Increased Medical Visits and Mortality among Adults with Cardiovascular Diseases in Severely Affected Areas after Typhoon Morakot

Hsin-I Shih, Tzu-Yuan Chao, Yi-Ting Huang, Yi-Fang Tu, Tzu-Ching Sung, Jung- Der Wang and Chia-Ming Chang
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Hsin-I Shih: Department of Emergency Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70403, Taiwan
Tzu-Yuan Chao: Department of Urban Planning, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
Yi-Ting Huang: School of Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
Yi-Fang Tu: School of Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
Tzu-Ching Sung: School of Medicine for International Students, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung 82445, Taiwan
Jung- Der Wang: Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
Chia-Ming Chang: School of Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 18, 1-16

Abstract: Natural disasters have negative health impacts on chronic diseases in affected populations. Severely affected areas are usually rural areas with limited basic infrastructure and a population have that has limited access to optimal healthcare after a disaster. Patients with cardiovascular diseases are required to maintain quality care, especially after disasters. A population-based case-control study enrolled adults from the National Health Insurance Registry who had ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease histories and lived in the area affected by Typhoon Morakot in 2009. Monthly medical visits for acute cerebrovascular and ischemic heart diseases markedly increased at approximately 1–2 months after the typhoon. Survival analysis during the two years following the typhoon indicated a significant increase in mortality in adults with an acute ischemic heart disease history who lived in the severely affected area. Mortality hazard analysis showed that among affected adults with previous cerebrovascular diseases and acute ischemic heart diseases, patients with diabetes (adjusted hazard ratio [HR]: 1.3–1.7), Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) (adjusted HR: 2.0–2.7), chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) and asthma (adjusted HR: 1.7–2.1), liver cirrhosis (adjusted HR: 2.3–3.3) and neoplasms (adjusted HR: 1.1–2.1) had significantly increased mortality rates. Consequently, high-quality and accessible primary healthcare plans should be made available to maintain and support affected populations after disasters.

Keywords: disaster; typhoon; flood; elderly; cardiovascular diseases; cerebrovascular diseases (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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