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Peer-reviewedCC BYCurrent environmental health reports

Heat Exposure Definitions in Temperature-Mortality Studies: Towards a Harmonisation Framework.

  • Aurelio Tobías1,2
  • Masahiro Hashizume3,4
  • Lina Madaniyazi3
4 affiliations
  1. 1Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Spanish National Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain. [email protected].
  2. 2School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan. [email protected].
  3. 3School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
  4. 4Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
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Abstract

Purpose of the review

We reviewed how heat exposure is defined using thresholds and reference temperatures derived from the temperature-mortality exposure-response curve in time-series and case-crossover studies using distributed lag non-linear models and propose a harmonisation framework relevant to climate change research and heat disaster preparedness.Recent findings

The rapid review identified variation across studies in heat thresholds and reference temperatures, affecting the comparability of estimates. A case study in Spain illustrates how the minimum mortality temperature (MMT) approach estimates overall heat-related mortality and its contributions from moderate and extreme heat, whereas the percentile-based approach estimates excessive heat mortality that could potentially be prevented by protective measures operating above the heat threshold. Differences in heat thresholds and reference temperatures make findings harder to compare across studies and complicate risk communication. Explicit reporting of these two components and their relevance to the research question and intended application would improve interpretation and translation to public health action.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{tobias2026heat,
  title = {{Heat Exposure Definitions in Temperature-Mortality Studies: Towards a Harmonisation Framework.}},
  author = {Aurelio Tobías and Masahiro Hashizume and Lina Madaniyazi},
  journal = {Current environmental health reports},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1007/s40572-026-00571-5},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42909738},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Heat Exposure Definitions in Temperature-Mortality Studies: Towards a Harmonisation Framework.
AU  - Aurelio Tobías
AU  - Masahiro Hashizume
AU  - Lina Madaniyazi
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/23
JO  - Current environmental health reports
DO  - 10.1007/s40572-026-00571-5
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42909738
AB  - Purpose of the review  We reviewed how heat exposure is defined using thresholds and reference temperatures derived from the temperature-mortality exposure-response curve in time-series and case-crossover studies using distributed lag non-linear models and propose a harmonisation framework relevant to climate change research and heat disaster preparedness.Recent findings  The rapid review identified variation across studies in heat thresholds and reference temperatures, affecting the comparability of estimates. A case study in Spain illustrates how the minimum mortality temperature (MMT) approach estimates overall heat-related mortality and its contributions from moderate and extreme heat, whereas the percentile-based approach estimates excessive heat mortality that could potentially be prevented by protective measures operating above the heat threshold. Differences in heat thresholds and reference temperatures make findings harder to compare across studies and complicate risk communication. Explicit reporting of these two components and their relevance to the research question and intended application would improve interpretation and translation to public health action.
SN  - 2196-5412
ER  -