Emergency Department Visits for Heat-Related Emergency Conditions in the United States from 2008–2020

Bibliographic Data

ID15460355
AuthorsPenelope Dring (0000-0001-7889-9384, Nationwide Children's Hospital), Megan Armstrong (0000-0001-6773-9393, Nationwide Children's Hospital), Robin Alexander (0000-0002-8278-1327, The Ohio State University), Henry Xiang (0000-0001-8112-319X, Nationwide Children's Hospital, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume19
Issue22
Pages14781-14781
Publication date2022-11-10
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
PublisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph192214781
PMID36429500
OpenAlexW4308877102
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited37

Exposure to high temperatures is detrimental to human health. As climate change is expected to increase the frequency of extreme heat events, and raise ambient temperatures, an investigation into the trend of heat-related emergency department (ED) visits over the past decade is necessary to assess the human health impact of this growing public health crisis. ED visits were examined using the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample. Visits were included if the diagnostic field contained an ICD-9-CM or ICD-10-CM code specific to heat-related emergency conditions. Weighted counts were generated using the study design and weighting variables, to estimate the national burden of heat-related ED visits. A total of 1,078,432 weighted visits were included in this study. The annual incidence rate per 100,000 population increased by an average of 2.85% per year, ranging from 18.21 in 2009, to 32.34 in 2018. The total visit burden was greatest in the South (51.55%), with visits increasing to the greatest degree in the Midwest (8.52%). ED visit volume was greatest in July (29.79%), with visits increasing to the greatest degree in July (15.59%) and March (13.18%). An overall increase in heat-related ED visits for heat-related emergency conditions was found during the past decade across the United States, affecting patients in all regions and during all seasons

Climate change · Emergency department · Environmental health · Extreme heat · Incidence (geometry · Medical emergency · Occupational safety and health · Population · Public health · Air Quality and Health Impacts · Climate Change and Health Impacts · Demography · Medicine · Thermoregulation and physiological responses · Emergency Medicine