Document Detail


Heat-related mortality in selected United States cities, summer 1999.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  11764901     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
As part of a public health response to severe heat waves in the midwestern and northeastern United States in the summer of 1999, the authors actively solicited the number of heat-related deaths from 38 medical examiner and coroner jurisdictions comprising 35 metropolitan areas to enumerate heat-related deaths in areas affected by heat waves. They also determined the usefulness of these data for surveillance and rapid investigation of heat-related deaths. A total of 334 heat-related deaths were reported during the study period of July 1 - August 31. Minor changes in data collection and diagnostic criteria in some medical examiner and coroner jurisdictions would allow for greater comparability among jurisdictions. The National Association of Medical Examiners' position paper on heat-related mortality diagnosis provides important guidance to medical examiners and coroners regarding the certification of heat-related deaths and may require some refinement to address certain issues. Among these are certifying manner of death and classifying potential causes of heat-related death not involving hyperthermia or heat stroke, but where heat is a potential contributing factor to death. Medical examiners and coroners are an important resource for heat-related mortality research, and improvements in data collection and reporting could yield tremendous benefits to our understanding of and interventions for heat-related deaths.
Authors:
M I Wolfe; R Kaiser; M P Naughton; M C Mirabelli; S S Yoon; R Hanzlick; A K Henderson
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  The American journal of forensic medicine and pathology     Volume:  22     ISSN:  0195-7910     ISO Abbreviation:  Am J Forensic Med Pathol     Publication Date:  2001 Dec 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2001-12-17     Completed Date:  2002-05-28     Revised Date:  2011-02-02    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8108948     Medline TA:  Am J Forensic Med Pathol     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  352-7     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Epidemic Intelligence Service, Epidemiology Program Office, Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. msw6@cdc.gov
Export Citation:
APA/MLA Format     Download EndNote     Download BibTex
MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Cause of Death*
Cities / epidemiology
Coroners and Medical Examiners / statistics & numerical data
Death Certificates
Heat Stress Disorders / diagnosis,  mortality*
Humans
Population Surveillance / methods
Seasons
United States / epidemiology

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


Previous Document:  Oronasal blood in sudden infant death.
Next Document:  Accidental sharp force injury fatalities.