Thunderstorm associated asthma: a detailed analysis of environmental factors.

OBJECTIVES

To seek associations between meteorological factors, concentrations of air pollutants or pollen, and an asthma epidemic which occurred in London on 24 and 25 June 1994 after a thunderstorm.

DESIGN

Retrospective study of patients' accident and emergency department records, with bivariate and multivariate analysis of environmental factors and data collection for the two months surrounding the epidemic.

SETTING

The accident and emergency department of St Mary's Hospital in west central London.

SUBJECTS

148 patients presenting with asthma between 1 June and 31 July 1994, of whom 40 presented in the 24 hours after the storm.

RESULTS

The asthma epidemic was significantly associated with a drop in air temperature six hours previously and a high grass pollen concentration nine hours previously. Non-epidemic asthma was significantly associated with lightning strikes, increase in humidity or sulphur dioxide concentration, a drop in temperature or high rainfall the previous day, and a decrease in maximum air pressure or changes in grass pollen counts over the previous two days.

CONCLUSIONS

New episodes of asthma during the epidemic on 24 and 25 June 1994 were associated with a fall in air temperature and a rise in grass pollen concentration. Non-epidemic asthma was significantly associated with a greater number of environmental changes. This may indicate that the patients with thunderstorm associated asthma were a separate population, sensitive to different environmental stimuli.