During the first heat wave of 2025, 55-year-old Shauna Thomas was found dead in her suburban St. Louis apartment after spending at least three days without air conditioning or water. Police reported that she had “several medical issues” that may have contributed to her death.
Clinicians, community leaders, and public health workers frequently recommend that individuals with chronic conditions—such as diabetes—use air conditioning or seek refuge in air-conditioned spaces during extreme heat. However, this advice assumes that cooling is both affordable and accessible for everyone.
Related articles
PSA Screening Significantly Lowers Prostate Cancer Death Risk, Cochrane Review Confirms
Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood testing is likely to reduce the risk of death from prostate cancer, found a new review published on Thursday by...
Supreme Court Blocks Restrictions on Abortion Pill Mifepristone, Ensuring Continued Access
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday preserved women’s access to a drug used in the most common method of abortion, rejecting lower-court restri...
Dr. Makary's Exit and the Future of Cassidy's Senate Seat: Key Health Policy Shifts
This week’s episode of “The Readout LOUD” is all about health politics. We bring on FDA reporter Lizzy Lawrence to discuss Makary’s departure — why he...
Ballmaxxing: The Dangerous Testicle Enhancement Trend You Need to Know About
Experts say that “Ballmaxxing” may lead to permanent damage. Image Credit: Heathline/Paloma Rincon Studio/GettyImages Ballmaxxing is the latest social...
STAT Unveils 'The Deadliest Drug' Investigation: Alcohol-Related Deaths Surpass 178,000 Annually in the U.S.
Dear Readers, I want to bring your attention to “The Deadliest Drug,” a new STAT investigative series about our nation’s failure to address excessive...
CDC to Relocate 160+ Monkeys to Sanctuary in Bid to End Animal Testing
As part of efforts to phase out the use of monkeys in research, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention intends to transfer more than 160 macaq...
Who Will Lead the FDA Next? The Search for a New Commissioner Heats Up
You’re reading the web edition of D.C. Diagnosis, STAT’s twice-weekly newsletter about the politics and policy of health and medicine. Sign up here to...
Study Links High Air Pollution to Increased Post-Surgical Complications on Utah’s Wasatch Front
New research on Utah’s Wasatch Front—which occasionally experiences the worst air quality in the nation—has found an association between high air poll...