Effects of Dust Storms and Climatological Factors on Mortality and Morbidity of Cardiovascular Diseases Admitted to ED

Abstract

Objective This study was designed to investigate the effects of Desert Dust Storms and Climatological Factors on Mortality and Morbidity of Cardiovascular Diseases admitted to emergency department in Gaziantep. Method Hospital records, obtained between September 01, 2009 and January 31, 2014, from four state hospitals in Gaziantep, Turkey, were compared to meteorological and climatological data. Statistical analysis was performed by Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) for windows version 24.0. Results 168,467 patients were included in this study. 83% of the patients had chest pain and 17% of patients had cardiac failure (CF). An increase in inpatient hospitalization due to CF was observed and corresponded to the duration of dust storms measured by number of days. However, there was no significant increase in emergency department (ED) presentations. There was no significant association of cardiac related mortality and coinciding presence of a dust storm or higher recorded temperature. The association of increases in temperature levels and the presence of dust storms with “acute coronary syndrome- (ACS-) related emergency service presentations, inpatient hospitalization, and mortality” were statistically significant. The relationship between the increase in PM10 levels due to causes unrelated to dust storms and the outpatient application, admission, and mortality due to heart failure was not significant. The increase in particle matter 10 (PM) levels due to causes outside the dust storm caused a significant increase in outpatient application, hospitalization, and mortality originated from ACS. Conclusion Increased number of dust storms resulted in a higher prevalence of mortality due to ACS while mortality due to heart failure remained unchanged. Admission, hospitalization, and mortality due to chest pain both dependent and independent of ACS were increased by the presence of dust storms, PM10 elevation, and maximum temperature.

Impact of Desert Dust Events on the Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Of the selected studies, only 8 provided information on the impact of PM 10 -dust on the incidence of ACS [ 14 , 24 , 25 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ], comprising a total of 128,633 events. For lag 0 in relation to ACS, the impact of PM 10 -dust was IRR = 1.002 (95% CI 0.999–1.004); p = 0.144; I 2 = 0%.…”

“…In June 2020, a tremendous plume of dust from North Africa was detected approaching the USA and other countries ( Figure 5 and Supplementary Materials Video S1).The intensity and extent of the plume was so great that it blanketed the Caribbean Sea and darkened skies in several states in the USA [34]. Different studies conducted individually in different regions have evaluated the relationship between desert dust and ACS [14,24,25,[28][29][30][31][32] and heart failure [25,29,30,33]. In our opinion, the number of studies made is clearly insufficient to be able to draw conclusions.…”

“…Different studies conducted individually in different regions have evaluated the relationship between desert dust and ACS [ 14 , 24 , 25 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ] and heart failure [ 25 , 29 , 30 , 33 ]. In our opinion, the number of studies made is clearly insufficient to be able to draw conclusions.…”

Global Health Impacts of Dust Storms: A Systematic Review

“…Thirty-three articles from almost all regions discussed mortality due to dust storms by means of different health problems, such as increased total non-accidental deaths, 3 , 38 , 39 , 41 , 46 , 53 - 55 , 68 - 82 cardiovascular deaths, 3 , 38 , 39 , 48 , 50 , 53 , 70 , 74 , 77 , 82 - 85 mortality due to acute coronary syndrome ( ACS), 3 , 70 , 81 , 86 and respiratory mortality. 48 , 53 , 55 , 77 , 87 Some studies reported, however, that the number of cases was not increased significantly for all-causes, 43 , 88 respiratory, 38 , 43 cardiovascular, 43 or cerebrovascular mortality.…”

Asian Sand Dust Particles Increased Pneumococcal Biofilm Formation in vitro and Colonization in Human Middle Ear Epithelial Cells and Rat Middle Ear Mucosa

“…A seasonal episode of Asian sand dust (ASD), which originates from arid areas of Mongolia and the Gobi desert, and affects the Korean peninsula, Japan, and China, is a major source of pollution in the East and Northeast Asia (Jung, 2016). In recent years, a growing number of reports have suggested that ASD exposure negatively affects human health, leading to respiratory diseases (Jung et al, 2012;Yu et al, 2012;Watanabe et al, 2016;Nakao et al, 2018) and significant mortality annually (Chen et al, 2004;Lee et al, 2014;Al et al, 2018). In addition, ASD contains PM of diameters < 10 µm (PM 10 ) along with inhalable hazardous chemical components such as sulfate (SO 4 2− ) and nitrate (NO 3 − ) and microbes such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi (Chen et al, 2010).…”