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Ambient temperature and risk of death from accidental drug overdose in New York City, 1990-2006.

Bohnert AS, Prescott MR, Vlahov D, Tardiff KJ, Galea S. Ambient temperature and risk of death from accidental drug overdose in New York City, 1990-2006. Addiction. 2010 Jun 1; 105(6):1049-54.

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Abstract:

These results suggest a strong relation between temperature and accidental overdose mortality that is driven by cocaine-related overdoses rising at temperatures above 24 degrees Celsius; this is a substantially lower temperature than prior estimates. To put this into perspective, approximately 7 weeks a year between 1990 and 2006 had an average weekly temperature of 24 or above in New York City. Heat-related mortality presents a considerable public health concern, and cocaine users constitute a high-risk group.




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