Cold weather increases the risk of mortality in Texas residents, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health. The findings were recently published in the journal Environmental Pollution.
Cold weather increases the risk of mortality in Texas residents, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health. The findings were recently published in the journal Environmental Pollution.
In the state’s 12 major metro areas from 1990 to 2011, researchers found that cold temperatures significantly increased the risk of mortality by up to 5 percent with a 1 degree Celsius decrease in temperature in the winter. A 1-degree Celsius drop caused a combined 166 excessive deaths, researchers found. Higher mortality risks were observed in areas with higher winter temperatures and lower latitudes. For the metropolitan areas along the Gulf Coast, increased risk in mortality ranged from 2 to 5 percent.
“Cold weather can trigger certain diseases and even death because it can put extra strain on body systems such as the thermoregulation, heart and circulatory systems. With changing temperatures, your body has to adjust to maintain a stable body temperature,” said senior author Kai Zhang, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences.
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