A study published this week in science journal Climatic Change models how hospital admissions for things like diabetes, kidney stones, and suicide attempts will rise along with the temperature, something that’s expected to happen as global warming increases the average yearly temperature and causes temperature swings. Those most at risk for climate-related hospital admittance (and resulting deaths) are the very young and the elderly, whose regulatory systems are less able to adapt to high temperatures. With a health-care system that is already taxed, such an increase could overwhelm small hospitals or those with limited resources.
The authors of the study — from University of Wisconsin-Madison, Purdue University, and the National Center for Climatic Research — used 17 years of data from Milwaukee hospital admissions and found that hospital admissions for ailments involving the kidneys would increase 13 percent for every 2 degrees the mercury rose above 85 degrees Fahrenheit; endocrine disorders would increase by 9 percent. Accidents and suicide attempts would start increasing by about 3 percent for every 2 degrees over 81 degrees F. With t... Read more