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Objective: We review prior studies on the incidence of hypertension (HTN) after earthquakes and present a retrospective analysis of HTN after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
Methods: Prior reports on HTN incidence were reviewed and a retrospective chart review for diagnosis of HTN in 4,308 patient charts was performed over a 7 year period (five clini...
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Background:
The health burden in developing world informal settlements often coincides with a lack of spatial data that could be used to guide intervention strategies. Spatial video (SV) has proven to be a useful tool to collect environmental and social data at a granular scale, though the effort required to turn these spatially encoded video fram...
Citations
... 34 With this mechanism, an increase in blood pressure and an increase in hypertension and related cardiovascular events are expected in individuals under stress. 35 In a study conducted during the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake, it was observed that hypertension patients with normally controlled blood pressure had high blood pressure in the 7-14 days after the earthquake, but regressed to the normal limits in the following 4-6 months. 36 Nishizawa also stated that blood pressure increase is transient after earthquakes and it mostly return to normal levels after the fourth week. ...
Introduction: Various physiological and psychological effects of earthquakes can be seen on the human body, even without a direct physical impact from the earthquake. Both the experience of the earthquake process and the earthquake-related subsequent life changes cause stress through the activation of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems in the body. This stress can affect various physiological processes, including the cardiovascular system. In this review, the effect of earthquakes on the cardiovascular system was aimed to be discussed in line with the available evidence. Discussion: There are studies showing that natural events such as earthquakes increase the incidence of adverse cardiac events, such as myocardial infarction, heart failure, hypertension, and sudden cardiac death, or cause existing cardiac diseases to worsen during these periods. However, there are also some evidences with conflicting results. Therefore, the effect of earthquakes on cardiovascular diseases has not been clearly demonstrated yet. Conclusion: Even survivors of earthquakes without physical injury are exposed to stress secondary to both internal and external factors. Studies indicate that individuals who are involved in the earthquake process may have adverse effects on cardiovascular health in the short and long term. Therefore, it is important to take necessary precautions and create appropriate conditions, especially in people with cardiovascular disease.
... Diagnosis of gestational diabetes (GDM) requires contact with the medical system and screening; the few studies that have examined it often have it as a secondary outcome and are mixed in their results [8,25,41,60,81,82]. Given that studies have found short-and long-term effects on blood pressure [83] and diabetes [84] in general population samples after disaster, these complications may warrant more attention. One study suggested that disaster exposure even substantially before pregnancy was associated with a higher risk of HDP [8]. ...
To examine epidemiologic concepts related to research conducted on reproductive health after disaster, summarize the current state of the literature on how disaster affects reproductive health, and report on interventions to mitigate disaster outcomes.
Many disaster epidemiologic studies of pregnancy rely on vital statistics. Issues like timeliness of research, migration of affected communities, and convenience sampling are important to consider in research design and interpretation. The few interventions in pregnant populations after disaster focus on mental health, with mixed results.
Disaster research intrinsically has challenges due to the disruption that disasters pose to communities. Disasters’ effects on fertility and infant outcomes like preterm birth and low birthweight have been well-studied, generally indicating negative effects. Research gaps exist relative to hypertensive diseases of pregnancy, gestational diabetes, and miscarriage. Interventions centered around preventing negative reproductive health outcomes in post-disaster settings are few.
... However, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that more than 23 million people may be affected [2,3]. This horrifying figure could be attributed to the earthquake's effects, which caused survivors physical and psychological stress [4]. Beta-blocker medications can be given to the survivors after a disaster to reduce such stress [5]. ...
... Furthermore, the most common problem in previous earthquakes was the limited access of patients with chronic diseases to their medications; such a problem can persist for weeks or even months [8]. On the other hand, the risk of cardiovascular events is increased by earthquakes through multiple mechanisms, including sympathetic nervous system activation, increased blood pressure, endothelial dysfunction, and increased platelet activation [4]. Taking into account the above factors, beta-blocker medications can be considered lifesaving for hypertensive survivors already on such medications. ...
Article Citation: Michael EM, Al-Jumaili AA. Urgent supplies of beta-blockers are required to mitigate the deleterious cardiac effects of the recent Turkish and Syrian earthquakes. Al-Rafidain J Med Sci.
... Haiti earthquake (Blanc et al., 2020;Cénat et al., 2020;Daniels, 2021;Fath et al., 2020;Mika, 2020), Palu earthquake (Ho et al., 2021;Koul & Mulchandani, 2021;Rohit et al., 2021;Zhao, 2021), Nepal earthquake (He et al., 2018;Lay et al., 2017;Sharma et al., 2021;Spoon et al., 2020;Valagussa et al., 2021), Padang West Sumatra earthquake (Bothara et al., 2010;Chian et al., 2019;Lay et al., 2017;Muhammad et al., 2017;Rosyidi et al., 2011), and Aceh earthquake (Chanson, 2007;Hagan et al., 2007;Rusydy et al., 2020;Sørensen et al., 2007;Sufri et al., 2019) took many lives. The disasters present a significant challenge in developing appropriate disaster mitigation management models. ...
