The AP (9/4, Round, Conner, Rowley) carries an article from the University of Maryland’s Howard Center and Capital News Service’s series “Code Red: Baltimore’s Climate Divide” describing how rising temperatures can lead to increased rates of health emergencies, according to a Howard Center data analysis. The analysis indicates “emergency medical calls for dehydration, respiratory distress, kidney disease, diabetes complications, heart attacks and heart failure spiked in Baltimore when the heat index rose above 103 degrees.” Moreover, “the rate of emergency medical calls for psychiatric disorders and drug and alcohol overdoses also increased sharply the analysis found.” Indeed, “the American Psychiatric Association says ‘exposure to extreme heat has been associated with increased use of alcohol to cope with stress’ and an ‘increase in suicide.’”
Heat May Be Dangerous For Some Adults With Mental Illness, Expert Says. On its website and on its “Morning Edition” program, NPR (9/4, Eckert) reports, “For the nearly” one in five “adults who experience mental illness, heat can be dangerous, according to Ken Duckworth, medical director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness.” NPR adds, “Duckworth says prescribed medications are a major factor.” For example, “if a patient is on anti-psychotics…the medication can interfere with the body’s ability to regulate temperature, leading to dehydration or heat stroke, he says.”
Related Links:
— “As temperatures rise, overdoses and hospital visits increase, “Ian Round, Jazmin Conner, Jermaine Rowley and John Fairhall, AP, September 4, 2019