Using injury surveillance to assess sport and recreation-related heat illness

Although heat illness is preventable, it is a leading cause of death among U.S. high school and college athletes (1). Despite this, the total burden of heat illness during sports and recreation is unknown. With over 250 million U.S. residents reporting occasional participation in sports or recreational activities (2), there is a large population at risk.

Objective

To examine the incidence and characteristics of heat illness during sports and recreation.