1

Heat-Associated Deaths in Maricopa County, AZ
Addendum Report for 2014

Photograph by Dan Sorensen:
http://www.dansorensenphotography.com/

Maricopa County Department of Public Health
http://www.maricopa.gov/publichealth/

1|Page

2

MARICOPA COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH
DIVISION OF DISEASE CONTROL
OFFICE OF EPIDEMIOLOGY

HEAT-ASSOCIATED DEATHS IN
MARICOPA COUNTY, AZ
ADDENDUM TO THE 2014 FINAL REPORT
WITH RESOLUTION TO THREE PENDING
CASES
10/23/15

2|Page

3

Table of Contents
Background ............................................................................................................................................... 4
Graph 1: Confirmed Heat-Associated Deaths by Year, Maricopa County, 2001-2014 ...................... 4
Results of the Pending Cases .................................................................................................................... 5
Table 1: Identifying Characteristics of the Two Pending Cases ........................................................... 5
Preliminary and Final Results ................................................................................................................... 6
Table 2: Heat Associated Deaths by Classification .............................................................................. 6
Table 3: Heat Associated Deaths by Place of Residence ...................................................................... 6
Table 4: Heat Associated Deaths by Gender ........................................................................................ 6
Table 5: Heat Associated Deaths by Age Group .................................................................................. 7
Table 6: Heat Associated Deaths by Number of Years Spent in Arizona ............................................ 7
Table 7: Heat Associated Deaths by Race/Ethnicity ............................................................................ 8
Table 8: Heat Associated Deaths by Place of Injury ............................................................................ 8
Table 9: Heat Associated Deaths by Place of Outdoor Injury .............................................................. 9
Table 10: Heat Associated Deaths by Residency Status ....................................................................... 9
Table 11: Heat Associated Deaths by Drug & Alcohol Use (Death Certificate)................................ 10

3|Page

4

Background
After extensive investigation into the three pending cases, it was found that two of the three
cases were legitimate heat-associated deaths, while one case was ruled out. This addendum is a
continuation of the 2014 Final Heat-Associated Death Report and includes a summarization of
the two heat-associated deaths that have been confirmed. In this report you will find a table
depicting the history and demographics of the two previously pending heat-associated deaths,
followed by a series of tables depicting the preliminary 2014 results compared to the final 2014
results.

Graph 1. Confirmed Heat-Associated Deaths by Year, Maricopa County, 2001-2014

120
106

110

100

Number of Deaths

85
80

82

75

74

76
61†

60

51

49
38

40

50

42

21
20

0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Year of Reported Death

Data Sources: Maricopa County, Office of Vital Registration and Office of Medical Examiner; Arizona Department of
Health Services, Office of Vital Registration
* These numbers are for heat-associated deaths reported to MCDPH as of 10/05/2015.
† One case had heat injury outside of Maricopa County, and therefore is not included in analysis

4|Page

5

Final Results of the Two Pending Cases
Table 1

Identifying Characteristics of the Two Pending Cases
Case #1

Case #2

Heat Caused

Heat Caused

Male

Male

3

55

0-4

50-64

Unknown

Unknown

African American

African American

Outdoor

Indoor

Place of Outdoor Injury

Car

N/A

Air Conditioning Status

N/A

No Air Conditioning

Non-Homeless

Non-Homeless

No

No

Maricopa County

Maricopa County

Date of Injury

10/04/2014

7/11/2014

Date of Death

10/05/2014

7/11/2014

Heat Caused or Heat
Related
Gender
Age
Age Group
# of Years Spent in
Arizona
Race
Place of Injury

Homeless Status
Drug/Alcohol Related
based on records from
the Death Certificate
Place of Residency

5|Page

6

Comparison of the Preliminary and Final Results for the 2014 Heat
Mortality Report

Table 2

Heat Associated Deaths by Classification
Preliminary Results

Final Results

Heat Related

28 (48.3%)

28 (46.7%)

Heat Caused

30 (51.7%)

32 (53.3%)

Total

58 (100%)

60 (100%)

Table 3

Heat Associated Deaths by Place of Residence
Preliminary Results

Final Results

Maricopa County

50 (86.2%)

52 (86.6%)

Non-Maricopa County

4 (6.9%)

4 (6.7%)

Non-Arizona

4 (6.9%)

4 (6.7%)

Total

58 (100%)

60 (100%)

*Non-Maricopa County residents include 4 cases from unidentified AZ counties
**Non-Arizona residents include three U.S. residents (CA, ID and WA) and one non-US resident (Brazil)

Table 4

Heat Associated Deaths by Gender
Preliminary Results

Final Results

Total # Males

47 (81.0%)

49 (81.7%)

Total # Females

11 (19.0%)

11 (18.3%)

Total

58 (100%)

60 (100%)

6|Page

7

Table 5

Heat Associated Deaths by Age Group
Preliminary Results

Final Results

0-4

0 (0.0%)

1 (1.7%)

5-19

0 (0.0%)

0 (0.0%)

20-34

6 (10.4%)

6 (10.0%)

35-49

9 (15.5%)

9 (15.0%)

50-64

18 (31.0%)

19 (31.7%)

65-74

13 (22.4%)

13 (21.6%)

75+

12 (20.7%)

12 (20.0%)

Total

58 (100%)

60 (100%)

Table 6

Heat Associated Deaths by Number of Years Spent in Arizona
Preliminary Results

Final Results

<3

6 (10.3%)

6 (10.3%)

3-9

6 (10.3%)

6 (10.3%)

10-19

9 (15.6%)

9 (15.6%)

20+

37 (63.8%)

37 (63.8%)

Total

58 (100%)

58 (100%)

*Excludes two cases for which time spent in Arizona was unknown at the time of analysis

7|Page

8

Table 7

Heat Associated Deaths by Race/Ethnicity
Preliminary Results

Final Results

White

39 (67.3%)

39 (65%)

Hispanic

7 (12.1%)

7 (11.7%)

African American

5 (8.6%)

7 (11.7%)

Native American

5 (8.6%)

5 (8.2%)

Asian/Pacific Islander

1 (1.7%)

1 (1.7%)

Other

1 (1.7%)

1 (1.7%)

Total:

58 (100%)

60 (100%)

Table 8

Heat Associated Deaths by Place of Injury
Preliminary Results

Final Results

Indoor

16 (27.6%)

17 (28.3 %)

Outdoor

42 (72.4%)

43 (71.7%)

Total

58 (100%)

60 (100%)

8|Page

9

Table 9

Heat Associated Deaths by Place of Outdoor Injury
Preliminary Results

Final Results

Urban Area

15 (35.7%)

15 (34.9%)

Desert Area/Trail

8 (19.0%)

8 (18.6%)

Private Residence

12 (28.6%)

12 (27.9%)

Car

5 (11.9%)

6 (14.0%)

Shed

2 (4.8%)

2 (4.6%)

Total

42 (100%)

43 (100%)

Table 10

Heat Associated Deaths by Residency Status
Preliminary Results

Final Results

Homeless

7 (12.1%)

7 (11.7%)

Non-Homeless

51 (87.9%)

53 (88.3%)

Total

58 (100%)

60 (100%)

9|Page

10

Table 11

Drug and Alcohol Use, as Mentioned on the Death Certificate, for HeatAssociated Deaths

Total

10 | P a g e

Preliminary
Results
Drug and/or
Alcohol Use

Preliminary
Results
‘No’ Drug
and/or Alcohol
Use

Final Results
Drug and/or
Alcohol Use

Final Results
‘No’ Drug and/or
Alcohol Use

22 (38%)

36 (62%)

22 (36.7%)

38 (63.3%)