Department of Nursing, Recanati School for Community Health Professions, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer Sheva 8410501, Israel.
School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer Sheva 8410501, Israel.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Apr 20;19(9):5012. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19095012.
Climate-related events, including wildfires, which adversely affect human health, are gaining the growing attention of public-health officials and researchers. Israel has experienced several disastrous fires, including the wave of fires in November 2016 that led to the evacuation of 75,000 people. The fires lasted six days (22-27 November) with no loss of life or significant immediate health impacts. The objective of this study is to explore the long-term hospitalization dynamics in a population exposed to this large-scale fire, including the effects of underlying morbidity and socio-economic status (SES).
This is a retrospective crossover study, conducted in 2020, analyzing the electronic medical records of residents from areas exposed to a wildfire in northern Israel. The study spans from one year before exposure to two years after it (22 November 2015-27 November 2018). The hospitalization days during the study period were analyzed using the Poisson regression model. The rate of hospitalization days along with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were plotted.
The study included 106,595 participants. The median age was 37 (IQR = 17-56), with a mean socio-economic ranking of 6.47 out of 10 (SD = 2.01). Analysis revealed that people with underlying morbidity were at greater risk of experiencing long-term effects following fires, which was manifested in higher hospitalization rates that remained elevated for two years post-exposure. This was also evident among individuals of low socio-economic status without these background illnesses.
Healthcare services should prepare for increased hospitalization rates during the two years following wildfires for populations with underlying morbidity and those of low socio-economic status. Implementing preventive-medicine approaches may increase the resiliency of communities in the face of extreme climate-related events and prevent future health burdens. Additional research should focus on the specific mechanisms underpinning the long-term effects of wildfire exposure.
与人类健康不利相关的气候事件，包括野火，正引起公共卫生官员和研究人员越来越多的关注。以色列经历了几次灾难性的火灾，包括 2016 年 11 月的火灾浪潮，导致 75000 人撤离。这场火灾持续了六天（11 月 22 日至 27 日），没有人员伤亡或重大即时健康影响。本研究的目的是探讨暴露于这场大规模火灾的人群中的长期住院动态，包括潜在发病和社会经济地位（SES）的影响。
这是一项回顾性交叉研究，于 2020 年进行，分析了以色列北部野火地区居民的电子病历。研究范围从暴露前一年到暴露后两年（2015 年 11 月 22 日至 2018 年 11 月 27 日）。使用泊松回归模型分析研究期间的住院天数。绘制了住院天数的比率及其 95%置信区间（CI）。
研究纳入了 106595 名参与者。中位年龄为 37 岁（IQR = 17-56），社会经济排名平均为 10 分中的 6.47 分（SD = 2.01）。分析表明，患有潜在疾病的人在火灾后出现长期影响的风险更高，表现为住院率升高，且在暴露后两年内仍居高不下。在没有这些基础疾病的社会经济地位较低的个体中也是如此。
医疗保健服务机构应为有潜在发病和社会经济地位较低的人群在野火后两年内增加的住院率做好准备。实施预防医学方法可能会提高社区在面对极端气候相关事件时的适应能力，并防止未来的健康负担。应进一步研究聚焦于野火暴露的长期影响背后的具体机制。
