Heat linked to accidental gunshots, varicose veins in Chicago ER data
Heat-related emergencies are typically thought of in terms of heatstroke and dehydration. A Northwestern University study published Wednesday finds the clinical picture is far broader.
Researchers at the university’s medical school examined 916,404 visits to hospital emergency rooms and urgent care centers in Chicago between 2011 and 2023, comparing patterns on days when temperatures hit 92.6°F (33.7°C) or higher to patterns on cooler days. They found that more than a dozen broad categories of illness and injury became more frequent when it got hot, according to the study in Science Advances.
“The sound of the city is the sound of ambulances,” said Dr. Abel Kho, an internal medicine professor at Northwestern and the study’s senior author. “Hot days are just like, something’s going to happen.”
The conditions that rose on hot days included kidney complaints, skin problems and varicose veins. So did accidental gunshot wounds, and emergency visits tied to mental health issues involving marijuana use — categories that standard public-health discussions of heat rarely address.
The study was confined to Chicago, but outside experts said the findings illuminate health problems and costs that the warming world has likely been undercounting.