Surveillance of heat related deaths in Thailand during 2018-2023
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14456/dcj.2025.54Keywords:
surveillance, heat-related deaths, hot weatherAbstract
The increasing global warming has led to severe consequences in terms of heat-related deaths. More recently, Thailand has also experienced similar impacts from global warming. The objective of this research is to report the mortality rates of individuals related to hot weather conditions in Thailand during the period of 2018-2023. The data were collected from the surveillance database of heat-related deaths at the Epidemiology Division, Department of Disease Control from 2018 to 2023. The data were analyzed annually using descriptive statistics. Differences of mortality rates in each year were analyzed by the Chi-square test, and the distribution of deaths was observed using QGIS. There were 139 heat-related deaths, with a male-to-female ratio of 7.2:1. The median age was 53 years, with the age group of 51-60 years and 60 years and older having the highest mortality rates. Occupations involving outdoor work were reported as the location of death. Underlying diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases were also reported in this group. Deaths related to heat in each year showed a statistically significant difference (p<0.001, α=0.05). In conclusion, the trend of deaths from heat-related conditions in Thailand increased each year with rising temperatures. Males, outdoor workers, the elderly, and those with underlying health conditions were predominantly reported in the heat-related death cases.
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