Cold-related illness ED visits
Cold-related illness
Emergency Department visits, hospitalizations and deaths
People exposed to cold temperatures, winter weather conditions, or cold water can experience acute illness that may result in visiting the Emergency Department (ED), hospitalization, or even death.
Emergency Department (ED) visit data include patients that were treated in the ED and then either released or hospitalized for further care. ED visit data includes more patients than hospitalization data because in most cases people will visit the ED before becoming hospitalized.
Hospitalizations represent more severe cases of cold-related illness. People are hospitalized for cold-related illness due to extreme symptoms, including hypothermia, and complications from other health conditions.
Deaths are the most severe health outcome from cold exposure. Cold-related deaths are sometimes not identified as being related to cold, which means the data may underestimate cold-related deaths.
Cold-related illness rates
The overall trend shows an increase in cold-related illness ED visits and hospitalizations, although the number and rate varies from year to year.
Cold-related illness directly accounted for 588 deaths in Minnesota from 2002-2019. While the number and rate of cold-related deaths vary from year to year, the overall trend shows an increase in cold-related deaths from 2002 to 2019. In 2019, there were 62 deaths (almost 1 death per 100,000 Minnesotans).
Overall, more males are seen in the ED and hospitalized for cold-related illness than females. In 2019, the ED visit rate for males was close to three times higher than for females. In 2019, males died from cold-related illness at 2.8 times the rate of females.
ED visits
Cold-related ED visit rates in Minnesota, by sex
Age-adjusted rate per 100,000 people
Click points below for more information
*ICD: The International Classification of Disease (ICD) coding changed for cold-related illnesses on October 1st, 2015. Rates from 2014 and earlier should not be compared to rates after the coding change.
Source: Data for ED visits and hospitalizations from the Minnesota Hospital Association.
Hospitalizations
Cold-related hospitalization rates in Minnesota, by sex
Age-adjusted rate per 100,000 people
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*ICD: The International Classification of Disease (ICD) coding changed for cold-related illnesses on October 1st, 2015. Rates from 2014 and earlier should not be compared to rates after the coding change.
Source: Data for ED visits and hospitalizations from the Minnesota Hospital Association.
Deaths
Cold-related death rates in Minnesota, by sex
Age-adjusted rate per 100,000 people
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Source: Data for deaths from the Minnesota Center for Health Statistics.
Data table
Cold-related illness rates in Minnesota, by sex
Click download to the right for a plain text version of the table
*ICD: The International Classification of Disease (ICD) coding changed for cold-related illnesses on October 1st, 2015. Rates from 2014 and earlier should not be compared to rates after the coding change.
Source: Data for ED visits and hospitalizations from the Minnesota Hospital Association.
Source: Data for deaths from the Minnesota Center for Health Statistics.
Cold-related illness rates by age and sex
Males aged 65 and older had the highest rate of cold-related hospitalizations and deaths, while younger males aged 15-34 had the highest rate of cold-related ED visits. Older males were more likely to experience more severe illness and require more care.
ED visits
Cold-related ED visit rates in Minnesota, by age and sex
Age-adjusted rate per 100,000 people for years 2015-2019
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Source: 2015-2019 data for ED visits and hospitalizations from the Minnesota Hospital Association.
Hospitalizations
Cold-related hospitalization rates in Minnesota, by age and sex
Age-adjusted rate per 100,000 people for years 2015-2019
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Source: 2015-2019 data for ED visits and hospitalizations from the Minnesota Hospital Association.
Deaths
Cold-related death rates in Minnesota, by age and sex
Age-adjusted rate per 100,000 people for years 2015-2019
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Source: 2015-2019 data for deaths from the Minnesota Center for Health Statistics.
Data table
Cold-related illness rates in Minnesota, by age and sex
Age-adjusted rate per 100,000 people for years 2015-2019
Click download to the right for a plain text version of the table
Source: Data for ED visits and hospitalizations from the Minnesota Hospital Association.
Source: Data for deaths from the Minnesota Center for Health Statistics.
Cold-related illness rates by county
ED visits
Cold-related ED visit rates for 2015-2019
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Source: Data for ED visits and hospitalizations from the Minnesota Hospital Association.
Hospitalizations
Cold-related hospitalization rates for 2010-2019
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Source: Data for ED visits and hospitalizations from the Minnesota Hospital Association.
Data table
Cold-related ED visit and hospitalization rates by county
Click download to the right for a plain text version of the table
Source: Data for ED visits and hospitalizations from the Minnesota Hospital Association.
Last updated September 2022.