title: Relationships between maximum temperature and heat-related illness across North Carolina, USA.
abstract: Heat kills more people than any other weather-related event in the USA, resulting in hundreds of fatalities each year. In North Carolina, heat-related illness accounts for over 2,000 yearly emergency department admissions. In this study, data on emergency department (ED) visits for heat-related illness (HRI) were obtained from the North Carolina Disease Event Tracking and Epidemiologic Collection Tool to identify spatiotemporal relationships between temperature and morbidity across six warm seasons (May-September) from 2007 to 2012. Spatiotemporal relationships are explored across different regions (e.g., coastal plain, rural) and demographics (e.g., gender, age) to determine the differential impact of heat stress on populations. This research reveals that most cases of HRI occur on days with climatologically normal temperatures (e.g., 31 to 35 °C); however, HRI rates increase substantially on days with abnormally high daily maximum temperatures (e.g., 31 to 38 °C). HRI ED visits decreased on days with extreme heat (e.g., greater than 38 °C), suggesting that populations are taking preventative measures during extreme heat and therefore mitigating heat-related illness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography and Planning, Appalachian State University Boone, Rankin Science West, P.O. Box 32066, Boone, NC, 28608, USA. kovachmm@appstate.edu.
authors.forename: Margaret M
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0114-1046
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Sugg
authors.affiliation: Southeast Regional Climate Center, Department of Geography, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Charles E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Konrad
authors.affiliation: Department of Geosciences, Mississippi State University, Mississippi, MS, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Fuhrmann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D018882:Heat Stress Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006358:Hot Temperature / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009657:North Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Heat; Heat-related illness; Maximum temperature; North Carolina