JAMA IM: Extreme Heat and Hospitalization Among Older Persons With Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias

Where, when, and among whom does extreme heat increase the risk of hospitalization with Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD) in the US?

By JAMA Internal Medicine, Original Investigation

February 3, 2025

Scott W. Delaney, ScD, JD, MPH¹; Angela Stegmuller, MS¹; Daniel Mork, PhD²; et alLauren Mock, MS²; Michelle L. Bell, PhD^3,4; Thomas M. Gill, MD⁵; Danielle Braun, PhD^2,6; Antonella Zanobetti, PhD¹

Author Affiliations

• Article Information

JAMA Intern Med. Published online February 3, 2025. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2024.7719

Key Points

Question

Where, when, and among whom does extreme heat increase the risk of hospitalization with Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD) in the US?

Findings

In this cohort study of over 3 million hospitalizations, the odds ratio of hospitalization with ADRD was 1.02 (95% CI, 1.01-1.02) after 1 day of exposure to extreme heat (hottest 1% of days) and 1.04 (95% CI, 1.03-1.04) after 4 days of continuous extreme heat exposure. Black, Hispanic, and Asian beneficiaries faced higher risk than White beneficiaries.

Meaning

These findings suggest clinicians should consider counseling patients living with ADRD about extreme heat risks, and policymakers should devise heat risk-mitigating programs.

READ FULL ARTICLE

Citation

Delaney SW, Stegmuller A, Mork D, et al. Extreme Heat and Hospitalization Among Older Persons With Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias. JAMA Intern Med. Published online February 03, 2025. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2024.7719

Source: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2829472