Home Ambient Temperature and Self-reported Attention in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

Background: Climate change is expected to disrupt weather patterns across the world, exposing older adults to more intense and frequent periods of hot weather. Meanwhile, lab-based studies have established a causal relationship between ambient temperature and cognitive abilities, suggesting the expected rise in temperature may influence older adults' cognitive functioning. Nevertheless, it is not clear whether, and to what extent, the temperature variations in older adults' own homes - which unlike lab settings is under their control - influence their cognitive functioning.

Sociodemographic Determinants of Extreme Heat and Ozone Risk Among Older Adults in 3 Sun Belt Cities.

Background: Vulnerable populations across the United States are frequently exposed to extreme heat, which is becoming more intense due to a combination of climate change and urban-induced warming. Extreme heat can be particularly detrimental to the health and well-being of older citizens when it is combined with ozone. Although population-based studies have demonstrated associations between ozone, extreme heat, and human health, few studies focused on the role of social and behavioral factors that increase indoor risk and exposure among older adults.

Feasibility of High-Frequency Monitoring of the Home Environment and Health in Older Adults: Proof of Concept.

Technology provides new opportunities to understand and optimize the relationship between the home indoor environmental quality and health outcomes in older adults. We aimed to establish proof-of-concept and feasibility of remote, real-time, high-frequency, and simultaneous monitoring of select environmental variables and outcomes related to health and wellbeing in older adults. Thirty-four participants (27 were female) with an average age (SD) of 81 years (±7.

Nighttime ambient temperature and sleep in community-dwelling older adults.

This longitudinal study examines the association between bedroom nighttime temperature and sleep quality in a sample of community dwelling older adults. Using wearable sleep monitors and environmental sensors, we assessed sleep duration, efficiency, and restlessness over an extended period within participants' homes while controlling for potential confounders and covariates. Our findings demonstrated that sleep was most efficient and restful when nighttime ambient temperature ranged between 20 and 25 °C, with a clinically relevant 5-10 % drop in sleep efficiency when the temperature increased from 25 °C to 30 °C.

A Case-Crossover Analysis of Indoor Heat Exposure on Mortality and Hospitalizations among the Elderly in Houston, Texas.

Background: Despite the substantial role indoor exposure has played in heat wave-related mortality, few epidemiological studies have examined the health effects of exposure to indoor heat. As a result, knowledge gaps regarding indoor heat-health thresholds, vulnerability, and adaptive capacity persist.

Objective: We evaluated the role of indoor heat exposure on mortality and morbidity among the elderly ( of age) in Houston, Texas.

Housing as a critical determinant of heat vulnerability and health.

Municipalities use Heat Vulnerability Indices (HVIs) to quantify and map relative distribution of risks to human health in the event of a heatwave. These maps ostensibly allow public agencies to identify the highest-risk neighborhoods, and to concentrate emergency planning efforts and resources accordingly (e.g.

Urban heat and air pollution: A framework for integrating population vulnerability and indoor exposure in health risk analyses.

Urban growth and climate change will exacerbate extreme heat events and air pollution, posing considerable health challenges to urban populations. Although epidemiological studies have shown associations between health outcomes and exposures to ambient air pollution and extreme heat, the degree to which indoor exposures and social and behavioral factors may confound or modify these observed effects remains underexplored. To address this knowledge gap, we explore the linkages between vulnerability science and epidemiological conceptualizations of risk to propose a conceptual and analytical framework for characterizing current and future health risks to air pollution and extreme heat, indoors and outdoors.