The Unsuspected Effects of Extreme Heat on Quebec's Healthcare System

An INRS team is studying the health burden of heat and its impact on the population

QUEBEC CITY, June 19, 2024 /CNW/ - While a great deal of research in Quebec has focused on how heat waves affect the health of the population, few studies have examined the impact of heat throughout the entire summer.

In collaboration with the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) and Health Canada, a team from the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) has examined the unsuspected effects of heat in general—extreme or not—on Quebec's healthcare system. According to the data analyzed in the course of their research, the healthcare system is affected all summer long, not just during extreme heat waves, which are defined as very high temperatures lasting at least three days.

The conclusions of their study could yield solutions to speed the rollout of public health measures to better protect Quebecers from the consequences of heat.

"International studies have already examined the effects of high temperatures, but mainly on mortality. Our study looks at Quebec as a whole and addresses a number of health indicators, including both mortality, hospitalizations, emergency department visits, while using a state-of-the-art and recognized methodology," says Professor Fateh Chebana from INRS, who co-authored the article and specializes in data science research applied to the environment and environmental health

In the study, the scientists sought to quantify heat-related mortality and morbidity in terms of five all-cause health outcomes: mortality, hospitalizations, emergency department visits, ambulance transports, and calls to Info-Santé (a phone consultation service). These outcomes were studied across all of Quebec's health regions.

"We've seen the effects of high temperatures on the entire healthcare system, from Info-Santé calls to hospitalizations and even deaths. Not only does severe temperatures pose risks for public health, but they also result in direct costs for our system, which is already struggling to keep up," explains Jérémie Boudreault, lead author of the article and PhD student in data science and environmental health at INRS under the supervision of Professor Fateh Chebana.

• Temperatures are considered high as soon as there is a statistically significant impact on health. As for extreme heat waves, they are characterized by very high temperatures that last at least three consecutive days.
• Each summer, high temperatures in Quebec have been associated with 470 deaths, 225 hospitalizations, 36,000 emergency department visits, 7,200 ambulance transports, and 15,000 calls to Info-Santé.
• The health burden has been concentrated in the 5% hottest summer days, which account for nearly 200 deaths, 170 hospitalizations, 6,200 emergency room visits, 1,500 ambulance transports, and 3,300 calls to Info-Santé.

"Given that extreme heat will only be exacerbated by climate change, our team hopes that these results will lead to more measures that will better protect the Quebec population against its effects. Our current work focuses on the costs associated with this health burden and will also forecast the health and economic impacts for the decades to come," concludes Jérémie Boudreault.

The article, "Estimating the heat-related mortality and morbidity burden in the province of Quebec, Canada," was co-authored by Jérémie Boudreault (INRS Centre Eau Terre Environment Research Centre and INSPQ), Éric Lavigne (Health Canada, University of Ottawa), Céline Campagna (INSPQ, INRS), and Fateh Chebana (INRS Centre Eau Terre Environment Research Centre). It was published in the Environmental Research journal in June 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2024.119347

For this research, first author Jérémie Boudreault was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) through a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship. He also received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Ouranos, and the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ).

INRS is an academic institution dedicated exclusively to graduate research and training in strategic sectors in Quebec. Since its creation in 1969, it has actively contributed to Quebec's economic, social, and cultural development. INRS is first in Canada in research intensity. It is made up of four interdisciplinary research and training centres located in Quebec City, Montreal, Laval, and Varennes, which focus their efforts on strategic sectors: water, earth, and environment (Eau Terre Environnement Research Centre); energy, materials, and telecommunications (Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Centre); urbanization, culture, and society (Urbanisation Culture Société Research Centre); and health and biotechnology (Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie Research Centre). The INRS community includes over 1,500 students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty and staff members. 

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