Extreme heat and heatwaves are linked to the risk of unintentional child injuries in Guangzhou city

Abstract

With unintentional injuries being the leading mortality cause among children, the comprehensive evaluation of the unintentional injury burden concerning heat exposure remains unknown. Here we quantified the years lived with disability (YLD) due to unintentional child injuries in Guangzhou from 2016–2020 using the injury surveillance data. A Poisson regression model was employed to explore how various magnitudes of heat exposure could increase the injury burden in different children’s subgroups. Our findings suggest a positive link between heat exposure and childhood injuries. The successive heatwave led to a 16.8–23.8% higher risk of childhood injuries. Girls and preschoolers exhibited higher vulnerability to heat. Furthermore, heat exposure increased the road injury burden for preschoolers aged 3–6 years but not for adolescents. Our study links heat exposure to childhood unintentional injuries, providing insights into the demographic features and injury causes. This evidence can be used to inform healthy childhood development. In Guangzhou city, the risk of child unintentional injuries, such as road injuries and falls, is associated with heat exposure, and girls and preschoolers are the most vulnerable, according to an analysis combining the statistical approach, incidence injuries, disability, and meteorological data.