Abstract

Results for biochemical and haematological variables have been correlated with data on atmospheric temperature in order to identify possible mechanisms through which low environmental temperature may increase mortality from myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular disease. With the exception of cholesterol, there were no associations in the case of several clinical chemistry variables, or of haemoglobin and related indices. With varying degrees of consistency among the sex and age groups studied, temperature was positively correlated with factor VII, antithrombin III, and cholesterol, and negatively correlated with fibrinolytic activity. The correlations were all low but may offer some clues to mechanisms whereby air temperature influences ischaemic heart and cerebrovascular disease mortality.