Contrasting patterns of hot spell effects on morbidity and mortality for XXXX in the Czech Republic, 1994-2009.

@entity66 @entity65 @entity299
UNASSIGNED: The study examines effects of hot spells on @entity65 ( @entity65 ) morbidity and mortality in the population of the Czech Republic, with emphasis on differences between @entity299 ( @entity299 ) and @entity66 ( @entity66 ) and between morbidity and mortality. Daily data on @entity65 morbidity (hospital admissions) and mortality over 1994-2009 were obtained from national hospitalization and mortality registers and standardized to account for long-term changes as well as seasonal and weekly cycles. Hot spells were defined as periods of at least two consecutive days with average daily air temperature anomalies above the 95  % quantile during June to August. Relative deviations of mortality and morbidity from the baseline were evaluated. Hot spells were associated with excess mortality for all examined cardiovascular causes ( @entity65 , @entity299 and @entity66 ). The increases were more pronounced for @entity66 than @entity299 mortality in most population groups, mainly in males. In the younger population (0-64  years), however, significant excess mortality was observed for @entity299 while there was no excess mortality for @entity66 . A short-term displacement effect was found to be much larger for mortality due to @entity66 than @entity299 . Excess @entity65 mortality was not accompanied by increases in hospital admissions and below-expected-levels of morbidity prevailed during hot spells, particularly for @entity299 in the elderly. This suggests that out-of-hospital deaths represent a major part of excess @entity65 mortality during heat and that for in-hospital excess @entity65 is a masked comorbid condition rather than the primary diagnosis responsible for hospitalization.
