Use of earth observations for temperature exposure assessment in epidemiological studies.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Low, high, extreme, and variable temperatures have been linked to multiple adverse health outcomes, particularly among the elderly and children. Recent models incorporating satellite remote sensing data have mitigated several limitations of previous studies, improving exposure assessment. This review focuses on these new temperature exposure models and their application in epidemiological studies.

RECENT FINDINGS: Satellite observations of land surface temperature have been used to model air temperature across large spatial areas at high spatiotemporal resolutions. These models enable exposure assessment of entire populations and have been shown to reduce error in exposure estimates, thus mitigating downward bias in health effect estimates.

SUMMARY: Satellite-based models improve our understanding of spatiotemporal variation in temperature and the associated health effects. Further research should focus on improving the resolution of these models, especially in urban areas, and increasing their use in epidemiological studies of direct temperature exposure and vector-borne diseases.