Risk factors

Risk factors for hypothermia include:

• Exhaustion. Your tolerance for cold diminishes when you are fatigued.
• Older age. The body's ability to regulate temperature and to sense cold may lessen with age. And some older adults may not be able to communicate when they are cold or to move to a warm location if they do feel cold.
• Very young age. Children lose heat faster than adults do. Children may also ignore the cold because they're having too much fun to think about it. And they may not have the judgment to dress properly in cold weather or to get out of the cold when they should.
• Mental problems. People with a mental illness, dementia or other conditions that interfere with judgment may not dress appropriately for the weather or understand the risk of cold weather. People with dementia may wander from home or get lost easily, making them more likely to be stranded outside in cold or wet weather.

• Alcohol and drug use. Alcohol may make your body feel warm inside, but it causes your blood vessels to expand, resulting in more rapid heat loss from the surface of your skin. The body's natural shivering response is diminished in people who've been drinking alcohol.

  In addition, the use of alcohol or recreational drugs can affect your judgment about the need to get inside or wear warm clothes in cold-weather conditions. If a person is intoxicated and passes out in cold weather, he or she is likely to develop hypothermia.

• Certain medical conditions. Some health disorders affect your body's ability to regulate body temperature. Examples include an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), poor nutrition or anorexia nervosa, diabetes, stroke, severe arthritis, Parkinson's disease, trauma, and spinal cord injuries.
• Medications. Some drugs can change the body's ability to regulate its temperature. Examples include certain antidepressants, antipsychotics, narcotic pain medications and sedatives.