Study on the Health Effect of Temperature on Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases in Haikou City

Abstract

Research on the impact of temperature in tropical regions on the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases was limited. The aim of the study was to investigate this topic using Haikou, a tropical city, as the research area. Outpatient data on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases (CVD and CeVD) from Hainan Provincial People’s Hospital during 2016–2018 (total of 77,820) and meteorological and air-quality data were used to establish a distributed-lag nonlinear model (DLNM) based on the nested generalized addition model (GAM) of meteorological elements. The results revealed the impact on the risk of CVD and CeVD was mainly due to the cold effect, which significantly lagged behind. The thermal effect had a strong impact on the onset of CVD and CeVD on the day of high temperature. Males were easily affected by low temperatures, while females were the opposite. The lag period of the working-age group affected by low temperatures was longer and greater than that of the elderly group. The high-temperature effect only had an impact on the working-age group. The lag effect of low temperatures on the risk of hypertension was the greatest. These results can provide technical support for carrying out meteorological forecasting, warning, and services for individuals with CVD and CeVD, suggesting attaching importance to health protection for special populations.