Hospitalization Rates for Respiratory Diseases After L’Aquila Earthquake

Francesco D’Aloisio, Pierpaolo Vittorini, Anna Rita Giuliani, Maria Scatigna, Jacopo Del Papa, Mario Muselli, Giorgio Baccari and Leila Fabiani
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Francesco D’Aloisio: Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L’Aquila, Piazzale Salvatore Tommasi, 1-67100 L’Aquila (AQ), Italy
Pierpaolo Vittorini: Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L’Aquila, Piazzale Salvatore Tommasi, 1-67100 L’Aquila (AQ), Italy
Anna Rita Giuliani: Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L’Aquila, Piazzale Salvatore Tommasi, 1-67100 L’Aquila (AQ), Italy
Maria Scatigna: Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L’Aquila, Piazzale Salvatore Tommasi, 1-67100 L’Aquila (AQ), Italy
Jacopo Del Papa: Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, Graduate School of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of L’Aquila, Piazzale Salvatore Tommasi, 1-67100 L’Aquila (AQ), Italy
Mario Muselli: Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, Graduate School of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of L’Aquila, Piazzale Salvatore Tommasi, 1-67100 L’Aquila (AQ), Italy
Giorgio Baccari: Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, Graduate School of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of L’Aquila, Piazzale Salvatore Tommasi, 1-67100 L’Aquila (AQ), Italy
Leila Fabiani: Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L’Aquila, Piazzale Salvatore Tommasi, 1-67100 L’Aquila (AQ), Italy

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 12, 1-13

Abstract: The study aims to investigate the impact of the earthquake on public health, in terms of hospitalizations for respiratory diseases in the Abruzzo region, focusing on the area damaged by the earthquake “Crater”. We collected data of hospitalizations of residents in Abruzzo between 2009 and 2015. Hospital Discharge Records (HDRs) with a primary diagnosis of respiratory disease were included and divided into pneumonia, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and respiratory insufficiency. Absolute frequencies and standardized hospitalization rates were calculated to perform both a short-term and a medium-long term analysis. A linear regression was performed using standardized hospitalization rates and the time. A total of 108.669 respiratory-related records were collected and the most frequent subgroup was respiratory insufficiency. Standardized Hospitalization Rates (SHRs) for respiratory diseases resulted higher in the non-Crater than Crater area, but the short-term analysis showed a significant increase in hospitalizations for pneumonia and respiratory insufficiency in the Crater area. The medium-long term analysis reported a significant difference on the slope decrease of hospitalizations for acute and chronic respiratory diseases in the Crater versus the non-Crater area. The earthquake may have played a triggering role in the increased detection of respiratory diseases. A temporal relationship between the quake and an increase in admissions was found although it is not yet possible to detect a direct cause-effect relationship.

Keywords: earthquakes; respiratory diseases; hospital records (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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