Keith (Southend) wrote:

I caught a report on Channel 4 news earlier saying that this heatwave in
SE Europe had caused many heat related deaths in Italy, Greece and Romania.

Unfortunately, heatwaves are always associated with increased mortality.
There has been quite some work done on this field. Check:

1. Gover M. Mortality during periods of excessive temperature. Public
Health Rep 1938; 53:1122-43

2. Katsouyanni K, Trichopoulos D et al. The 1987 Athens heatwave. Lancet
1988; 2(8610):573.

3. Hajat S, Kovats RS et al. Impact of hot temperatures on death in
London: a time series approach. J Epidemiol Community Health 2002;
56(5):367-72

4. http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ew/2004/040311.asp#7

5. http://www.eurosurveillance.org/em/v12n03/1203-226.asp

6. The whole July 2005 issue of Eurosurveillance
(http://www.eurosurveillance.org/rele...05&display=all
and browse to July 2005)

7. Some results from the APHEA and the more recent PHEWE project (check
Medline, many papers there)

Deaths can be divided to a) individual deaths directly attributable to
the heat (few) and b) an excess mortality which can be attriubuted to
the heat indirectly (mostly among people with underlying conditions).

Yannis