Association between Floods and Acute Cardiovascular Diseases: A Population-Based Cohort Study Using a Geographic Information System Approach

Alain Vanasse, Alan Cohen, Josiane Courteau, Patrick Bergeron, Roxanne Dault, Pierre Gosselin, Claudia Blais, Diane Bélanger, Louis Rochette and Fateh Chebana
Additional contact information
Alain Vanasse: Department of Family Medicine and Urgent Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001 12th Avenue North, Sherbrooke (Québec), QC J1H 5N4, Canada
Alan Cohen: Department of Family Medicine and Urgent Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001 12th Avenue North, Sherbrooke (Québec), QC J1H 5N4, Canada
Josiane Courteau: Department of Family Medicine and Urgent Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001 12th Avenue North, Sherbrooke (Québec), QC J1H 5N4, Canada
Patrick Bergeron: Department of Biological Sciences, Bishop’s University, 2600 College Street, Sherbrooke (Québec), QC J1M, Canada
Roxanne Dault: Department of Family Medicine and Urgent Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001 12th Avenue North, Sherbrooke (Québec), QC J1H 5N4, Canada
Pierre Gosselin: Institute National de Santé Publique du Québec (INSPQ), 945 Wolf Avenue, Québec (Québec), QC G1V 5B3, Canada
Claudia Blais: Institute National de Santé Publique du Québec (INSPQ), 945 Wolf Avenue, Québec (Québec), QC G1V 5B3, Canada
Diane Bélanger: Institute National de Santé Publique du Québec (INSPQ), 945 Wolf Avenue, Québec (Québec), QC G1V 5B3, Canada
Louis Rochette: Institute National de Santé Publique du Québec (INSPQ), 945 Wolf Avenue, Québec (Québec), QC G1V 5B3, Canada
Fateh Chebana: The Eau Terre Environment Research center, Institute National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), 490 Couronne Street, Québec (Québec), QC G1K 9A9, Canada

IJERPH, 2016, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-12

Abstract: Background: Floods represent a serious threat to human health beyond the immediate risk of drowning. There is few data on the potential link between floods and direct consequences on health such as on cardiovascular health. This study aimed to explore the impact of one of the worst floods in the history of Quebec, Canada on acute cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Methods: A cohort study with a time series design with multiple control groups was built with the adult population identified in the Quebec Integrated Chronic Disease Surveillance System. A geographic information system approach was used to define the study areas. Logistic regressions were performed to compare the occurrence of CVD between groups. Results: The results showed a 25%–27% increase in the odds in the flooded population in spring 2011 when compared with the population in the same area in springs 2010 and 2012. Besides, an increase up to 69% was observed in individuals with a medical history of CVD. Conclusion: Despite interesting results, the association was not statistically significant. A possible explanation to this result can be that the population affected by the flood was probably too small to provide the statistical power to answer the question, and leaves open a substantial possibility for a real and large effect.

Keywords: climate change; floods; public health; health problems; cardiovascular diseases; Canada (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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