Extreme heat and cold are leading to increasing death rates from cardiovascular disease among the elderly, with high temperatures threatening elderly men in the Taipei area, while low temperatures pose a risk for the elderly in the south, a scientific study showed.
In a paper published in the Taiwan Journal of Public Health, Chung Yuan Christian University’s Department of Bioenvironmental Engineering assistant professor Wang Yu-chun (王玉純) and National Taiwan University’s College of Public Health professor Lin Yu-kai (林于凱) showed how extreme weather affected the death rate among the elderly, comparing weather data from 1994 and 2008 with the causes of death among the elderly during the same period.
Wang said when average daily temperature was between 26°C and 28°C, the death rate among the elderly was at its lowest.
Photo: Hung Mei-hsiu, Taipei Times
Once average daily temperatures in the Taipei area hit 30°C, the incidence of death within seven days from cardiovascular disease increased 5 percent among the elderly for every degree the temperature rose.
Wang added that the impact of extreme weather conditions on the elderly might not be immediate and could be delayed by a few days.
The research also showed that the effects of high temperatures were less noticeable among the elderly in Greater Taichung and Greater Kaohsiung.
However, cold fronts and low temperatures led to an increase in deaths among the elderly in Greater Kaohsiung.
Once the daily average temperatures dropped to 18°C in Greater Kaohsiung, the risk of death from cardiovascular disease in the following 21 days rose 9 percent for every 1°C drop in temperature, the research showed. For Taipei and Greater Taichung, the incidence of death rose 4 percent for every degree the temperature dropped below 18°C over a three-week period.
Chang Kuo-sung (張國頌), a visiting staff doctor in Mackay Memorial Hospital’s emergency room, said people’s ability to adapt to temperature fluctuations decreases with age, and that by the time the elderly realize it is too hot or too cold, it could already be too late.
Houses should always have a thermometer and the elderly should turn on their air conditioner when temperatures reach 30°C, Wang said, adding that if a house did not have an air conditioner, then it was important to have good air circulation and individuals should keep themselves well hydrated.
The elderly are easily dehydrated and can suffer heat stroke in hot weather, causing shock or arrhythmia, Chang said, adding that low temperatures can affect blood pressure and also cause arrhythmia, myocardial infarction or a stroke.
Wang called on government agencies to establish a warning system for heat waves and cold fronts, as well as taking measures to lower the risk of death for old patients and old people living alone.
Central Weather Bureau Director-General Shin Tzay-chyn (辛在勤) said the problem with establishing a heat wave and cold front warning system did not stem from lack of capacity at the bureau, but rather from an insufficient amount of medical data.
The bureau has asked the Department of Health to look into the matter to understand the relationship between high heat, sickness and death, Shin said, adding that the department said there was insufficient evidence supporting a direct correlation between the two.
Shin said the health department’s position undermined the calls for the establishment of a heat wave and cold front alarm system.
Translated by Jake Chung, Staff Writer
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, was arrested in Boston last month amid US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday. The arrest of Liou was first made public on the official Web site of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Tuesday. ICE said Liou was apprehended for overstaying her visa. The Boston Field Office’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) had arrested Liou, a “fugitive, criminal alien wanted for embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes in Taiwan,” ICE said. Liou was taken into custody
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
TAIWAN ADVOCATES: The resolution, which called for the recognition of Taiwan as a country and normalized relations, was supported by 22 Republican representatives Two US representatives on Thursday reintroduced a resolution calling for the US to end its “one China” policy, resume formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan and negotiate a bilateral Taiwan-US free trade agreement. Republican US representatives Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania’s 10th District were backed by 22 Republican members of the US House of Representatives. The two congressmen first introduced the resolution together in 2021. The resolution called on US President Donald Trump to “abandon the antiquated ‘one China’ policy in favor of a policy that recognizes the objective reality that Taiwan is an independent country, not
The US-Japan joint statement released on Friday not mentioning the “one China” policy might be a sign that US President Donald Trump intends to decouple US-China relations from Taiwan, a Taiwanese academic said. Following Trump’s meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Friday, the US and Japan issued a joint statement where they reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations. Trump has not personally brought up the “one China” policy in more than a year, National Taiwan University Department of Political Science Associate Professor Chen Shih-min (陳世民)