Health impact in New York City during the Northeastern blackout of 2003.

Objective: This study assessed the health effects of the 2003 Northeastern blackout, the largest one in history, on mortality and hospital admissions due to respiratory, cardiovascular, and renal diseases in New York City (NYC), and compared the disease patterns and sociodemographic profiles of cases during the blackout with those on control days.

Method: We investigated the effects of the blackout on health using incidence rate ratios to compare the disease on blackout days (August 14 and 15, 2003) with those on normal and comparably hot days (controls). Normal days were defined as summer days (June-August) between the 25th and 75th percentiles of maximum temperature during 1991-2004.

Extreme high temperatures and hospital admissions for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

Background: Although the association of high temperatures with mortality is well-documented, the association with morbidity has seldom been examined. We assessed the potential impact of hot weather on hospital admissions due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in New York City. We also explored whether the weather-disease relationship varies with socio-demographic variables.