Extreme Urban Heat and Emergency Department Visits in Older Adults

Is extreme heat associated with emergency department (ED) use among urban-dwelling older adults?In this matched case-control study of 34 651 patients aged 65 years and older in an urban health care system, associations between summer heat and EHR-derived all-cause ED use varied by site. At ED-1 (an ED with more Medicaid-enrolled patients from minoritized racial and ethnic groups), use increased with higher daily maximum and anomalous heat indices, which was not observed at ED-2 (an ED with more White, privately insured patients).These findings suggest that significant heat-health risks were observed in an ED serving socioeconomically vulnerable populations, suggesting tailored heat warning strategies should be studied further.

Corresponding Author: Alexander Azan, MD, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, 180 Madison Ave, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10016 (alexander.azan@nyulangone.org).

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