Thirty-six observational studies of heat exposure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were pooled, separating deaths from non-fatal illness. The pooled risk ratio for death from COPD was 1.26, as compared to 1.05 for non-fatal illness. Studies comparing heatwave days against normal days found a 21% higher risk, as compared to 5% where risk was measured per degree of temperature.
Why it is interesting: The size of the association depends on how heat is defined, which bears on counting heat-attributable deaths.
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