The consequences of Hurricane Katrina included an increase in rates of hospitalization by heart disease

The increase in hospitalization rates lasted more than a month; higher in the older black population compared to the older white population

Natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes are usually described in terms of wind speed, land surface and centimeters of rain. They are also described in terms of human costs, such as the number of deaths and injuries. Hurricane Katrina, for example, resulted in approximately 1,000 deaths in Louisiana, 75% of which occurred in adults 60 years of age and older.

What are the hidden health costs that might not be reported immediately but that result from a natural disaster? Some studies have focused on stress-related disorders, but a new study by researchers and academics from Tufts University examined changes in the number of hospitalizations for cardiovascular disease (CVD) before and after Katrina, as well as the disparate effects of Katrina on black and white seniors in Louisiana. .

The co-lead author of the study is Ninon Becquart, a former NIH-funded Tufts Postgraduate Research Program (PREP) Scholar, who used R, SQL and ArcMap to perform sophisticated data badysis. including visualization. Elena Naumova, Chair of the Nutrition Data Data Division at the Friedman School of Tufts, led the research project.

"The purpose of this research was to contribute to a methodology to badess the impact of natural disasters," said Mr. Becquart. "We have seen that rates have increased after the landing of Katrina in all older adults, especially among older black adults.The rates appear to stabilize about two months after landing, which coincides with the cleansing of the flood waters of New Orleans. "

"We can expect to see more natural disasters because of climate change.Our study is one of the few to address the impact of natural disasters on hospitalization rates by MCV, as well as disparities in hospitalization rates between older black and white, "Naumova said. . "Given the staggering social, economic and health effects of such disasters, we hope that this study will lead to more research and help inform health readiness."

The research team focused on changing daily cardiovascular hospitalization rates (per 10,000 people) in adults aged 65 and over in three counties in Louisiana (counties), Orleans, Jefferson and East Baton Rouge. , over a period of 710 days from January 7th. 2005 to 17 December 2006. They segmented the observation period to correspond to six periods before, during and after Katrina's arrival and departure.

Using data from the Medicare and Medicaid service centers, the team built a database of daily hospitalization rates for all hospitalizations for cardiovascular disease in the three parishes over 710 days. They added US Census data supplemented by American Community Survey estimates to obtain demographic and demographic measures.

Preliminary badysis included mapping the daily rates of CVD in parishes and badyzing the data to identify the existing trend line of hospitalizations. They used the smoothed time series to define the six time segments and develop segmented linear regression models for the total population of each parish and then separately for black and white populations.

Hospitalization rates for cardiovascular disease had been stable or decreased in each parish, but – in the parishes of Orleans and Jefferson – they increased precipitously immediately after landing. This increase in cardiovascular hospitalization rates was prolonged and lasted more than one month after landing. Notably, the increase in CVD rates was higher among the older black population compared to the older white population, after landing, indicating differences in the level of impact in these two populations.

During the study period, in the parish of East Baton Rouge, hospitalization rates for CVD were consistently higher on average in black adults, thus confirming what has already been reported in the litterature. No significant changes in hospitalization rates by MCV were noted after the landing. The researchers speculate that this is due to the fact that East Baton Rouge has received more evacuees than the parishes most directly affected by the hurricane, but they also noted that the hospitals were overburdened and that the data may not have been complete. In addition, they note that psychological stress has become a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

The hurricane seasons of 2017-2018 were particularly devastating, as storms like Harvey, Irma, Maria and Jose ravaged major metropolitan areas in Houston, Puerto Rico and Dominica, along with the consecutive disasters of Florence and of Michael in the Carolinas and Florida.

The NIH-funded PREP program at the Tufts Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences is based on the idea that enriched practical experience in research is the best preparation for additional training. It is designed to encourage students from under-represented groups to become researchers. As a result of this project and related courses, Ninon decided to focus on data badysis in hopes of eventually obtaining a higher degree in data science.