U.S. Hospitalizations for Heat-Related Illness Increasing

FRIDAY, May 15, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Hospitalization rates for heat-related illness (HRI) have increased in the United States, with the highest rates seen among Black adults, according to a research letter published online May 12 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.Dhara Patel, D.O., from the Cambridge Health Alliance in Massachusetts, and colleagues examined racial and ethnic disparities in population-based HRI hospitalization rates among U.S. adults from 1998 to 2022. National Inpatient Sample data were analyzed from 1998 to 2022; the final analytic data set included 236,931,972 weighted adult hospitalizations, 168,530 of which were for HRI.The researchers observed an increase in national HRI hospitalization rates for all groups, although there was variation in the magnitude of the increase. The rate increased by 1.15 per million per year among White adults, while Black adults experienced a steeper increase (absolute rate difference, 0.85 per million per year). Trends were similar for Hispanics and Whites (absolute rate difference, 0.10 per million per year). Annual rate increases were imprecisely estimated for White and Black adults in the Northeast, but rates increased for both in the South. In the Midwest and West, Black adults had substantially steeper increases than White adults. The likelihood of being hospitalized with HRI was more than twice as likely for persons residing in the poorest income quartile of ZIP codes than those in the wealthiest income quartile (37.9 versus 13.5 percent)."Without stronger climate action, increasing heat exposure will likely worsen health harms for all," the authors write. "Rising disparities in HRI hospitalizations signal the importance of prioritizing equity in climate adaptation policies."Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required).Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

U.S. Hospitalizations for Heat-Related Illness Increasing

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