A recent Environmental Health Perspectives systematic review and meta-analysis goals to higher understand the health outcomes resulting from cyclones.

Study: Health Effects of Cyclones: A Systematic Review and Meta-Evaluation of Epidemiological Studies. Image Credit: Mike Mareen / Shutterstock.com

More frequent and severe cyclones

Extreme weather, comparable to cyclones, hurricanes, and tropical storms, have devastating effects on society. More recently, cyclone seasons have been related to more powerful and long-lasting cyclones, which have inflicted billions of dollars in damage. The rapid increase in global temperatures may lead to more intense cyclones, thereby causing more destruction in the longer term.

To evaluate the magnitude and pattern of health effects after cyclones, epidemiological studies have compared the health outcomes of high- and low-level exploration. These studies have indicated that cyclones are linked to many health outcomes, including mortality, infectious diseases, noncommunicable diseases, opposed birth outcomes, and mental disorders.

Along with their direct effects, comparable to drowning, injury, and carbon monoxide poisoning, cyclones even have indirect effects as a consequence of interrupted health care services and contaminated flood water. So far, there is no such thing as a systematic review with meta-analysis on the health outcomes of cyclones.

In regards to the study

The present systematic review and meta-analysis utilized relevant data obtained from five electronic databases, including Embase, Web of Science, PubMed, MEDLINE, and Scopus, from inception to December 21, 2022. This study restricted the impact of cyclones to the health outcomes of humans only.

All population-based studies related to short- and long-term impacts of any landfall cyclones, including tropical storms, hurricanes, and typhoons, were considered. The present systematic review and meta-analysis considered all relevant articles no matter sex, religion, or age.

Each observational and analytical studies that assessed the outcomes of people or populations exposed to several types of cyclones were included on this systematic review.

Study findings

The initial search resulted in a complete of 19,330 articles. After removing duplicates and considering the eligibility criteria, 71 articles were considered in the present systematic review and meta-analysis.

These studies were conducted in eight different countries throughout the world. Major contributors to those studies included america, followed by China, India, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, and Brazil. 

Various kinds of studies were included within the evaluation, comparable to time-series or case-crossover design and cohort design. Most studies analyzed the outcomes of 1 cyclone, particularly Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. These studies focused on how cyclones impacted the overall population based on cyclone hit time and official disaster declaration.

A limited variety of studies have used the wind field model to estimate the spatial intensity of cyclones and determine cyclone exposures on the country level. Here, all analyses were categorized based on outcomes, including mental health, hospitalization, and all-cause mortality. Morbidity related to cardiovascular diseases, injury, cancer, diabetes, respiratory disease, infectious diseases, opposed birth outcomes, and other outcomes comparable to suicide rates were also considered.

Most studies indicated that exposure to cyclones increases the danger of all-cause mortality, hospitalization, and mental health-related morbidity, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Consistent with the findings of a previous meta-analysis, the present study revealed the next prevalence of PTSD amongst survivors of tropical cyclones.

Amongst cyclone survivors, the next PTSD risk was observed amongst pregnant women, highschool students, and public medical experts for as much as two years after cyclone exposure. Children below the age of 5 years who experienced cyclones are at the next risk of developing mental illness during maturity.

The present meta-analysis established modest-to-strong associations between cyclone exposure and hospitalizations for all causes, all-cause mortality, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and respiratory diseases. Nevertheless, no association was found between cyclone exposure and heart disease mortality, preterm birth, and diabetes mortality. The consequences of cyclones were assessed amongst dialysis patients, who were related to higher hospitalization rates and emergency visits.

A significantly high between-study heterogeneity was observed for magnitude-related estimates. Cyclones have tremendous socio-economic impacts and environmental stress as a consequence of lack of property and resources, evacuations, in addition to inadequate medical and social support. A limited variety of studies have associated cyclones with respiratory and parasitic diseases. 

An increased risk of respiratory diseases following cyclones was also identified, mainly as a consequence of the increased need for medical equipment to breathe, which gets compromised during power outages. Greater exposure to potential allergens, particularly as a consequence of the formation of mold in water-damaged buildings and air pollutants through the cleansing of debris, also increases the danger of respiratory disease.

Conclusions

Cyclone exposure consistently increases the danger of PTSD, all-cause mortality, hospitalizations, and respiratory diseases. A better risk of opposed outcomes of cyclones is experienced by people of lower socio-economic groups and people with a history of chronic conditions.

In the longer term, more evidence on the health outcomes from other cyclone-prone countries, comparable to Vietnam, Cuba, and Taiwan, is required. Future studies must also concentrate on diverse health outcomes, particularly chronic diseases and opposed birth outcomes.