title: The Impacts of Heatwaves on Mortality Differ with Different Study Periods: A Multi-City Time Series Investigation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Different locations and study periods were used in the assessment of the relationships between heatwaves and mortality. However, little is known about the comparability and consistency of the previous effect estimates in the literature. This study assessed the heatwave-mortality relationship using different study periods in the three largest Australian cities (Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney).
  
  
  METHODS
  Daily data on climatic variables and mortality for the three cities were obtained from relevant government agencies between 1988 and 2011. A consistent definition of heatwaves was used for these cities. Poisson generalised additive model was fitted to assess the impact of heatwaves on mortality.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Non-accidental and circulatory mortality significantly increased during heatwaves across the three cities even with different heatwave definitions and study periods. Using the summer data resulted in the largest increase in effect estimates compared to those using the warm season or the whole year data.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings may have implications for developing standard approaches to evaluating the heatwave-mortality relationship and advancing heat health warning systems. It also provides an impetus to methodological advance for assessing climate change-related health consequences.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Social Work, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Xiao Yu
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Yuming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Social Work, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Gerry
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: FitzGerald
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Tropical Medicine and Rehabilitation Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aitken
authors.affiliation: School of Clinical Sciences, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Vivienne
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tippett
authors.affiliation: Ecosystem Sciences, CSIRO, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Climate Adaptation and Sustainable Development, CSIRO, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Xiaoming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Social Work, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Shilu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tong
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D002947:Cities; D057231:Climate Change; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055874:Extreme Heat / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D012621:Seasons; D015996:Survival Rate; D013997:Time Factors