Burden and Risk Factors for Cold-Related Illness and Death in New York City
Exposure to cold weather can cause cold-related illness and death, which are preventable. To understand the current burden, risk factors, and circumstances of exposure for illness and death directly attributed to cold, we examined hospital discharge, death certificate, and medical examiner data duri...
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doaj-b3163e1af15b4d0ca1a0e5a279969a1f2020-11-24T22:54:34ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health1660-46012018-03-0115463210.3390/ijerph15040632ijerph15040632Burden and Risk Factors for Cold-Related Illness and Death in New York CityKathryn Lane0Kazuhiko Ito1Sarah Johnson2Elizabeth A. Gibson3Andrew Tang4Thomas Matte5Bureau of Environmental Surveillance and Policy, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 125 Worth Street, CN-34E, New York, NY 10013, USABureau of Environmental Surveillance and Policy, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 125 Worth Street, CN-34E, New York, NY 10013, USABureau of Environmental Surveillance and Policy, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 125 Worth Street, CN-34E, New York, NY 10013, USABureau of Environmental Surveillance and Policy, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 125 Worth Street, CN-34E, New York, NY 10013, USABureau of Environmental Surveillance and Policy, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 125 Worth Street, CN-34E, New York, NY 10013, USAVital Strategies, 61 Broadway, Suite 2800, New York, NY 10006, USAExposure to cold weather can cause cold-related illness and death, which are preventable. To understand the current burden, risk factors, and circumstances of exposure for illness and death directly attributed to cold, we examined hospital discharge, death certificate, and medical examiner data during the cold season from 2005 to 2014 in New York City (NYC), the largest city in the United States. On average each year, there were 180 treat-and-release emergency department visits (average annual rate of 21.6 per million) and 240 hospital admissions (29.6 per million) for cold-related illness, and 15 cold-related deaths (1.8 per million). Seventy-five percent of decedents were exposed outdoors. About half of those exposed outdoors were homeless or suspected to be homeless. Of the 25% of decedents exposed indoors, none had home heat and nearly all were living in single-family or row homes. The majority of deaths and illnesses occurred outside of periods of extreme cold. Unsheltered homeless individuals, people who use substances and become incapacitated outdoors, and older adults with medical and psychiatric conditions without home heat are most at risk. This information can inform public health prevention strategies and interventions.http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/4/632coldhypothermiacold-related illnessmortalitysurveillance |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Kathryn Lane Kazuhiko Ito Sarah Johnson Elizabeth A. Gibson Andrew Tang Thomas Matte |
spellingShingle |
Kathryn Lane Kazuhiko Ito Sarah Johnson Elizabeth A. Gibson Andrew Tang Thomas Matte Burden and Risk Factors for Cold-Related Illness and Death in New York City International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health cold hypothermia cold-related illness mortality surveillance |
author_facet |
Kathryn Lane Kazuhiko Ito Sarah Johnson Elizabeth A. Gibson Andrew Tang Thomas Matte |
author_sort |
Kathryn Lane |
title |
Burden and Risk Factors for Cold-Related Illness and Death in New York City |
title_short |
Burden and Risk Factors for Cold-Related Illness and Death in New York City |
title_full |
Burden and Risk Factors for Cold-Related Illness and Death in New York City |
title_fullStr |
Burden and Risk Factors for Cold-Related Illness and Death in New York City |
title_full_unstemmed |
Burden and Risk Factors for Cold-Related Illness and Death in New York City |
title_sort |
burden and risk factors for cold-related illness and death in new york city |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
issn |
1660-4601 |
publishDate |
2018-03-01 |
description |
Exposure to cold weather can cause cold-related illness and death, which are preventable. To understand the current burden, risk factors, and circumstances of exposure for illness and death directly attributed to cold, we examined hospital discharge, death certificate, and medical examiner data during the cold season from 2005 to 2014 in New York City (NYC), the largest city in the United States. On average each year, there were 180 treat-and-release emergency department visits (average annual rate of 21.6 per million) and 240 hospital admissions (29.6 per million) for cold-related illness, and 15 cold-related deaths (1.8 per million). Seventy-five percent of decedents were exposed outdoors. About half of those exposed outdoors were homeless or suspected to be homeless. Of the 25% of decedents exposed indoors, none had home heat and nearly all were living in single-family or row homes. The majority of deaths and illnesses occurred outside of periods of extreme cold. Unsheltered homeless individuals, people who use substances and become incapacitated outdoors, and older adults with medical and psychiatric conditions without home heat are most at risk. This information can inform public health prevention strategies and interventions. |
topic |
cold hypothermia cold-related illness mortality surveillance |
url |
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/4/632 |
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