The cold temperature associated with new-onset heart failure after incorporating dynamic status of multimorbidity: nationwide cohort, Taiwan 2012–2019

Cold temperatures are known to affect heart failure (HF) hospitalizations, but the dynamic status of multi-morbidity of HF was rarely incorporated. We investigated the relationship between temperature and new-onset HF by risk strata.

This nationwide cohort study analysed daily data on ambient temperature, the dynamic status of risk factors (age, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary artery disease, chronic kidney disease, hypertension, myocardial infarction, and atrial fibrillation), and new-onset HF among the Taiwan population from 2012 to 2019. Poisson regression, Austin’s algorithm, and classification and regression tree (CART) were used to determine risk strata and obtain the predicted HF rate. 148 708 patients developed new-onset HF over 152.52 million person-years. Three risk strata for HF were identified: Stratum 1 was predominantly those without any comorbidity (89.9%); Stratum 2 was those aged 60–69 with 2–3 comorbidities or aged 70+ with 1–2 comorbidities (9.0%), and Stratum 3 was those aged 70+ and had four or more comorbidity (1.1%). The HF incidence rates for these three strata were 25.54, 555.27, and 2315.52 per 100 000 person-years, respectively. The R² of the Poisson regression with the three risk strata and the daily minimum temperature on the ln HF incidence rates was 77.99%. The risk of HF increased as temperatures decreased, and the slopes were 1.032, 1.040, and 1.034 for Strata 1–3, respectively. The rate ratios of HF at the winter median temperature of 17°C vs. the summer median temperature of 29°C were 1.45, 1.58, and 1.49 for Strata 1–3, respectively. Cross-validation reveals a good fit and predicted HF rates by ambient temperature for the three strata were provided.

Cold temperatures are associated with an increased risk of new-onset HF. Stratum 2 (aged 60–69 with 2–3 comorbidities or aged 70+ with 1–2 comorbidities) are particularly susceptible to cold-related new-onset HF.