title: Increased risk of emergency hospital admissions for children with renal diseases during heatwaves in Brisbane, Australia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Heatwaves have a significant impact on population health including both morbidity and mortality. In this study we examined the association between heatwaves and emergency hospital admissions (EHAs) for renal diseases in children (aged 0-14 years) in Brisbane, Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Daily data on EHAs for renal diseases in children and exposure to temperature and air pollution were obtained for Brisbane city from January 1, 1996 to December 31, 2005. A time-stratified case-crossover design was used to compare the risks for renal diseases between heatwave and non-heatwave periods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 1565 EHAs for renal diseases in children during the study period. Heatwaves exhibited a significant impact on EHAs for renal diseases in children after adjusting for confounding factors (odds ratio: 3.6; 95% confidence interval: 1.4-9.5). The risk estimates differed with lags and the use of different heatwave definitions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was a significant increase in EHAs for renal diseases in children during heatwaves in Brisbane, a subtropical city where people are well accustomed to warm weather. This finding may have significant implications for pediatric renal care, particularly in subtropical and tropical regions.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Social Work, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Xiao-Yu
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barnett
authors.forename: Yu-Ming
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Wei-Wei
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Xiao-Ming
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Shi-Lu
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Tong
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002980:Climate; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D055874:Extreme Heat / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D011793:Queensland / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors