Time Course of Apparent Temperature Effects on Cardiovascular Mortality: A Comparative Study of Beijing, China and Brisbane, Australia

This comparative study aimed to clarify the different characteristics of time course of apparent temperature and their effect on cardiovascular mortality in Beijing, China, and Brisbane, Australia. The present study used polynomial distributed lag models to explore the lagged effects of apparent temperature on daily cardiovascular mortality up to 27 days in Beijing, China (2005–2009), and Brisbane, Australia (2004–2007). The results show a longer lagged effect on cold days and a shorter lagged effect on hot days. The cut-off points in Beijing and Brisbane were 22℃ and 27℃, respectively. In Beijing, a statistically significant association was observed for lags of 0–3 days and lags of 3–18 days on hot and cold days, respectively. In Brisbane, a significant association was found for lags of 3–4 days and lags of 10–21 days on hot and cold days, respectively. The lagged effects extended longer for cold apparent temperature but were immediate for hot apparent temperature. Though the cut-off point in Brisbane was higher than in Beijing, the population in Beijing was more resistant to high temperature above the cut-off point than the population in Brisbane.