Long-term exposure to summer heat and mortality in the southeastern U.S.: a prospective analysis in the Southern Community Cohort Study.

Heat exposure has been linked to a short-term elevation in mortality. However, few studies examined long-term effects of heat exposure on mortality, particularly among marginalized populations. In the Southern Community Cohort Study, a large cohort of predominantly Black and low-income participants in the southeastern U.S., we linked baseline addresses the heat index estimates derived from Daymet dataset using monthly (July and August) average maximum air temperature and relative humidity. Vital status and causes of death were ascertained by linkage to the Social Security Administration and the National Death Index. We performed Cox proportional hazard model and restricted cubic splines analysis to assess the relationship between heat exposure and total, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer mortality. A higher heat index at baseline was associated with increased mortality over an average of 13.5 years of follow up. When compared to the lowest quintile, the highest quintile of heat index was associated with 7 % (hazard ratio = 1.07, 95 % confidence interval = (1.02, 1.12), p-trend = 0.0007)and 15 % (1.15 (1.05, 1.25), 0.002) increases in total and CVD mortality, respectively. We observed different patterns of dose-response relationships between Black and White participants, with Black participants showing a positive linear association between heat exposure and total and CVD mortality, while White participants showing a non-linear association. There was also suggestive evidence for subgroup differences by age, gender, education and disease attributes. In conclusion, high heat exposure was a risk factor for long-term mortality in low-income populations in southeastern U.S. Our findings carry important implications for environmental health monitoring and heat response programs.