The data from study of 12 European cities from Dublin to Valencia disclosed that temperatures increase during the summer may increase the number of hospitalizations for respiratory problems, especially among elderly people.

The data comes from a European project known as the “Assessment and Prevention of Acute Health Effects of Weather Conditions in Europe” (PHEWE).

The study, which was a three year joint effort between epidemiologists, meteorologists and public health experts, examined the temporary effects of weather in 12 European cities including Barcelona, Budapest, Dublin, Ljubljana, London, Milan, Paris, Rome, Stockholm, Turin, Valencia, and Zurich.

The researchers gathered facts between 1990 and 2001. They tracked temperatures plus hospitalizations with a focus on year’s warmest part from April to September.

Moreover, the researchers probed hospitalizations for all ages, in addition to for two subgroups -- ages 65-74 and 75-plus.

The PHEWE project assessed the effects of higher temperatures on hospitalizations for a variety of conditions in Europe. The researchers discovered that there was a 4% average increase in hospitalizations for respiratory-related problems for every degree increase over a temperature threshold.

However, no link was seen between temperature and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular hospitalizations.

Paola Michelozzi Ph.D., head of Environmental Epidemiology at the department of epidemiology of the Local Health Authority, in Rome, said, “The PHEWE project represents the first attempt to evaluate the effect of temperature on several morbidity outcomes using a standardized methodology in a multi-center European study.”

The results of the study will appear in the March issue of the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.