In some places of the world, disasters occur virtually every day. If disasters are not properly foreseen, they may result in many fatalities. This research aims to examine the growth and pattern of literature on natural disaster education in schools. This analytical strategy combines quantitative and statistical methods to discover trends, assess quality, and track development. A total of 216 documents were chosen from the 403 documents collected. Following 2015, there was a considerable increase in four-year publications. Authors from the United States contributed to 45 papers with 37% citations and ranked first, followed by authors from Japan (31 documents; 15% citations) and Indonesia (31 documents) with rankings citations below the top 10. Most publications were published in the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction (12 docs; Q1 Scimago Journal Rank 1.1 (SJR 1.1)). The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines had the most citations (100; Q1 SJR 3.6) and was ranked first in its discipline. The existing core literature on school education on natural disasters demonstrates that this topic is developing rapidly, but with insufficient international research collaboration. Research cooperation in this area must be strengthened to better the global response to natural disaster mitigation, which should begin in schools worldwide. There is a need to widen the scope of study in this field to include natural disaster preparedness education in the school curriculum, assessments, learning media, disaster response education, and instructional designs. Finally, disaster education in schools must be addressed as soon as possible to contribute to disaster preparedness.
... Furthermore, the Great East Japan Earthquake was noted to influence early morning homebased BP management among patients who did not live near the epicenter of the earthquake 3 . Fath et al. 29 reported a transient increase in BP after just 1-2 weeks after the earthquake, and a return to original BP levels more than 1 month after the earthquake. Mechanical (e.g., cold, noise and radiation), biological (e.g., inflammation, infection and hunger), chemical (e.g., air pollution and drugs) and psychological (e.g., sadness, anger and anxiety) factors can induce stress. ...
Aim/introduction:
Following the first coronavirus disease-2019 state-of-emergency announcement, there was an increase in stress that may have affected the self-management of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This study identified the changes in clinical findings and stress among patients with T2DM and investigated the characteristics of patients who experienced an increase in blood pressure (BP) following the announcement.
Materials and methods:
Retrospectively, we scrutinized 310 patients with T2DM who were treated by the Sagamihara Physicians Association. Following the announcement, 164 and 146 patients showed an increase (ΔBP>0 group) and decrease in BP (ΔBP≤0 group), respectively. The propensity score matching method was used to compare the differences in clinical findings and stress-related questionnaire responses between the two groups.
Results:
Following the announcement, 47% of patients experienced an increase in daily stress. Further, 17% and 36% reported worsening dietary intake and a decrease in exercise, respectively. More patients reported that their dietary and salt intake had worsened in the ΔBP>0 group than in the ΔBP≤0 group (9% vs. 20%, p=0.02, and 3% vs. 10%, p=0.04, respectively). Additionally, both systolic and diastolic BP measured in the office were significantly increased (p=0.02 and p=0.03, respectively); however, systolic BP measured at home significantly decreased (p=0.01). The total stress scores were higher in the ΔBP>0 group than in the ΔBP≤0 group (0.05±2.61 and 0.93±2.70, respectively, p=0.03).
Conclusions:
An increase in stress and, particularly, worsening dietary and salt intake were noted among patients with T2DM who experienced an increase in BP following the state-of-emergency announcement.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one cause of death in low‐income countries including Haiti, with hypertension (HTN) being the leading risk factor. This study aims to identify gaps in the HTN continuum of screening, diagnosis, treatment, and blood pressure (BP) control. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected from a population‐based sample of adults ≥18 years in Port‐au‐Prince (PAP) from March 2019 to April 2021. HTN was defined as systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg, diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg, or use of antihypertensive medication. Screening was defined as ever having had a BP measurement; diagnosis as previously being informed of a HTN diagnosis; treatment as having taken antihypertensives in the past 2 weeks; and controlled as taking antihypertensives and having BP < 140/90 mmHg. Factors associated with attaining each step in the continuum were assessed using Poisson multivariable regressions. Among 2737 participants, 810 (29% age‐standardized) had HTN, of whom 97% had been screened, 72% diagnosed, 45% treated, and 13% controlled. There were no significant differences across age groups or sex. Obesity (BMI ≥ 30) was a significant factor associated with receiving treatment compared to normal weight (BMI < 25), with a prevalence ratio (PR) of 1.5 (95% CI 1.1–2.0). Having secondary or higher education was associated with higher likelihood of controlled BP (PR 1.9 [95% CI 1.1–3.3]). In this urban Haitian population, the greatest gaps in HTN care are treatment and control. Targeted interventions are needed to improve these steps, including broader access to affordable treatment, timely distribution of medications, and patient adherence to HTN medication.
