Extreme Ambient Temperatures and Cardiorespiratory Emergency Room Visits Assessing Risk by Comorbid Health Conditions in a Time Series Study

The authors looked at 292,666 cardiovascular and 562,738 respiratory disease Emergency Department (ED) visits over an eight-year period in Toronto. They found that: diabetics exposed to extreme heat had more ED visits vs. non-diabetics; respiratory disease ED visits during hot weather were higher for individuals with comorbid respiratory diseases and cancer; exposure to extreme cold temperatures over a 2-week period increased cardiovascular disease ED visits for individuals with comorbid cardiovascular diseases, and kidney diseases.