Majority of heat injury patients at SGH are young adults: Study

Two-thirds of the 426 cases are between the ages of 18 and 39, and are mostly male

- Shabana Begum

When Professor Marcus Ong, a senior consultant at Singapore General Hospital SGH), looked into patient records from 2008 to 2020 to learn more about the characteristics and trends of heat-related injuries in Singapore, the findings surprised him.

He was expecting the bulk of the more than 400 patients to be seniors or children, who are particularly vulnerable to heat strain. Instead, two-thirds of the patients were young adults, mostly male, between the ages of 18 and 39.

Many of these young adults were exercising, and the main causes of heat illnesses were exertional. A number of them could be outdoor workers too, added Prof Ong, who is also director of Duke-NUS Medical School’s Health Services and Systems Research programme.

Moreover, more than 200 of the cases happened on Sundays and in December, which is one of the cooler months in Singapore.

He explained that heat strain is driven not just by weather, but also by a person’s attire and activity. Singapore is also highly humid all year round, which affects thermal comfort.

Prof Ong presented these findings at a climate change and heat health seminar at Duke-NUS Medical School on Jan 26. The study was conducted in 2023.