[Results of Operating the 2023 Heat-related Illness Surveillance System]

Since 2011, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency has been operating a "Heat-related Illness Surveillance System" to monitor the occurrence of illnesses (such as heatstroke, heat exhaustion, heat cramps, heat syncope, and heat edema) caused by heat waves at approximately 500 emergency room-operating medical institutions nationwide during the summer. In 2023, 504 medical institutions participated in the Heat-related Illness Surveillance System, and during the operation period (May 20, 2023, to September 30, 2023), 2,818 patients were reported to have heat-related illnesses, of whom 32 were presumed to have died. The number of patients with heat-related illnesses increased by 80.2% compared with the previous year. Among the reported patients with heat-related illnesses, there were more male patients (77.8%, 2,192) than female patients (22.2%, 626). By age, individuals in their 50s, 60s, and 40s accounted for 21.3% (601), 18.2% (514), and 13.7% (385) of the patients. The locations of illness occurrence were outdoors in most cases (79.6%, 2,243), and the percentage of corresponding cases was 3.9 times higher than that of the cases in which the illness occurred indoors (20.4%, 575), and outdoor workplaces accounted for the largest proportion of cases (32.4%, 913). The estimated number of deaths reported in 2023 was 32, a 255.6% increase from the previous year, and the cause of death was mainly heatstroke (90.6%). Health damage due to heat waves is expected to increase in the future. Therefore, information sharing regarding and monitoring the impact of heat waves on health are expected to become even more important.