Hypothermia as a cause of death in British Columbia, 1998-2012: a descriptive assessment

CMAJ Open
Joanne Stares, Tom Kosatsky

Abstract

Hypothermia can result from exposure to cold or as a consequence of underlying physiologic vulnerabilities. Who, where, when and how British Columbians (and Canadians) die of hypothermia have received little research attention. The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology of mortality due to hypothermia among residents of British Columbia. We examined all records in the death registry of the British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency between 1998 and 2012 that had an underlying or contributing cause of death coded for hypothermia or exposure to excessive natural cold. Hypothermia or exposure to excessive natural cold was found to be the underlying or contributing cause in 384 deaths between 1998 and 2012. Mean age of decedents was 52 (SD 20.78) years and 73.2% were male. The annual death rate for hypothermia increased with age, ranging from 0.3 per 100 000 population among people aged 1-34 years to 1.6 per 100 000 population among those older than 75 years of age. The highest annual death rate occurred among older males (2.1 per 100 000 population) followed by older females (1.3 per 100 000 population). Although hypothermia-related deaths occurred year-round, 45.9% occurred during winter months (December, January ...Continue Reading

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Citations

Aug 11, 2018·Geriatrics & Gerontology International·Sachiko MoritaYasuyuki Hayashi
Sep 12, 2018·Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports·Emily ProcterMartin Burtscher
Jun 11, 2018·Emergency Medicine Journal : EMJ·Tasuku MatsuyamaBon Ohta
Jul 23, 2019·Therapeutic Hypothermia and Temperature Management·Yoshihiro FujimotoTetsurou Takegami
Nov 14, 2019·Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine·Kenji KandoriRyoji Iiduka

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