Cardiovascular and respiratory hospital admissions during different outdoor thermal conditions in urban areas – A case study of Novi Sad (Serbia)

Extreme temperature events driven by climate change have been recognized as an important concern for the public health, and these threats have been particularly identified in rapidly growing urban settlements around the world. The impact of extremely hot and cold weather, as well as seasonal air temperature changes are associated with increased mortality and hospitalization, especially due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

This study aimed to examine the relationship between different biometeorology conditions, using outdoor theramal comfort (OTC) indices and cardiovascular/respiratory hospital admissions over a multi-year period in Novi Sad, Serbia. We used the following datasets: a) three-year data of OTC indices (Physiological Equivalent Temperature - PET and Mean Radiant Temperature - Tmrt) calculated on the basis of meteorological datasets of the Novi Sad Urban Network (NSUNET); b) cardiovascular/respiratory hospital admissions for 2016-2017; and c) emergency cardiovascular admissions for the 2015-2017 period.

The main goal of our research is to point out that the OTC indices can more comprehensively represent thermal risks to human health or quality of life because in addition to air temperature, they include other meteorological elements (humidity, wind, radiation), which directly affect people. Therefore, OTC indices should be part of urban monitoring networks and prediction and early warning systems that provide heat risk and hazard assessment. Furtheremore, the study outcomes show that hospital admissions pick during summer heat waves, with a time lag from 0 to 3 days. Finally, during very intensive heat waves, the emergency cardiovascular admission picks and reaches about 27% higher value compared to summer season average admission value.

Acknowledgement: The research was supported by the project (number 142-451-2557/2021) financed by the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (regional government).