Cold weather-related deaths rising in US: Study
Deaths in the United States from cold weather-related causes have been rising, according to a study published Thursday in a medical journal.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), found that the number of Americans who died from cold weather-related factors more than doubled from 1999 to 2022, with the highest rate being detected in the Midwest.
More than 40,000 people died between 1999 and 2022 in situations in which cold was found to be the underlying or a contributing factor, according to the study.
The death rate from cold weather-related causes was the highest among adults aged 75 and older. As people age, the body’s ability to regulate temperature worsens, therefore being more prone to body temperature declines.
People between the ages of 45 and 74 had the highest year-to-year increase in cold-related deaths. Black, American Indian and Alaska Native people had the highest cold-related death rates, according to the study. The highest annual mortality rate spike from cold weather-related factors was among white and Hispanic people.
“Even though we are in this warming world, cold-related deaths are still a public health issue in the U.S.,” Michael Liu, the study’s lead author, told The New York Times.
The study’s authors wrote that “although mean temperatures are increasing in the U.S., studies have found that climate change has been linked with more frequent episodes of severe winter weather in the U.S. over the past few decades, which may in turn be associated with increased cold-related mortality.”
Deaths during winter months in recent years have been 8 percent to 12 percent higher than those in non-winter months, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
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