Relationships of temperature with death rates from all causes and from certain respiratory and arteriosclerotic diseases in different age groups

Abstract

Changes of temperature of short duration (2-10 days) and of longer duration (15 and more days) are associated with inverse changes in death rates in both respiratory infections (pneumonia and bronchitis) and in vascular diseases (myocardial infarction and cerebral vascular accidents). These relationships are less or absent in younger subjects and marked in the elderly. The temperature on the day of death is less relevant to the death rate than that on earlier days and the particular days which are most relevant differ in the different conditions. In the case of myocardial infarcts the temperature 1 to 2 days before death is the most relevant, in strokes 3 to 4 days before death and in the respiratory infections more than 5 days before death is the most relevant.