Hot Days Flood ERs With More Than Just Heat Illness

When temperatures spike, emergency rooms expect cases of heat-related issues. A new study of Chicago hospitals found that on the hottest days, heat illness or heat strokes were about six times more common than on typical warm days. No surprise there. What was surprising? Dozens of other conditions also rose.

Researchers at Northwestern University looked at 916,904 emergency and urgent care visits. The visits happened across Chicago from 2011 to 2023. The team compared which diagnoses spiked on the city's hottest days versus more typical ones. An extremely hot day was defined as one with temps over 92.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Using that benchmark, the team screened over 1,800 diagnosis codes. They found 33 conditions tied to very hot weather.

Ankle and foot injuries were about 20% more likely on the hottest days. Skin rashes were more common, too. Kidney failures and firearm-related injuries also rose. The Associated Press (AP) found some categories jumped even further. Accidental gunshot wounds were more than 30 times as common on hot days, the AP reported. Injuries from assault climbed even more sharply.

Heat can cause people to act more aggressively, study co-author Daniel Horton said in a press release. Heat can stress the body and mind, he said. That "may be distracting or aggravating." It could cause more accidents and conflict, Horton noted.

The pattern shows up elsewhere, too. A separate study of the 100 largest US cities found nearly 7% of shootings could be linked to very warm days.

Together, the findings suggest heat's health toll extends well beyond what's typically tracked. That gap matters more as extreme heat days grow more frequent.

Reflect: What's a strategy you rely on to stay cool or comfortable when the weather gets really hot?