Temperature's Toll: Hospitals see a surge in drug and alcohol abuse-related visits on hotter nights, study reveals

In a concerning development driven by the relentless advance of climate change, our nights are growing hotter – and not in the way we would hope. Reports from multiple weather agencies have confirmed that August 2023 has entered the annals as the hottest month ever recorded. This alarming statistic cements this year's position as one of the warmest among an already increasingly hot 21st century, providing stark evidence of our planet's unwavering warming trend.

However, the more evident consequences such as escalating sea levels and the extinction of species may not directly impact many individuals unless it affects their homes or puts their species at risk of vanishing. Nevertheless, a recent research study has disclosed that climate change is influencing other, seemingly mundane facets of our daily lives.

Research from Columbia Public Health has established a direct correlation between elevated temperatures and a surge in hospital admissions related to alcohol and substance-related disorders.

The United States is observing an escalating pattern of excessive episodic drinking and the occurrence of alcohol-related fatalities and illnesses, particularly among middle-aged and older adults. Additionally, drug overdose fatalities have increased by over fivefold since the close of the 20th century.

Researchers delved into how temperature affects hospital admissions linked to alcohol and various drugs, including cannabis, cocaine, opioids, and sedatives, in the state of New York. They analysed data encompassing 671,625 alcohol-related hospital visits and 721,469 substance-related hospital admissions spanning two decades, while also factoring in daily temperature and relative humidity records.

Using statistical models, they contrasted days with high temperatures against adjacent days with lower mercury levels to gain insight into how short-term climate-related occurrences, like hotter days, impact hospital admissions.

The findings disclosed that a 75th percentile surge in daily minimum temperature across a 0-6 day interval was linked to a 25% increase in hospital admission rates. Concerning substance-related disorders, elevated hospital admissions were only evident when nighttime temperatures escalated to the 50th percentile, rather than at higher temperatures.

Moreover, the study proposed that a temperature threshold for substance abuse might exist because, beyond a certain temperature, people are less inclined to venture outdoors. The data demonstrated that these discoveries were consistent across different age groups, genders, and levels of social vulnerability.

Nonetheless, the researchers acknowledge that their study possibly underestimates the association between rising temperatures and substance use disorders, as extremely severe disorders may have resulted in fatalities even before a hospital visit became possible.

Further investigation is warranted to explore the role of pre-existing health conditions exacerbated by alcohol and/or substance use combined with elevated temperatures.

The detailed findings of this study have been published in Communications Medicine and can be accessed here.