Impacts of Extreme Heat on Emergency Medical Service Calls In King County, Washington, 2007–2012: Relative Risk and Time Series Analyses of Basic and Advanced Life Support

Details

• Personal Author:
  Calkins MM ; Fenske RA ; Isaksen TB ; Stubbs BA ; Yost MG
• Description:
  Background: Exposure to excessive heat kills more people than any other weather-related phenomenon, aggravates chronic diseases, and causes direct heat illness. Strong associations between extreme heat and health have been identified through increased mortality and hospitalizations and there is growing evidence demonstrating increased emergency department visits and demand for emergency medical services (EMS). The purpose of this study is to build on an existing regional assessment of mortality and hospitalizations by analyzing EMS demand associated with extreme heat, using calls as a health metric, in King County, Washington (WA), for a 6-year period. Methods: Relative-risk and time series analyses were used to characterize the association between heat and EMS calls for May 1 through September 30 of each year for 2007-2012. Two EMS categories, basic life support (BLS) and advanced life support (ALS), were analyzed for the effects of heat on health outcomes and transportation volume, stratified by age. Extreme heat was model-derived as the 95th (29.7 degrees C) and 99th (36.7 degrees C) percentile of average county-wide maximum daily humidex for BLS and ALS calls respectively. Results: Relative-risk analyses revealed an 8 % (95 % CI: 6-9 %) increase in BLS calls, and a 14 % (95 % CI: 9-20 %) increase in ALS calls, on a heat day (29.7 and 36.7 degrees C humidex, respectively) versus a non-heat day for all ages, all causes. Time series analyses found a 6.6 % increase in BLS calls, and a 3.8 % increase in ALS calls, per unit-humidex increase above the optimum threshold, 40.7 and 39.7 degrees C humidex respectively. Increases in "no" and "any" transportation were found in both relative risk and time series analyses. Analysis by age category identified significant results for all age groups, with the 15-44 and 45-64 year old age groups showing some of the highest and most frequent increases across health conditions. Multiple specific health conditions were associated with increased risk of an EMS call including abdominal/genito-urinary, alcohol/drug, anaphylaxis/allergy, cardiovascular, metabolic/endocrine, diabetes, neurological, heat illness and dehydration, and psychological conditions. Conclusions: Extreme heat increases the risk of EMS calls in King County, WA, with effects demonstrated in relatively younger populations and more health conditions than those identified in previous analyses. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aging Climate Change Delivery Of Health Care Emergency Responders Epidemiology Hot Temperature Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Age Groups Ambulance Author Keywords: Extreme Heat Climate Change Emergency Care Emergency Medical Services Emergency Medical Services Workers EMS Heat Exposure Hot Environments Medical Care Relative Risk Time Series

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• ISSN:
  1476-069X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  13
• Volume:
  15
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20063687
• Citation:
  Environ Health 2016 Jan; 15:13
• Contact Point Address:
  Miriam M. Calkins, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific St., P.O. Box 237234, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
• Email:
  miriac@uw.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d96d310c02362534b54f5650306dfa1c06062d41ef6f1a7678ba2ba06fe29bc8f39fc29d907c6e7b1571591405e3d7d0cb34b179fe2a143b6ac624d6e97b98d0
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/222248/cdc_222248_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 704.55 KB ]