title: The linkage among ambulance transports, death and climate parameters in Asahikawa City, Japan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to investigate the linkage among climate parameters, total ambulance transports and the number of deaths in Asahikawa City in northern Japan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Monthly data on total ambulance transports and the number of deaths from January 2004 to December 2011 were obtained from Asahikawa City Fire Department and the Asahikawa City official website. Climate parameters for the required period were also obtained from the Japan Meteorological Agency, Japan. To adjust for the population, we also used monthly population data on Asahikawa City. The linkage among climate parameters, total ambulance transports and the number of deaths was evaluated by ecological analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean air temperature in the Asahikawa area was 7.3 ± 10.1 °C. Total ambulance transports (/a hundred thousand people/day) and the number of deaths (/a hundred thousand people/day) were 10.0 ± 0.6 and 2.6 ± 0.3, respectively. Using quadratic curves, total ambulance transports and the number of deaths were weakly correlated with some climate parameters. The number of deaths was weakly and positively correlated with total ambulance transports.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A weak linkage among climate parameters, total ambulance transports and the number of deaths was noted in Asahikawa City, Japan. However, these associations were not as high as expected.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, 1750-1, Miki, Takamatsu, Kagawa, 761-0793, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kataoka
authors.forename: Kazumi Dokai
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Mochimasu
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Katayama
authors.forename: Kanae Oda
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: Kanda
authors.forename: Noriko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sakano
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Nobuyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Miyatake
mesh_terms: D000552:Ambulances / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002980:Climate; D016208:Databases, Factual; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D009026:Mortality; D010865:Pilot Projects; D014887:Weather