Environmental Heat Exposure and Heat-Related Symptoms in United States Coast Guard Deepwater Horizon Disaster Responders.
Disaster Med Public Health Prep
; 13(3): 561-569, 2019 06.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30398128
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
The response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill was impacted by heat. We evaluated the association between environmental heat exposure and self-reported heat-related symptoms in US Coast Guard Deepwater Horizon disaster responders.METHODS:
Utilizing climate data and postdeployment survey responses from 3648 responders, we assigned heat exposure categories based on both wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) and heat index (HI) measurements (median, mean, maximum). We calculated prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) via adjusted Poisson regression models with robust error variance to estimate associations with reported heat-related symptoms. We also evaluated the association between use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and heat-related symptoms.RESULTS:
Those in the highest WBGT median-based heat exposure category had increased prevalence of heat-related symptoms compared to those in the lowest category (PR=2.22 [95% CI 1.61, 3.06]), and there was a significant exposure-response trend (P<.001). Results were similar for exposure categories based on WBGT and HI metrics. Analyses stratified by use of PPE found significantly stronger associations between environmental heat exposure and heat-related symptoms in those who did not use PPE (PR=2.23 [95% CI 1.10, 4.51]) than in those who did (PR=1.64 [95% CI 1.14, 2.36]).CONCLUSIONS:
US Coast Guard Deepwater Horizon disaster responders who experienced higher levels of environmental heat had higher prevalences of heat-related symptoms. These symptoms may impact health, safety, and mission effectiveness. As global climate change increases the frequency of disasters and weather extremes, actions must be taken to prevent heat-related health impacts among disaster responders. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13561-569).Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Emergency Responders
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Hot Temperature
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Military Personnel
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Adult
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Female
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Humans
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Male
/
Middle aged
Language:
En
Journal:
Disaster Med Public Health Prep
Journal subject:
SAUDE PUBLICA
Year:
2019
Document type:
Article