Heat exposure and drug overdose mortality in the USA.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Understanding the relationship between heat and drug overdose mortality is critical given the ongoing overdose crisis and rising global temperatures driven by climate change. Evidence from local jurisdictions in the United States (US) and Canada indicates that exposure to heat is associated with increased drug overdose fatalities, but the widespread impact of heat on national drug overdose deaths is undetermined. We aimed to determine the effect of heat exposure on drug overdose mortality in the US.

Design

An observational study using monthly, county-level data from 1999 to 2020 and a fixed effect model estimated with linear regression. The model accounts for time-invariant county-month factors and state-level time-specific shocks.

Setting

All coun

SUBMITTER: Dennett JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12776456 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature