Extreme heat in the city How vulnerable are the elderly, young children and socially disadvantaged people?

Background Climate change will also increase heat-related morbidity and mortality in Germany. Objective To prioritize prevention strategies, it is important to know which population groups are most at risk during heat waves. Therefore, it was explored the extent to which systematic reviews found heat-related health problems in the elderly, young children and socially disadvantaged people. Methods A systematic literature search was conducted in the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE and CINAHL. Results and conclusions Seven systematic reviews investigating the relationship between heat events or high ambient temperature and health in at least one of the groups were identified. There are clear indications of an increased vulnerability of older adults that are also transferable to Germany. The findings across studies on the impact of heat on morbidity and mortality in young children are inconsistent. There is no clear trend that socially disadvantaged people are more highly affected by high temperatures.