[Results of the 2022-2023 「Winter Cold-Related Illness Surveillance」].

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency establishes a cold-related illness (CRI) surveillance system that monitors the occurrence of CRI (hypothermia, frostbite, chilblains, immersion disease, etc.) in approximately 500 medical institutions operating emergency rooms across the country every winter (December to February of the following year) is being operated. Collectively, 507 organizations participated in the CRI emergency room surveillance system for the 2022–2023 season (as of December 2022), and a total of 447 reported CRI patients (including 12 presumed CRI deaths) were reported, an increase of 49.0% (147 people) compared to the previous year. The national average temperature in the winter of 2022 (2022.12.–2023.2.) was 0.2℃ (–0.3℃ compared to average value over 30 years from 1971 to 2000), similar to the average temperature. In late January 2023, it was the lowest temperature during the winter and the largest number of CRIs (25.7%) occurred during the entire surveillance period (2022.12.–2023.2.). Most CRIs were reported by males (303 people, 67.8%), people over 80-year-old (102 people, 22.8%), and unemployed people (151 people, 33.8%). Occurrence times occur consistently throughout the day, but especially in the morning. 31.3% (140 people) of all patients occurred during the activity time period of 6 to 12 o’clock. The most common location of occurrence was along the road (111 people, 24.8%), followed by around residential areas (67 people, 15.0%), and at home (66 people, 14.8%). The most common CRI was hypothermia (300 patients, 67.1%), and 19.7% (88 patients) of all patients were drunk at the time of admission.