High ambient temperature and mortality: a review of epidemiologic studies from 2001 to 2008

This review examines recent evidence on mortality from elevated ambient temperature for studies published from January 2001 to December 2008.

PubMed was used to search for the following keywords: temperature, apparent temperature, heat, heat index, and mortality. The search was limited to the English language and epidemiologic studies. Studies that reported mortality counts or excess deaths following heat waves were excluded so that the focus remained on general ambient temperature and mortality in a variety of locations. Studies focusing on cold temperature effects were also excluded.