Table. Association Between Heat Waves and Adverse Health Events Among Dually Eligible Beneficiaries, 2016-2019a.
| Outcome | No. of adverse health events per 1 million beneficiary-days | Adjusted association between heat waves and adverse events, IRR (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non–heat wave days | Heat wave days | ||
| Primary outcomes | |||
| Heat-related ED visits | 537 | 584 | 1.10 (1.08-1.12) |
| Heat-related hospitalizations | 451 | 467 | 1.07 (1.04-1.09) |
| Secondary outcomes | |||
| All-cause ED visits | 2718 | 2681 | 1.02 (1.01-1.03) |
| All-cause hospitalizations | 1071 | 1058 | 1.04 (1.02-1.05) |
| Heat-specific ED visits | 2 | 21 | 4.98 (4.42-5.60) |
| Heat-specific hospitalizations | 1 | 7 | 6.36 (5.19-7.79) |
| NF placements within 3 mo | 3402 | 2441 | 1.00 (0.98-1.02) |
| Deaths | 237 | 239 | 1.04 (1.01-1.07) |
Abbreviations: ED, emergency department; IRR, incidence rate ratio; NF, nursing facility.
a
A heat wave was defined as 3 or more consecutive extreme heat days with a maximum temperature of 90 °F (32.2 °C) or higher and in the 97th percentile of daily maximum temperatures for that zip code tabulation area during the study period.