Public health officials should pay particular attention to the elderly, diabetics and African Americans on days with extreme heat, a US study has warned.

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health conducted a study that aimed to determine if certain population groups were more susceptible to dying from extreme temperatures.

The study also examined whether certain medical conditions, such as diabetes, played a role in susceptibility and which mortality causes display the largest relative increases on days with excessive heat.

The research team analysed information on 7,789,655 deaths across fifty US cities from 1989 to 2000 and daily temperatures in those cities.

They found that African Americans were more prone to extreme heat in the case of cardiovascular-related death, while diabetics were more susceptible when non-cardiovascular causes were involved.

Lead researcher Medina-Ramón said: "This is the first large-scale study to examine how susceptibility of certain populations to extreme temperatures varies according to the cause of death.

"The results suggest that public health professionals should pay particular attention to the elderly, diabetics and African Americans on days with extreme heat, such as during the current heat wave sweeping across much of the US."

The study is published in Environmental Health Perspectives.

The article Elderly, diabetics more susceptible to heat originally appeared on 999 Today