Association between income levels and prevalence of heat- and cold-related illnesses in Korean adults

BMC Public Health

Kyoung-bok Min¹  Hyeong-Seong Lee²  Yeon-Soo Choi²  Jin-young Min³ 

[1] Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea;Institute of Health Policy and Management, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea;Department of Statistics and Data Science, College of Commerce and Economics, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea;Veterans Medical Research Institute, Veterans Health Service Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea;

关键词: Heat wave;    Cold spell;    Climate change;    Illnesses;    Thermoregulation;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-021-11227-4

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundGiven that low income worsens health outcomes, income differences may affect health disparities in weather-related illnesses. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between income levels and prevalence of heat- and cold-related illnesses among Korean adults.MethodsThe current study comprised 535,186 participants with all variables on income and health behaviors. Patients with temperature-related illnesses were defined as individuals with outpatient medical code of heat- and cold-related illnesses. We categorized individual income into three levels: “low” for the fourth quartile (0–25%), “middle” for the second and the third quartiles (25–75%), and “high” for the first quartile (75–100%). To examine income-related health disparities, Cox proportional hazard regression was performed. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CI (confidence interval) for heat- and cold-related illnesses were provided. The model adjusted for age, sex, smoking status, alcohol drinking, exercise, body mass index, hypertension, hyperglycemia, and local income per capita.ResultsA total of 5066 (0.95%) and 3302 (0.62%) cases identified patients with heat- and cold-related illnesses, respectively. Compared with high income patients, the adjusted HR for heat-related illnesses was significantly increased in the low income (adjusted HR = 1.103; 95% CI: 1.022–1.191). For cold-related illnesses, participants with low income were likely to have 1.217 times greater likelihood than those with high income (95% CI: 1.107–1.338), after adjusting for other covariates. In the stratified analysis of age (20–64 years and over 65 years) and sex, there was no difference in the likelihood of heat-related illnesses according to income levels. On the other hand, an HR for cold-related illnesses was higher in patients aged 20 to 64 years than in those aged over 65 years. Male with low income had also a higher HR for cold-related illnesses than female with low income.ConclusionsOur results showed that heat- or cold-related illnesses were more prevalent in Koreans with low income than those with high income. Strategies for low-income subgroups were needed to reduce greater damage due to the influence of extreme temperature events and to implement effective adaptation.

【 授权许可】

CC BY