old children in 100 villages in rural China. Caregivers and children in 50 villages received individual parenting training, group activities and open play space in village parenting centers. The results show no significant overall change in caregiver-reported mental health symptoms after 1 year of intervention. Subgroup analyses reveal heterogeneous effects by caregiver socioeconomic status and identity (mother vs. grandmother). Findings suggest that early childhood development interventions without targeted mental health components may not provide sufficient support to improve caregiver mental health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Jiang
- Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Sarah-Eve Dill
- Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Sean Sylvia
- Gillings school of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Manpreet K Singh
- School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.,Stanford Pediatric Mood Disorders Program, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Xinshu She
- School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Eric Wang
- Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Alexis Medina
- Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Scott Rozelle
- Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
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Cheng W, Li D, Liu Z, Brown RD. Approaches for identifying heat-vulnerable populations and locations: A systematic review. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 799:149417. [PMID: 34426358 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2021] [Revised: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 07/29/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Heat related morbidity and mortality, especially during extreme heat events, are increasing due to climate change. More Americans die from heat than from all other natural disasters combined. Identifying the populations and locations that are under high risk of heat vulnerability is important for urban planning and design policy making as well as health interventions. An increasing number of heat vulnerability/risk models and indices (HV/R) have been developed based on indicators related to population heat susceptibility such as sociodemographic and environmental factors. The objectives of this study are to summarize and analyze current HV/R's construction, calculation, and validation, evaluate the limitation of these methods, and provide directions for future HV/R and related studies. This systematic review used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework and used 5 datasets for the literature search. Journal articles that developed indices or models to assess population level heat-related vulnerability or risks in the past 50 years were included. A total of 52 papers were included for analysis on model construction, data sources, weighting schemes and model validation. By synthesizing the findings, we suggested: (1) include relevant and accurately measured indicators; (2) select rational weighting methods and; (3) conduct model validation. We also concluded that it is important for future heat vulnerability models and indices studies to: (1) be conducted in more tropical areas; (2) include a comprehensive understanding of energy exchanges between landscape elements and humans; and (3) be applied in urban planning and policy making practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenwen Cheng
- Gibbs College of Architecture, The University of Oklahoma, OK, USA.
| | - Dongying Li
- Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A&M University, TX, USA.
| | - Zhixin Liu
- Institute of Future Cities, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Robert D Brown
- Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
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Urban Green Infrastructure and Green Open Spaces: An Issue of Social Fairness in Times of COVID-19 Crisis. SUSTAINABILITY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/su131910606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
At the time of the restrictions and lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, it became apparent how difficult it is for city dwellers to adhere to the prescribed behavioural measures and the protective distance in densely built urban areas. Inner-city parks and green spaces were heavily used for recreational purposes and were thus periodically overcrowded. These observations highlight the need for green open spaces in urban areas, especially in exceptional situations regarding pandemics and climate-related heat periods. Green open spaces and greened buildings help cities and the population cope with the consequences of climate change and have a decisive positive effect on human health and well-being. This paper aims to outline which social issues are related to the availability of green infrastructure close to home and which health consequences need to be considered. The COVID-19 challenges could offer a chance and an opportunity to increase the resilience of cities and their inhabitants in various terms. A cross-disciplinary team of authors (public health, urban and landscape planning, landscaping and vegetation technologies science) describes and discusses challenges and opportunities that arise from this crisis for cities from an inter-disciplinary perspective, concluding that urban green infrastructure helps in two ways: to adapt to climate change and the challenges posed by COVID-19.
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Zheng M, Zhang J, Shi L, Zhang D, Pangali Sharma TP, Prodhan FA. Mapping Heat-Related Risks in Northern Jiangxi Province of China Based on Two Spatial Assessment Frameworks Approaches. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:ijerph17186584. [PMID: 32927631 PMCID: PMC7559026 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17186584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2020] [Revised: 08/24/2020] [Accepted: 09/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Heat-health risk is a growing concern in many regions of China due to the more frequent occurrence of extremely hot weather. Spatial indexes based on various heat assessment frameworks can be used for the assessment of heat risks. In this study, we adopted two approaches—Crichton’s risk triangle and heat vulnerability index (HVI) to identify heat-health risks in the Northern Jiangxi Province of China, by using remote sensing and socio-economic data. The Geographical Information System (GIS) overlay and principal component analysis (PCA) were separately used in two frameworks to integrate parameters. The results show that the most densely populated community in the suburbs, instead of city centers, are exposed to the highest heat risk. A comparison of two heat assessment mapping indicates that the distribution of HVI highlights the vulnerability differences between census tracts. In contrast, the heat risk index of Crichton’s risk triangle has a prominent representation for regions with high risks. The stepwise multiple linear regression zero-order correlation coefficient between HVI and outdoor workers is 0.715, highlighting the vulnerability of this particular group. Spearman’s rho nonparametric correlation and the mean test reveals that heat risk index is strongly correlated with HVI in most of the main urban regions in the study area, with a significantly lower value than the latter. The analysis of variance shows that the distribution of HVI exhibits greater variety across urban regions than that of heat risk index. Our research provides new insight into heat risk assessment for further study of heat health risk in developing countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minxuan Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Sciences, Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100094, China; (M.Z.); (L.S.); (D.Z.); (T.P.P.S.); (F.A.P.)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Jiahua Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Sciences, Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100094, China; (M.Z.); (L.S.); (D.Z.); (T.P.P.S.); (F.A.P.)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- Correspondence:
| | - Lamei Shi
- Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Sciences, Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100094, China; (M.Z.); (L.S.); (D.Z.); (T.P.P.S.); (F.A.P.)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Da Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Sciences, Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100094, China; (M.Z.); (L.S.); (D.Z.); (T.P.P.S.); (F.A.P.)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Til Prasad Pangali Sharma
- Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Sciences, Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100094, China; (M.Z.); (L.S.); (D.Z.); (T.P.P.S.); (F.A.P.)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Foyez Ahmed Prodhan
- Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Sciences, Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100094, China; (M.Z.); (L.S.); (D.Z.); (T.P.P.S.); (F.A.P.)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur-1706, Bangladesh
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New ECOSTRESS and MODIS Land Surface Temperature Data Reveal Fine-Scale Heat Vulnerability in Cities: A Case Study for Los Angeles County, California. REMOTE SENSING 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/rs11182136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Rapid 21st century urbanization combined with anthropogenic climate warming are significantly increasing heat-related health threats in cities worldwide. In Los Angeles (LA), increasing trends in extreme heat are expected to intensify and exacerbate the urban heat island effect, leading to greater health risks for vulnerable populations. Partnerships between city policymakers and scientists are becoming more important as the need to provide data-driven recommendations for sustainability and mitigation efforts becomes critical. Here we present a model to produce heat vulnerability index (HVI) maps driven by surface temperature data from National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) new Ecosystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) thermal infrared sensor. ECOSTRESS was launched in June 2018 with the capability to image fine-scale urban temperatures at a 70 m resolution throughout different times of the day and night. The HVI model further includes information on socio-demographic data, green vegetation abundance, and historical heatwave temperatures from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor onboard the Aqua spacecraft since 2002. During a period of high heat in July 2018, we identified the five most vulnerable communities at a sub-city block scale in the LA region. The persistence of high HVI throughout the day and night in these areas indicates a clear and urgent need for implementing cooling technologies and green infrastructure to curb future warming.
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