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Heat waves and fatal traffic crashes in the continental United States.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:A better understanding of how heat waves affect fatal traffic crashes will be useful to promote awareness of drivers' vulnerability during an extreme heat event. OBJECTIVE AND METHODS:We applied a time-stratified case-crossover design to examine associations between heat waves and fatal traffic crashes during May-September of 2001-2011 in the continental United States (US). Heat waves, defined as the daily mean temperature >95% threshold for ?2 consecutive days, were derived using gridded 12.5 km2 air temperatures from Phase 2 of the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS-2). Dates and locations of fatal traffic crash records were acquired from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). RESULTS:Results show a significant positive association between fatal traffic crashes and heat waves with a 3.4% (95% CI: 0.9, 5.9%) increase in fatal traffic crashes on heat wave days versus non-heat wave days. The association was more positive for 56-65 years old drivers [8.2% (0.3, 16.7%)] and driving on rural roadways [6.1% (2.8, 9.6%)]. Moreover, a positive association was only present when the heat wave days were characterized by no precipitation [10.9% (7.3%, 14.6%)] and medium or high solar radiation [24.6% (19.9%, 29.5%) and 19.9% (15.6%, 24.4%), respectively]. CONCLUSIONS:These findings are relevant for developing targeted interventions for these driver groups and driving situations to efficiently reduce the negative effects of heat waves on fatal traffic crashes.

SUBMITTER: Wu CYH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6675573 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Heat waves and fatal traffic crashes in the continental United States.

Wu Connor Y H CYH Zaitchik Benjamin F BF Gohlke Julia M JM

Accident; analysis and prevention 20180723

<h4>Background</h4>A better understanding of how heat waves affect fatal traffic crashes will be useful to promote awareness of drivers' vulnerability during an extreme heat event.<h4>Objective and methods</h4>We applied a time-stratified case-crossover design to examine associations between heat waves and fatal traffic crashes during May-September of 2001-2011 in the continental United States (US). Heat waves, defined as the daily mean temperature >95% threshold for ≥2 consecutive days, were de ...[more]

PMID: 30048841

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Project description:Importance:Cataracts are the most common cause of impaired vision worldwide and may increase a driver's risk of a serious traffic crash. The potential benefits of cataract surgery for reducing a patient's subsequent risk of traffic crash are uncertain. Objective:To conduct a comprehensive longitudinal analysis testing whether cataract surgery is associated with a reduction in serious traffic crashes where the patient was the driver. Design, Setting, and Participants:Population-based individual-patient self-matching exposure-crossover design in Ontario, Canada, between April 1, 2006, and March 31, 2016. Consecutive patients 65 years and older undergoing cataract surgery (n?=?559?546). Interventions:First eye cataract extraction surgery (most patients received second eye soon after). Main Outcomes and Measures:Emergency department visit for a traffic crash as a driver. Results:Of the 559?546 patients, mean (SD) age was 76 (6) years, 58% were women (n?=?326?065), and 86% lived in a city (n?=?481?847). A total of 4680 traffic crashes (2.36 per 1000 patient-years) accrued during the 3.5-year baseline interval and 1200 traffic crashes (2.14 per 1000 patient-years) during the 1-year subsequent interval, representing 0.22 fewer crashes per 1000 patient-years following cataract surgery (odds ratio [OR], 0.91; 95% CI, 0.84-0.97; P?=?.004). The relative reduction included patients with diverse characteristics. No significant reduction was observed in other outcomes, such as traffic crashes where the patient was a passenger (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.96-1.12) or pedestrian (OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.88-1.17), nor in other unrelated serious medical emergencies. Patients with younger age (OR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.13-1.14), male sex (OR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.46-1.85), a history of crash (baseline OR, 2.79; 95% CI, 1.94-4.02; induction OR, 4.26; 95% CI, 2.01-9.03), more emergency visits (OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.19-1.52), and frequent outpatient physician visits (OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.01-1.36) had higher risk of subsequent traffic crashes (multivariable model). Conclusions and Relevance:This study suggests that cataract surgery is associated with a modest decrease in a patient's subsequent risk of a serious traffic crash as a driver, which has potential implications for mortality, morbidity, and costs to society.

Dataset Information

Heat waves and fatal traffic crashes in the continental United States.

Publications

Heat waves and fatal traffic crashes in the continental United States.

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