81 - Hypothermia

Summary

Hypothermia is an external cause of death. See Map 5 All external deaths. The term refers to the condition where severe cold causes death.

See also Map 50 Hunger, thirst, exposure, neglect.

Rates of death from hypothermia are low, so the map has a somewhat patchy appearance. The southern part of Inner London, Birmingham and Scottish cities record some of the highest rates; in each, males tend to have higher rates than females. These are areas where higher than average numbers of older people live alone, may not have central heating and are likely to be living in fuel poverty; both the high costs of housing in the south and the need to heat for longer in the north may be factors that influence this map’s appearance.

Hypothermia is when the temperature of the body drops below normal and the metabolism and bodily functions are affected. In its most severe form, when the body temperature drops below 320C, the pulse and respiration rates decrease, major organs fail and clinical death occurs. Due to decreased cellular activity in the cold conditions, brain death will take longer to occur: a person suffering from hypothermia should not be assumed dead until they are ‘warm dead’. The body needs to be brought into a warm environment to confirm mortality.

In Britain, most people who die from hypothermia are elderly people living alone, especially women, who have become cold inside their homes, rather than outside. Poverty, the cost of heating a home and substandard housing all play a part; the elderly are particularly vulnerable, hence the government’s Winter Fuel Payments.

Under 65 years old, more men than women die of hypothermia. Some of these will have been living rough, some unable to get home because of being drunk, and some deaths will be from leisure activities (such as mountaineering or fell walking) that have gone badly wrong.