Kim KN, Lim YH, Bae S, Kim JH, Hwang SS, Kim MJ, Oh J, Lim H, Choi J, Kwon HJ. Associations between cold spells and hospital admission and mortality due to diabetes: A nationwide multi-region time-series study in Korea.
Sci Total Environ 2022;
838:156464. [PMID:
35660607 DOI:
10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156464]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2022] [Revised: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Climate change is predicted to increase the frequency, intensity, and duration of extreme cold events in the mid-latitudes. However, although diabetes is one of the most critical metabolic diseases due to its high and increasing prevalence worldwide, few studies have investigated the short-term association between cold exposure and diabetes-related outcomes.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between cold spells and their characteristics (intensity, duration, and seasonal timing) and hospital admission and mortality due to diabetes.
METHODS
This study used claims data from the National Health Insurance Service and cause-specific mortality data from Statistics Korea (2010-2019). Cold spells were defined as ≥2 consecutive days with a daily mean temperature lower than the region-specific 5th percentile during the cold season (November-March). Quasi-Poisson regressions combined with distributed lag models were used to assess the associations between exposures and outcomes in 16 regions across the Republic of Korea. Meta-analyses were conducted to pool the region-specific estimates.
RESULTS
Exposure to cold spells was associated with an increased risk of hospital admission [relative risk (RR) = 1.45, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.26, 1.66] and mortality (RR = 2.02, 95% CI: 1.37, 2.99) due to diabetes. The association between cold spells and hospital admission due to diabetes was stronger for cold spells that were more intense, longer, and occurred later during the cold season. The association between cold spells and diabetes-related mortality was stronger for more intense and longer cold spells.
CONCLUSION
This study emphasizes the importance of developing effective interventions against cold spells, including education on the dangers of cold spells and early alarm systems. Further studies are needed to create real-world interventions and evaluate their effectiveness in improving diabetes-related outcomes.
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