Minnesota Kids Visit ER More Often For Heat Emergencies: Study

MINNESOTA — A new look at data from Minnesota and Wisconsin found that teens and adults 15 to 34 years old in both states are the most likely to visit the emergency department for heat-related illness.

This finding was surprising, officials said in a news release. The majority of public health alerts during heat waves focus on the very young and the very old since they are at higher risk for death and longer hospitalizations.

However this work highlights that teens and younger adults, particularly those involved in athletics or working outdoors, also need to take steps to prevent heat-related illnesses.

Epidemiologists from Minnesota and Wisconsin joined forces to look at heat-related illness, including heat exhaustion, heat cramps, and heat stroke, from 2006-2015 in both states.

There were 7,537 heat-related illness emergency department cases in Minnesota or 14.2 heat-related emergency department cases per 100,000 people, and 8,445 cases or 14.9 cases per 100,000 people in Wisconsin.

Other findings include:

• Men are about twice as likely to visit the emergency department for heat-related illness as women.
• Counties with a higher heat index generally had more cases of heat-related illness.
• Counties in rural areas had heat-related illness rates significantly higher than counties in more metropolitan areas.