the effect of high ambient temperature on the elderly population in three regions of sweden高环境温度的影响在三个地区老年人口的瑞典.pdf

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2010, 7, 2607-2619; doi:10.3390/ijerph7062607 OPEN ACCESS International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ISSN 1660-4601 /journal/ijerph Article The Effect of High Ambient Temperature on the Elderly Population in Three Regions of Sweden Joacim Rocklöv * and Bertil Forsberg Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden; E-Mail: Bertil.Forsberg@envmed.umu.se * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: joacim.rocklov@envmed.umu.se; Tel.: +46-90-7851635. Received: 11 May 2010 / Accepted: 4 June 2010 / Published: 14 June 2010 Abstract: The short-term effects of high temperatures are a serious concern in the context of climate change. In areas that today have mild climates the research activity has been rather limited, despite the fact that differences in temperature susceptibility will play a fundamental role in understanding the exposure, acclimatization, adaptation and health risks of a changing climate. In addition, many studies employ biometeorological indexes without careful investigation of the regional heterogeneity in the impact of relative humidity. We aimed to investigate the effects of summer temperature