Analyzing the association between heat and utilization of inpatient care: evidence from Dresden University Hospital (Germany).

Background: As a result of climate change, temperatures and the burdens on human health are rising. This study investigates the relationship between acute heat and hospitalizations for specific diseases at the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus in Dresden, Germany.

Methods: A statistical analysis was conducted using clinical data from 4,363 patients treated between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2023. Data included demographic information and heat-related diagnoses categorized by codes from the International Classification of Diseases. Climatic data was sourced from the Dresden-Klotzsche weather station, focusing on days with air temperatures exceeding 23 °C (warm days) and 30 °C (heat days). Correlation analyses were performed to assess the relationship between heat events and hospital admissions on these days.

Results: We found a positive correlation between hospital admissions and heat at temperatures ≥ 23 °C for all included diseases combined (p < 0.05). A positive correlation was observed between temperatures ≥ 23 °C and hospitalizations for the diseases dehydration (E86), stroke (I63) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (J44) (all p < 0.05). At temperatures of ≥ 30 °C, no statistically significant correlation was identified. We discovered that men, young children and older people were particularly affected by heat-related diseases.

Conclusions: The findings based on routine data from one German university hospital indicate that moderate heat can impact hospitalizations for certain diseases, at temperatures above 30 °C, no evidence for a statistically significant association was found, possibly due to a lack of statistical power or behavioural adaptations. This underlines the need for low-threshold preventive measures in response to the health risks associated with rising temperatures.