BMJ  2004;329:976 (23 October), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7472.976-a

Letter

Winter mortality in elderly people in Britain

Outdoor exposure and effect of windchill should be taken into consideration

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—The study by Wilkinson et al, reporting a lack of effect socioeconomic gradient on excess winter mortality, contributes much to the debate seeking the best means to address this major public health issue.1 Currently, the UK government make a substantial financial payment to elderly people, the "winter fuel payment," in an attempt to address fuel poverty, but it is becoming increasingly clear that other personal factors, such as outdoor exposure to low temperature, may play a large part in determining risk.

I have two hypothetical questions.

Firstly, could the excess mortality in women be related to their being more likely to spend time outdoors in low temperatures, as in this age group it is still likely that they would bear the brunt of domestic tasks such as shopping?

Secondly, does the measure of air temperature used accurately reflect the temperature experienced by the individual, given that windchill is . . . [Full text of this article]

Alan A Woodall, specialist registrar in public health medicine

Telford and Wrekin Primary Care Trust, Telford TF1 5RY alan.woodall@shropshireha.wmids.nhs.uk


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Relevant Article

Vulnerability to winter mortality in elderly people in Britain: population based study
Paul Wilkinson, Sam Pattenden, Ben Armstrong, Astrid Fletcher, R Sari Kovats, Punam Mangtani, and Anthony J McMichael
BMJ 2004 329: 647. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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