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Impact of the Aliso Canyon Gas Leak on Respiratory-Related Conditions Among US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Users

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 October 2018

Lilia R. Lukowsky ,
Claudia Der-Martirosian ,
Alicia R. Gable  and
Aram Dobalian
Lilia R. Lukowsky*
Affiliation:
Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center, US Department of Veterans Affairs, North Hills, California
Claudia Der-Martirosian
Affiliation:
Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center, US Department of Veterans Affairs, North Hills, California
Alicia R. Gable
Affiliation:
Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center, US Department of Veterans Affairs, North Hills, California
Aram Dobalian
Affiliation:
Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center, US Department of Veterans Affairs, North Hills, California Division of Health Systems Management and Policy, University of Memphis School of Public Health, Memphis, Tennessee
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Lilia Lukowsky, Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center, 16111 Plummer Street MS-152, North Hills, CA 91343 (e-mail: [email protected]).
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Abstract

Background

The largest gas leak in United States history occurred October 2015 through February 2016 near Porter Ranch (PR), California, and prompted the temporary relocation of nearby residents because of health concerns related to natural gas exposure.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study was conducted using US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administrative and clinical data. On the basis of zip codes, we created two groups: PR (1920 patients) and San Fernando Valley (SFV) (15 260 patients) and examined the proportion of outpatient visits to VA providers with respiratory-related diagnoses between October 2014 and September 2017.

Results

We observed an increase in the proportion of visits in the PR group during the leak (7.0% vs 6.1%, P<0.005) and immediately after the leak (7.7% vs 5.3%, P<0.0001). For both groups, we observed a decrease in respiratory diagnoses one year after the leak (7.0% to 5.9%, P<0.05 PR; 6.1% to 5.7%, P<0.01 SFV).

Conclusion

Exposure to natural gas likely led to the observed increase in respiratory-related diagnoses during and after the PR gas leak. Early relocation following natural gas leaks may mitigate respiratory exacerbations. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:419-423)

Type
Brief Report
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , June 2019 , pp. 419 - 423
Copyright
Copyright © 2018 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 

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References

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