ArticleEnvironmental epidemiology (Philadelphia, Pa.)2022
Analysis of community deaths during the catastrophic 2021 heat dome: Early evidence to inform the public health response during subsequent events in greater Vancouver, Canada.
Article in Environmental epidemiology (Philadelphia, Pa.), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 62 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
62 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Widespread ecological responses and cascading effects of the 2021 western North American heatwave.Nature ecology & evolution · 2026Pooled it
- The combined impacts of toxic drug use and the 2021 Heat Dome in Canada: A thematic analysis of online news media articles.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Urban heat island impacts on heat-related cardiovascular morbidity: A time series analysis of older adults in US metropolitan areas.Environment international · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of ceiling fan use on cardiovascular autonomic function during simulated indoor overheating in bed-resting older adults.Experimental physiology · 2026Trial
- Effects of Ceiling Fans on Self-Reported Symptoms and Mood-State in Bed-Resting Older Adults Exposed to Indoor Overheating.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2026Trial
- Effect of Ceiling Fans on Core Temperature in Bed-Resting Older Adults Exposed to Indoor Overheating.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2026Trial
- Effect of pedestal fan use on serum stress biomarkers in older adults exposed to simulated daylong indoor overheating.Physiological reports · 2025Trial
- Effects of Daylong Exposure to Indoor Overheating on Thermal and Cardiovascular Strain in Older Adults: A Randomized Crossover Trial.Environmental health perspectives · 2024Trial
- Evaluation of a Canadian heat illness-related emergency department visit surveillance system.Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique · 2026Article
- Are 'evidence-based' cooling strategies fit-for-purpose?-Investigating the gap between guidance and behaviour.BMC research notes · 2026Article
- Exploring the local impacts of heat on mortality: A small-area spatial analysis of Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, Canada.Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique · 2026Article
- Heatwave-related variations in psychiatric consultations and admissions: a time-series analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Public health action on extreme heat in three Canadian provinces: a scoping review.Public health reviews · 2026Review
- Short-term variations in summer temperatures and mental health-related emergency department visits in Ontario, Canada.Environmental epidemiology (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2025Article
- Effect of foot immersion and neck cooling on renal, intestinal, immune and inflammatory markers in older adults exposed to extreme heat.Experimental physiology · 2025Article
- State-of-Art in Studying the Public Health Effects of Heat: A Literature Review.Global challenges (Hoboken, NJ) · 2025Review
- Defining Sex- and Age-Specific Initial Stay Times for Continuous Heavy-Intensity Work in Hot Environments Before Heat-Mitigation Controls Are Implemented-Part B.American journal of industrial medicine · 2025Article
- Defining Sex- and Age-Specific Initial Stay Times for Continuous Moderate-Intensity Work in Hot Environments Before Heat-Mitigation Controls Are Implemented - Part A.American journal of industrial medicine · 2025Article
- Promoting targeted heat early warning systems for at-risk populations.Nature climate change · 2025Article
- Exploring the relationship between medications and heat-related community deaths during the 2021 heat dome: a hybrid approach using machine learning.EBioMedicine · 2025Article
2 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBritish Columbia, Canada, was impacted by a record-setting heat dome in early summer 2021. Most households in greater Vancouver do not have air conditioning, and there was a 440% increase in community deaths during the event. Readily available data were analyzed to inform modifications to the public health response during subsequent events in summer 2021 and to guide further research.
methodsThe 434 community deaths from 27 June through 02 July 2021 (heat dome deaths) were compared with all 1,367 community deaths that occurred in the same region from 19 June through 09 July of 2013-2020 (typical weather deaths). Conditional logistic regression was used to examine the effects of age, sex, neighborhood deprivation, and the surrounding environment. Data available from homes with and without air conditioning were also used to illustrate the indoor temperatures differences.
resultsA combined index of material and social deprivation was most predictive of heat dome risk, with an adjusted odds ratio of 2.88 [1.85, 4.49] for the most deprived category. Heat dome deaths also had lower greenness within 100 m than typical weather deaths. Indoor temperatures in one illustrative home without air conditioning ranged between 30°C and 40°C.
conclusionsRisk of death during the heat dome was associated with deprivation, lower neighborhood greenness, older age, and sex. High indoor temperatures likely played an important role. Public health response should focus on highly deprived neighborhoods with low air conditioning prevalence during extreme heat events. Promotion of urban greenspace must continue as the climate changes.
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