Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to investigate the effects of Desert Dust Storms and Climatological Factors on Mortality and Morbidity of Cardiovascular Diseases admitted to emergency department in Gaziantep. METHOD: Hospital records, obtained between September 01, 2009 and January 31, 2014, from four state hospitals in Gaziantep, Turkey, were compared to meteorological and climatological data. Statistical analysis was performed by Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) for windows version 24.0. RESULTS: 168,467 patients were included in this study. 83% of the patients had chest pain and 17% of patients had cardiac failure (CF). An increase in inpatient hospitalization due to CF was observed and corresponded to the duration of dust storms measured by number of days. However, there was no significant increase in emergency department (ED) presentations. There was no significant association of cardiac related mortality and coinciding presence of a dust storm or higher recorded temperature. The association of increases in temperature levels and the presence of dust storms with "acute coronary syndrome- (ACS-) related emergency service presentations, inpatient hospitalization, and mortality" were statistically significant. The relationship between the increase in PM10 levels due to causes unrelated to dust storms and the outpatient application, admission, and mortality due to heart failure was not significant. The increase in particle matter 10 (PM) levels due to causes outside the dust storm caused a significant increase in outpatient application, hospitalization, and mortality originated from ACS. CONCLUSION: Increased number of dust storms resulted in a higher prevalence of mortality due to ACS while mortality due to heart failure remained unchanged. Admission, hospitalization, and mortality due to chest pain both dependent and independent of ACS were increased by the presence of dust storms, PM10 elevation, and maximum temperature.