Mount Sinai Hospital, Suite 8-500, 700 University Avenue, Toronto, ON M5G 1X6 Canada.
J Epidemiol Community Health. 2011 Sep;65(9):829-31. doi: 10.1136/jech.2009.101485. Epub 2010 Nov 21.
Concern over the adverse effects of heat on human health has led to numerous studies assessing the relationship between heat and mortality. Few studies have quantified the impact of heat on morbidity, including ambulance response calls. This study describes the association between temperature and ambulance response calls for heat-related illness (HRI) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the summer of 2005.
Data sources included daily temperature, relative humidity and humidex information from Environment Canada, and Medical Priority Dispatch System data from Toronto Emergency Medical Services. Time series and regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between daily temperature and ambulance response calls for HRI during the summer (1 June to 31 August) of 2005.
In 2005, there were 201 ambulance response calls for HRI. On average, for every one degree increase in maximum temperature (°C) there was a 29% increase in ambulance response calls for HRI (p<0.0001). For every one degree increase in mean temperature (°C) there was a 32% increase in ambulance response calls for HRI (p<0.0001).
Given these associations, we urge further exploration of ambulance response calls as a source of HRI morbidity data particularly given the increasing health concerns associated with climate change.
人们对高温对人体健康的不利影响表示担忧，因此开展了大量研究来评估高温与死亡率之间的关系。但很少有研究量化高温对发病率的影响，包括救护车响应呼叫。本研究描述了 2005 年夏季加拿大安大略省多伦多市温度与与高温相关疾病（HRI）相关的救护车响应呼叫之间的关系。
数据来源包括加拿大环境部的每日温度、相对湿度和湿热指数信息，以及多伦多紧急医疗服务的医疗优先调度系统数据。使用时间序列和回归分析来研究 2005 年夏季（6 月 1 日至 8 月 31 日）每日温度与 HRI 相关的救护车响应呼叫之间的关系。
2005 年，有 201 次与 HRI 相关的救护车响应呼叫。平均而言，最高温度每升高 1°C，与 HRI 相关的救护车响应呼叫增加 29%（p<0.0001）。平均温度每升高 1°C，与 HRI 相关的救护车响应呼叫增加 32%（p<0.0001）。
鉴于这些关联，我们敦促进一步探索救护车响应呼叫作为 HRI 发病率数据的来源，特别是考虑到与气候变化相关的健康问题日益增多。
