Examining non-stationary effects of social determinants on cardiovascular mortality after cold surges in Taiwan

Details about the impact of extreme cold on cardiovascular mortality are little known in the countries with warm winters like Taiwan. This study aimed to examine the ecological associations between various social determinants and cardiovascular mortality after cold surges in Taiwan with a spatial pe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Science of the total environment 2010-04, Vol.408 (9), p.2042-2049
Main Authors: Chen, Vivian Yi-Ju, Wu, Pei-Chih, Yang, Tse-Chuan, Su, Huey-Jen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis. Health state
Biological and medical sciences
Cardiovascular Diseases - mortality
Cardiovascular mortality
Cause of Death
Cold surge
Environmental Monitoring - methods
Epidemiological Monitoring
Epidemiology
Extreme Cold - adverse effects
General aspects
Geographically Weighted Poisson Regression
Humans
Medical sciences
Models, Statistical
Non-stationary effect
Public Health
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Rural Population
Social determinants
Socioeconomic Factors
Survival Rate
Taiwan
Taiwan - epidemiology
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Summary:Details about the impact of extreme cold on cardiovascular mortality are little known in the countries with warm winters like Taiwan. This study aimed to examine the ecological associations between various social determinants and cardiovascular mortality after cold surges in Taiwan with a spatial perspective focusing on spatial non-stationarity. The mortality rates at township level in Taiwan were observed from 1997 to 2003. Five social determinants (social disadvantage, lack of economic opportunity, stability, sensitive group, and rurality) were created with the 2000 Taiwan Census data. We analyzed the data using Geographically Weighted Poisson Regression. On average, an immediate increase in cardiovascular mortality was found right after cold surges. All of the five determinants were found to have spatial non-stationary effects on the cardiovascular mortality rates after cold surges. This finding provided an empirical basis for developing public health programs with local emphases on the impacts of extreme cold.
ISSN:0048-9697
1879-1026
DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.11.044