SynthesisBMJ open2020
Systematic review of gender differences in the epidemiology and risk factors of exertional heat illness and heat tolerance in the armed forces.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 64 citations in OpenAlex.
- Risk factors for adverse health in military and law enforcement personnel; an umbrella review.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- Impacts of heat exposure in utero on long-term health and social outcomes: a systematic review.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Active Heat Acclimation Training Offered Better Results in Thermal Rooms in Basic-Training Troops: A Prospective Controlled Study.Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financingTrial
- Acute Heat Exposure Upregulates Zebra Finch Physiology While Avoiding DNA Damage Across Both Sexes.Journal of experimental zoology. Part A, Ecological and integrative physiology · 2026Article
- Comparison of heat acclimation after once daily and thrice daily heat exposures in healthy adults.Physiological reports · 2026Article
- Menstrual Health in Servicewomen: The Menstrual Cycle, Menstrual Disturbances, and Occupational Consequences.Sports medicine - open · 2026Review
- Exposure to heat at work: development of a quantitative European job exposure matrix (heat JEM).Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2026Article
- Article
- Wearable device monitoring of HIV health in the face of climate change and weather exposures: protocol for a mixed-methods study.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Article
- Regional cerebral pulsatile hemodynamics during isocapnic and poikilocapnic hyperthermia in young men.Physiological reports · 2025Article
- Integrating gender in health interventions for adapting to extreme heat in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- Exertional heat illness: international military-oriented lessons learned and best practices for prevention and management.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Article
- Sex differences in biomarkers of end-organ damage following exertional heat stroke in humans.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2024Article
- Exertional Heatstroke Survivors' Knowledge and Beliefs About Exertional Heatstroke Diagnosis, Treatment, and Return to Play.Journal of athletic training · 2024Article
- Cognitive Function among Young Women's Football Players in the Summer Heat.Translational sports medicine · 2023Article
- Risk factors associated with heat-related illness among sugarcane farmers in Thailand.Industrial health · 2022Article
- Exertional heat stroke: pathophysiology and risk factors.BMJ medicine · 2022Review
- COVID-19 and heat waves: New challenges for healthcare systems.Environmental research · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThis review aimed to describe the epidemiology of all heat-related illnesses in women compared with men in the armed forces and to identify gender-specific risk factors and differences in heat tolerance.
designA systematic review of multiple databases (MEDLINE, Emcare, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Informit and Scopus) was conducted from the inception of the databases to 1 April 2019 using the preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis guidelines. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: All relevant studies investigating and comparing heat illness and heat tolerance in women and men in the armed forces were included in the review.
resultsTwenty-four studies were included in the systematic review. The incidence of heat stroke in women ranged from 0.10 to 0.26 per 1000 person-years, while the incidence of heat stroke ranged from 0.22 to 0.48 per 1000 person-years in men. The incidence of other heat illnesses in women compared with men ranged from 1.30 to 2.89 per 1000 person-years versus 0.98 to 1.98 per 1000 person-years. The limited evidence suggests that women had a greater risk of exertional heat illness compared with men. Other gender-specific risk factors were slower run times and body mass index. Although there was a higher proportion of women who were heat intolerant compared with men, this finding needs to be interpreted with caution due to the limited evidence.
conclusionThe findings of this review suggest that men experienced a slightly higher incidence of heat stroke than women in the armed forces. In addition, the limited available evidence suggests that a higher proportion of women were heat intolerant and being a female was associated with a greater risk of exertional heat illnesses. Given the limited evidence available, further research is required to investigate the influence of gender differences on heat intolerance and heat illness.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.