What data about cold-related illness are available on the portal?
- Emergency department visits
- Hospitalizations
- Near real-time data
Emergency department visit and hospitalization data are available for single and/or combined years from 2001 through 2018. When possible data may be explored by sex and age group for the following geographic breakdowns:
- Counties
- State
The near real-time data dashboard provides daily updates to the number of emergency department visits for cold-related illness at the state and county level so far in 2022. The dashboard also allows you to compare daily and weekly data going back to 2017.
Why track cold-related illness?
The most common cold-related illnesses in Maine are hypothermia and frostbite. Cold-related illness symptoms range from shivering to fatigue and are important warning signs as exposure to extreme cold can lead to disorientation, unconsciousness, or death.
The Maine Tracking Network tracks emergency department visits and hospitalizations for cold-related illness to understand how Mainers are affected by exposure to cold temperatures and to monitor at-risk populations. These data can be used to examine possible time trends, seasonal trends, and geographic differences. Understanding differences over time and place can help public health professionals plan and evaluate prevention strategies for at-risk populations.
Where can I find more information about cold-related illness?
- Learn more about prevention of cold-related illness from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Explore education and outreach information about cold weather safety from the National Weather Service.
- Download toolkits about winter weather safety from Ready.gov.