Photo: 123rf
Researchers have found that cardiovascular hospitalisations rise after tropical cyclones.
Researchers at Monash University in Melbourne and Otago University assessed hospital data from Canada, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam from 2000-19, as well as recorded data from 124 cyclones.
They found hospitalisations for cardiovascular disease (CVD) tend to rise, with this rate peaking at 2 months after the event, and the increase lingered up to 6 months after a tropical cyclone.
The team also looked at variables, including sex, age, socioeconomic status and geographic location.
Results showed a statistically significant and prolonged association between cyclones and CVD hospitalisation for people of all sexes aged 20-59.
The team also evaluated six different types of CVD based on hospital diagnostic codes - heart failure, ischemic heart disease, hypertensive heart disease, heart rhythm disturbances, peripheral vascular diseases and stroke.
Ischemic heart diseases and stroke were the two most common subsets of cyclone-associated CVD, and the latter was especially common in males of all ages.
Areas with higher levels of socioeconomic deprivation had higher rates of cyclone-associated CVD hospitalisations, but the opposite was the case in areas with stronger socioeconomic advantages.
"The study demonstrates that, as well as directly causing immediate deaths and injuries, extreme climate events can have important indirect health impacts over following months," said Professor Simon Hales, an epidemiologist at the University of Otago and one of the study's authors.
"These delayed, indirect health impacts are due to infrastructure damage and disruption to livelihoods in the aftermath of major storms.
"It is important to understand these health effects and mechanisms in more detail in order to design adaptive responses, as well as to motivate climate mitigation measures.
"Cyclones, storms and heavy rainfall events are projected to become more frequent, unless stronger efforts are made to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases," he said.
Associate Professor George Laking - executive board member of OraTaiao, the New Zealand Climate and Health Council - said similar work was done after Cyclone Gabrielle for populations in Tai Rāwhiti and Hawke's Bay.
"We weren't able to detect that signal in our own project. I think that is explained by the smaller populations we studied.
"In this report, there is a higher level of uncertainty in the New Zealand country-specific data. I think this represents our overall smaller population.
"Interestingly, the strongest signal in New Zealand was for the north of the South Island, not so strong for the East Coast North Island regions we studied."
Laking said he had waited for this study, showing the adverse interaction of cyclones and cardiovascular health.
"Under climate change, we have to expect an increased incidence and severity of adverse weather events. That is a consequence of the greater amount of energy and water in the atmosphere.
"These incredibly destructive events are adverse for human health in all sorts of ways."
Laking said climate change had been identified as the No.1 risk to human health this century.
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