Secular trends in heat related illness and excess sun exposure rates across climatic zones in the United States from 2017 to 2022

Heat waves are a major public health challenge, yet the link between heat-related illness (HRI) and regional climate and geography is underexplored. We examined HRI and excess sun exposure incidence rates (IR) [95% confidence interval (CI) per 100,000 person-years], and their correlation with regional maximum temperatures across 9 US climatic zones 33,603,572 individuals were followed from 2017 to 2022. We observed 10,652 individuals with HRI diagnosis (median age: 49 years, 62.3% male). Seasonal peaks occurred during summer: highest overall IR (130.97 [119.93–142.75]) was recorded in July 2019, highest regional IR was reported in the South (186.04 [117.93–279.15]) during 2020. Strongest correlations between monthly maximum temperature and incidence of HRI were observed in the West (Pearson Correlation Coefficient (cor) = 0.854) and Southwest (cor = 0.832). In contrast, we observed 131,204 individuals with excess sun exposure (predominantly older adults [median age: 67 years], 52.3% female, 30% with history of cancer). Overall IR for sun exposure peaked in March 2021 (664.31 [644.84–684.21]) and lacked a consistent seasonal pattern. Sun exposure exhibited weaker correlations with regional temperatures, even in high-temperature regions like the West (cor = 0.305). These data indicate regional variations in HRI. With distinct at-risk groups for HRI and sun exposure, targeted regional interventions may be beneficial, such as heat safety protocols to reduce HRI risk and sun protection campaigns for older adults to mitigate sun exposure risk.