A new study from Monday may provide the strongest evidence, yet that thunder can certainly worsen health conditions. Over a period of 14 years in the US, researchers found that the days surrounding a thunderstorm were clearly associated with a spike in the emergency room visits for respiratory problems among older Americans, especially for those with pre-existing conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Scientists have theorized that tdog storms can negatively affecting health since at least the mid-1980s. Several studies have documented waves of breathing in respiration associated with severe storms, especially asthma. At least one study has found proof that apnea sleep can be aggravated by the violent changes in atmospheric pressure that come with a storm. And there is even what proof for the old story that storms can reduce a person’s arthritis to the point that sufferers can effectively predict their arrival.
For this new study, published today in JAMA Internal Medicine, the authors wanted to get a deeper sense of the possible link between thunder and our health, using as much data as they could study at the same time. They were able to collect weather data on all thunderstorms recorded in the U.S. between January 1999 and December 2012 from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (with lightning streaks serving as an indicator for these storms). Then they refer to this information with data on national ER visits of people over the age of 65 on Medicare, specifically for breathing.
“In our study, we saw a modest but really increasing use in emergency department for daytime breathing in the vicinity of thunderstorms, especially among patients with asthma and COPD, ”sends author Christopher Worsham, a research fellow, pulmonologist, and doctor of critical care at Harvard Medical School, said in a e-mail. “Among adults over 65 in the U.S., we estimate approximately 52,000 additional respiratory-related injuries from the emergency department over the 14 years we study, which are related to thunderstorms.”
Previous studies have linked pollen to the rise in asthma cases after major thunderstorms, the theory is that these storms crush open pollen grains on a massive scale, area with allergy triggering plant gunk. But in this study, the spikes in ER visits began before the storm appeared, and there was no corresponding effect on pollen counts until after the storm was over, with levels actually declining for a day or two after the storm. .
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While Worsham and his team do not rule out that pollen may have a major impact on asthma outbreaks after very severe storms, they do not think that pollen is typically to blame for these storm-related spikes in breathing problems in older adults. It is also still possible that the relationship between respiratory health and environmental conditions affected by thunder may play a different role for younger people, who are more allergic to things like pollen.
They noted that there were noticeable increases in temperature and particles (air pollution) shortly before a storm. That it is these factors that are likely to have a greater impact on the respiratory health of older people with asthma and COPD, Worsham said. And because there are thunderstorms expect to become more frequent and heavier in the US as global temperatures increase, the findings could prove that it marks yet another healthful consequence of climate change.
Talthough the study did not see any preventive measures that Elderly people with breathing problems may last before a thunderstorm, Worsham offers some advice.
“Anyone with asthma or COPD who typically has fewer symptoms during storms should be sure to take their inhalers as prescribed by their doctor or primary care physician or pulmonologist,” he said. “If their symptoms are not well controlled, they should know their doctor.”
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