For debate: The August sun and the December snow

Journal of the American Medical Directors Association
Fiammetta MonacelliPatrizio Odetti

Abstract

A growing body of evidence claims there is a pivotal role of heat temperatures and summer hot spells in the pathogenesis of exceeding morbidity and mortality among older people. The European well-known "2003 killer hot summer" has boosted many epidemiological and clinical investigations to clarify the pathogenetic correlation between hot spells and elderly mortality with new acquirements in terms of pathophysiology, preventive measures, and therapeutic approaches. However, a quite controversial issue arises: overall elderly mortality is higher in the cold winter compared with summer. The progressive development of preventive, therapeutic, and environmental measures, if targeted with promptness, has generally proven effective in coping with heat temperature, restraining elderly mortality. However, few investigations have been performed dealing with cold, with pioneeristic as well as simplistic approaches, without any conclusiveness or effectiveness in terms of prevention or therapy. Data from recent literature enlist various clinical and environmental approaches in counteracting cold-related mortality in elderly, but lack evidence-based results; a recent European collaborative study reported cold-related elderly mortality as non...Continue Reading

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Citations

Dec 1, 2012·Global Health Action·Thaddaeus EgondiJoacim Rocklöv
May 20, 2011·Maturitas·Kathryn C ConlonMarie S O'Neill

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