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Impact of heat exposure on health during a warm period in Cyprus

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Abstract

People exposed to heat experience symptoms of varying severity, from mild manifestations to heat stroke. Due to global warming, interest in the impact of heat exposure on human health has been increasing. This study investigated the association between outdoor thermal conditions and heat-related symptoms experienced by pedestrians in a temperate-Mediterranean and hot semi-arid climate. In the study, pedestrians participated in questionnaire-based surveys at outdoor sites in Cyprus in summer and autumn 2019 while the weather conditions at the sites were recorded. In the surveys, pedestrians reported whether they had experienced heat-related symptoms. The physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) was used to estimate the effect of the thermal environment. Statistical analyses of the data included the use of multivariable logistic regression models. In total, 1880 individuals (999 males, 54.2%; mean age ± standard deviation 38.4 ± 18.4 years) responded to the surveys of heat-related symptoms. An increase of 1 °C in air temperature (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 1.10, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.04–1.16) or PET (aOR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.01–1.07) was associated with an elevated probability of reporting heat-related symptoms. The magnitude of the association of PET with the reporting of heat-related symptoms was found to be higher for nonpermanent residents in Cyprus (aOR: 1.11, 95% CI: 1.02–1.21). Females were more likely than males to report heat-related symptoms (aOR: 2.36, 95% CI: 1.82–3.06). Visiting the monitoring site for work (aOR: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.26–2.26) or reporting a medical history of respiratory disease (aOR: 3.60, 95% CI: 2.39–5.42) were associated with an increased likelihood of reporting heat-related symptoms. The thermal conditions and participant characteristics were associated with increased reporting of heat-related symptoms during non-heat-wave but warm periods in Cyprus. These results could have implications for adaptation measures, healthcare delivery, and public health services.

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Acknowledgements

This research was co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the Republic of Cyprus through the Research and Innovation Foundation (project: EXCELLENCE/1216/0007).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical School, University of Cyprus, P.O.Box 20537, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Katerina Pantavou, George Giallouros, Spyridon Lykoudis, Georgios Markozannes, Effrosini Constantinou, Anastasia Panagi, Mary Economou, Andrea Georgiou, Antonis Pilavas, Melanie Theodoridou, Paraskevi Kinni & Georgios K. Nikolopoulos

  2. Department of Business and Public Administration, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus

    George Giallouros

  3. Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, School of Medicine, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece

    Georgios Markozannes

  4. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Milan, Italy

    Stefanos Bonovas

  5. Humanitas Clinical and Research Center, Milan, Italy

    Stefanos Bonovas

  6. Department of Environmental Physics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Constantinos Cartalis

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  1. Katerina Pantavou
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  2. George Giallouros
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  13. Constantinos Cartalis
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  14. Georgios K. Nikolopoulos
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Georgios K. Nikolopoulos.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

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Communicated by Imed Gargouri, Associate Editor.

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Pantavou, K., Giallouros, G., Lykoudis, S. et al. Impact of heat exposure on health during a warm period in Cyprus. Euro-Mediterr J Environ Integr 5, 27 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41207-020-00164-0

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