After the Storm: Short-term and Long-term Health Effects Following Superstorm Sandy among the Elderly

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Investigate short- and long-term effects of Superstorm Sandy on multiple morbidities among the elderly. METHODS: We examined emergency department visits; outpatient visits; and hospital admissions for cardiovascular disease (CVD), respiratory disease, and injury among residents residing in 8 affected counties immediately, 4 months, and 12 months following Superstorm Sandy. Control groups were defined as visits/admissions during the identical time window in the 5 years before (2007-2011) and 1 year after (2013-2014) the storm in affected and nonaffected counties in New York. We performed Poisson regression to test whether there was an association of increased visits/admissions for periods following Superstorm Sandy while controlling for covariates. RESULTS: We found that the risk for CVD, respiratory disease, and injury visits/admissions was more than twice as high immediately, 4 months, and 12 months after the storm than it was in the control periods. Women were at greater risk at all time periods for CVD (risk ratio [RR], 2.04) and respiratory disease (RRs: 1.89 to 1.92). Whites had higher risk for CVD, respiratory disease, and injury than other racial groups during each period. CONCLUSION: We observed increases in CVD, respiratory disease, and injury up to a year following Superstorm Sandy. Findings demonstrate the need to incorporate short- and long-term health effects into public health recovery. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:28-32).