Universal Thermal Climate Index and Incidences of Stroke in the Age Group 60+ in Sofia, Bulgaria
Universal Thermal Climate Index and Incidences of Stroke in the Age Group 60+ in Sofia, Bulgaria

Author(s): Zornitsa Spasova, Tzvetan Dimitrov
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Geography, Regional studies, Environmental Geography, Sociology, Human Ecology, Welfare services
Published by: Национално издателство за образование и наука „Аз-буки“
Keywords: Universal Thermal Climate Index; cardiovascular; stroke cases in Sofia
Summary/Abstract: The prolonged heat load on human body negatively affects all people, but especially vulnerable are elderly people suffering from cardiovascular disease. In the present paper we study the link between human thermal comfort or discomfort and cases of stroke in the age group over 60, defined as "adults" (60-74 years) and "old" (75-89 years) from the criteria of the World Health Organization, considering their gender distribution. The data for the disease were provided by Adjibadem City Clinic Tokuda Hospital - Sofia and refer to the period 2007-2011. To determine the heat sensation, we used the so-called Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), which is a world-renowned and widely used climate index that characterizes the heat impact on the human body. UTCI is of thermophysiological significance and is valid in a wide range of external weather conditions, including extreme weather events. It reflects the physiological reactions of the "statistically average person", based on the method of heat balance of the human body. The index is used to assess discomfort in both hyperthermia and hypothermia and is presented as temperature scaled. The average number of patients admitted during different UTCI values during the warm half of the year (covering the months of May-September inclusive) was compared. Concerning the total number of cases, the largest number of patients with stroke is observed at UTCI values defined as "very strong heat impact", and the lowest - at comfortable thermal conditions (the so-called weather with "No impact”). Weather defined as "Moderate heat exposition" and "High heat exposure" occupy intermediate values for the number of patients in the clinic. Men in the age group 60-74 were mostly negatively affected by weather defined as with "Very strong heat impact", and in the age group of old men this increase was not very pronounced. Older women may be most sensitive to weather with a "High heat impact", and with a "Very high heat impact" the number of hospitalizations was even decreasing. A similar trend is observed in older women. An analysis of the statistical significance of the established differences was made and the applicability of the obtained results for the purposes of public health prevention was evaluated.

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