New research debunks assumptions that global warming will reduce winter deaths, HealthDay reported.

Using temperature and mortality data from 36 U.S. cities and Paris, researchers at Columbia University found that a warming climate trend led to much smaller reductions in cold-related deaths than some experts have anticipated.

"For years I've been hearing people say that global warming will reduce winter deaths but I wanted to check this claim out for myself," Patrick Kinney, lead author of the study, told HealthDay.

Based on the findings, Kinney says that's unlikely to be the case.

For the study, researchers obtained mortality rates from the U.S.  National Center for Health Statistics and the French National Institute for Statistics and Economics Studies for the period 1971-2007 and compared them to temperature data. They saw that cities with warmer winters have similar rates  of winter deaths compared to their colder winter-counterparts and that there was little relationship evident between mortality and cold temperatures.

"These cities vary widely in demography, urban design, and socio-cultural background, all of which might influence exposure to outdoor temperature and related mortality risks," Kinney said.

Based on the weak correlation between temperature differences and winter death rates, researchers conclude that other seasonal factors are driving winter excess mortality including lack of exercise and  time spent indoors which increase the risk of catching the flu or developing other respiratory infections and its complications.

The findings are detailed in the journal Environmental Research Letters.