Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T11:25:20.761Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Rates of Hospitalization for Dehydration Following Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 December 2015

Joel N. Swerdel ,
George G. Rhoads ,
Nora M. Cosgrove ,
John B. Kostis  and
for the Myocardial Infarction Data Acquisition System (MIDAS 25) Study Group
Joel N. Swerdel*
Affiliation:
The Cardiovascular Institute at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey Department of Epidemiology, Rutgers University School of Public Health, Piscataway, New Jersey.
George G. Rhoads
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, Rutgers University School of Public Health, Piscataway, New Jersey.
Nora M. Cosgrove
Affiliation:
The Cardiovascular Institute at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey
John B. Kostis
Affiliation:
The Cardiovascular Institute at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Joel N. Swerdel, 125 Paterson Street, Suite 5200, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 (e-mail: [email protected]).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective

Hurricane Sandy, one of the most destructive natural disasters in New Jersey history, made landfall on October 29, 2012. Prolonged loss of electrical power and extensive infrastructure damage restricted access for many to food and water. We examined the rate of dehydration in New Jersey residents after Hurricane Sandy.

Methods

We obtained data from 2008 to 2012 from the Myocardial Infarction Data Acquisition System (MIDAS), a repository of in-patient records from nonfederal New Jersey hospitals (N=517,355). Patients with dehydration had ICD-9-CM discharge diagnosis codes for dehydration, volume depletion, and/or hypovolemia. We used log-linear modeling to estimate the change in in-patient hospitalizations for dehydration comparing 2 weeks after Sandy with the same period in the previous 4 years (2008–2011).

Results

In-patient hospitalizations for dehydration were 66% higher after Sandy than in 2008–2011 (rate ratio [RR]: 1.66; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.50, 1.84). Hospitalizations for dehydration in patients over 65 years of age increased by nearly 80% after Sandy compared with 2008–2011 (RR: 1.79; 95% CI: 1.58, 2.02).

Conclusion

Sandy was associated with a marked increase in hospitalizations for dehydration. Reducing the rate of dehydration following extreme weather events is an important public health concern that needs to be addressed, especially in those over 65 years of age. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:188–192)

Keywords

dehydrationextreme weathercardiovascularmyocardial infarctionhurricane
Type
Brief Reports
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , April 2016 , pp. 188 - 192
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Gautam, S, Menachem, J, Srivastav, SK, et al. Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the incidence of acute coronary syndrome at a primary angioplasty center in New Orleans. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2009;3(3):144-150. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/DMP.0b013e3181b9db91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2. Kloner, RA, Leor, J, Poole, WK, et al. Population-based analysis of the effect of the Northridge Earthquake on cardiac death in Los Angeles County, California. J Am Coll Cardiol. 1997;30(5):1174-1180. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0735-1097(97)00281-7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3. Swerdel, JN, Janevic, TM, Cosgrove, NM, et al. The effect of Hurricane Sandy on cardiovascular events in New Jersey. J Am Heart Assoc. 2014;3(6):e001354. http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.114.001354.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4. Hoopes Halpin, S. The Impact of Superstorm Sandy on New Jersey Towns and Households. New Jersey DataBank website. http://njdatabank.newark.rutgers.edu/special-sandy. Published October 25, 2013. Accessed January 15, 2014.Google Scholar
5. Kostis, JB, Wilson, AC, O’Dowd, K, et al. Sex differences in the management and long-term outcome of acute myocardial infarction. A statewide study. MIDAS Study Group. Myocardial Infarction Data Acquisition System. Circulation. 1994;90(4):1715-1730. http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/01.CIR.90.4.1715.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
6. Dehydration: Hospital Admission Rate. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality website. http://www.qualitymeasures.ahrq.gov/content.aspx?id=38564. Accessed November 20, 2014.Google Scholar
7. Warren, JL, Bacon, WE, Harris, T, et al. The burden and outcomes associated with dehydration among US elderly, 1991. Am J Public Health. 1994;84(8):1265-1269. http://dx.doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.84.8.1265.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8. Biello, KB, Rawlings, J, Carroll-Scott, A, et al. Racial disparities in age at preventable hospitalization among U.S. adults. Am J Prev Med. 2010;38(1):54-60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2009.08.027.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9. Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Population & Household Estimates. State of New Jersey Department of Labor website. http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/lpa/dmograph/est/est_index.html. Accessed November 30, 2013.Google Scholar
10. Federal Emergency Management Agency. Emergency Preparedness Materials (Families, Pets, Seniors, Disabled, Businesses). FEMA website. http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/90946). Published May 20, 2008. Accessed November 20, 2014.Google Scholar