Study identified diagnoses not typically considered heat-related, like traffic accidents, multiple sclerosis.
Study identified diagnoses not typically considered heat-related, like traffic accidents, multiple sclerosis.
When temperatures spike, emergency physicians expect to see more cases of dehydration and heat stroke. But a new Northwestern University study suggests that extreme heat also is linked to a much wider range of health problems seen in emergency departments and urgent care clinics, including skin conditions, multiple sclerosis and even injuries from traffic accidents.
The findings could help emergency departments and health care systems better prepare for heat waves, which are becoming more prevalent with climate change.
Heat-related illness is difficult to track because medical records often capture the condition being treated without noting that heat may have contributed. This study used an outside-the-box framework, inspired by methods used in genomics research, to examine 1,803 diagnoses recorded across nearly 1 million emergency department and urgent care visits in Chicago between May and September 2011-2023. It identified 33 diagnoses associated with extreme heat exposure, many of which were surprising or understudied.
Read More: Northwestern University
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