Risk of respiratory symptoms, physical and psychological symptoms and drug use in a population exposed to the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption
| Exposed 2010 (N=808) | Exposed 2013 (N=808) | OR (95% CI)* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per cent (n/N) | Per cent (n/N) | ||
| ECRHS (respiratory symptoms) | |||
| Wheezing (past 12 months) | 16.0 (126/788) | 17.7 (137/773) | 1.29 (0.91 to 1.82) |
| If yes, breathlessness at the same time | 8.5 (67/788) | 10.6 (82/773) | 1.56 (1.00 to 2.44) |
| If yes, do you wheeze without a cold? | 10.9 (86/788) | 13.6 (105/773) | 1.48 (0.99 to 2.20) |
| Nocturnal chest tightness (past 12 months) | 12.0 (96/797) | 12.0 (93/777) | 0.98 (0.68 to 1.45) |
| Breathlessness at rest | 7.7 (61/788) | 7.3 (57/773) | 0.79 (0.46 to 1.37) |
| Coughing without a cold | 29.9 (237/793) | 26.4 (207/784) | 0.73 (0.54 to 0.98) |
| Nocturnal cough (past 12 months) | 23.9 (189/791) | 21.7 (169/778) | 0.82 (0.61 to 1.11) |
| Morning winter cough | 12.2 (97/793) | 11.7 (90/769) | 0.95 (0.66 to 1.37) |
| Nocturnal or daytime winter cough | 11.6 (92/790) | 10.1 (77/760) | 0.88 (0.59 to 1.32) |
| If yes, is it chronic?† | 7.6 (60/790) | 7.9 (60/760) | 1.29 (0.81 to 2.06) |
| Morning winter phlegm | 13.9 (109/782) | 19.9 (152/763) | 2.14 (1.49 to 3.06) |
| Nocturnal or daytime winter phlegm | 7.9 (62/783) | 12.3 (92/750) | 2.07 (1.32 to 3.26) |
| If yes, is it chronic?† | 6.6 (52/783) | 10.5 (79/750) | 2.17 (1.33 to 3.56) |
| Dyspnoea | 11.8 (93/791) | 10.3 (79/767) | 0.74 (0.48 to 1.15) |
| Nasal allergy and hay fever | 19.7 (157/797) | 20.0 (152/761) | 1.04 (0.70 to 1.56) |
| Allergic rhinitis | 29.1 (231/793) | 32.7 (248/759) | 1.28 (0.97 to 1.68) |
| Physician diagnosed conditions‡ | |||
| Asthma | 12.1 (96/792) | 12.3 (94/764) | 1.14 (0.64 to 2.05) |
| Asthma diagnosis was confirmed by a doctor | 10.9 (86/792) | 11.4 (87/764) | 1.29 (0.73 to 2.27) |
| Heart disease | 7.2 (57/794) | 8.3 (65/776) | 1.50 (0.76 to 2.95) |
| Disorders associated with chronic airway obstruction§ | 8.9 (72/808) | 9.5 (77/808) | 1.08 (0.77 to 1.51) |
| Other respiratory symptoms¶ | |||
| Shortness of breath | 5.5 (42/769) | 7.5 (55/733) | 1.60 (0.92 to 2.80) |
| Feeling of tightness in chest | 3.3 (25/768) | 4.0 (29/732) | 1.11 (0.58 to 2.15) |
| Cough | 15.2 (118/776) | 12.4 (92/742) | 0.74 (0.51 to 1.06) |
| Phlegm | 11.0 (85/773) | 12.6 (93/741) | 1.20 (0.81 to 1.80) |
| Dry throat | 10.4 (81/778) | 8.8 (65/742) | 0.69 (0.45 to 1.06) |
| Irritation symptoms | |||
| Eye irritation and itch | 11.8 (92/781) | 12.2 (90/739) | 1.04 (0.70 to 1.54) |
| Skin rash/eczema | 6.1 (47/774) | 12.4 (91/734) | 2.86 (1.76 to 4.65) |
| Musculoskeletal symptoms | |||
| Back pain | 18.3 (141/771) | 21.2 (156/735) | 1.45 (1.03 to 2.05) |
| Myalgia | 21.1 (163/773) | 24.5 (185/755) | 1.45 (1.07 to 2.02) |
| Psychological symptoms | |||
| Psychological distress** | 10.2 (66/645) | 8.7 (53/610) | 0.74 (0.43 to 1.27) |
| Perceived stress†† | 6.0 (47/786) | 5.1 (38/743) | 0.82 (0.50 to 1.36) |
| PTSD‡‡ | 6.7 (53/793) | 3.0 (23/766) | 0.33 (0.17 to 0.61) |
| Sleep difficulties | |||
| Insomnia¶ | 13.1 (101/771) | 16.1 (121/750) | 1.53 (1.01 to 2.30) |
| Difficulty falling asleep (yes: sometimes, often and always/every night) | 10.3 (81/789) | 12.7 (99/782) | 1.53 (0.99 to 2.36) |
| Difficulty staying asleep and having trouble falling back asleep (yes: sometimes, often and always/every night) | 35.2 (278/790) | 41.1 (315/767) | 1.58 (1.20 to 2.08) |
| Feeling well rested after a night’s sleep (yes: often and always/every night) | 48.9 (384/786) | 48.6 (375/772) | 1.01 (0.76 to 1.34) |
| Frequently wake up in the middle of the night (yes: sometimes, often and always/every night) | 53.2 (422/793) | 56.7 (442/780) | 1.32 (1.01 to 1.73) |
| Regular drugs use (at least once per week) | |||
| Asthma medication | 3.3 (27/808) | 4.5 (36/808) | 2.80 (1.01 to 7.77) |
| Analgesics | 9.3 (75/808) | 9.8 (79/808) | 1.10 (0.71 to 1.70) |
| Any drug for depression, anxiety, sleeping and other mental symptoms | 28.2 (228/808) | 33.7 (272/808) | 2.16 (1.47 to 3.17) |
| Drugs for other mental symptoms | 0.37 (3/808) | 0.5 (4/808) | 1.50 (0.25 to 8.98) |
| Depression medication | 5.3 (43/808) | 6.7 (54/808) | 2.20 (1.42 to 3.42) |
| Anxiety/sedative medication | 4.5 (36/808) | 5.3 (43/808) | 1.39 (0.76 to 2.54) |
| Hypnotics | 7.3 (59/808) | 6.3 (51/808) | 1.65 (0.90 to 3.00) |
| Blood pressure-lowering medication | 23.3 (188/808) | 27.6 (223/808) | 2.21 (1.42 to 3.42) |
*OR and 95% CI from conditional logistic regression.
†Chronic: more than 3 months/year.
‡Answering ‘yes’ to ‘Has physician ever told you that you had (the disease)?’
§Three items from ECRHS (if participant has had COPD, emphysema or chronic bronchitis confirmed by a doctor) were combined into one item (disorders associated with chronic airway obstruction).
¶Answers ‘yes to a moderate extent’ or ‘yes, to much extent’ to the question ‘Have any of the following symptoms disturbed your daily activities during the last month’.
**Psychological distress was derived from GHQ-12 referring to ‘the previous weeks’, using a binary cut-off score of >2.
††Perceived stress was derived from PSS-4 referring to ‘the recent month’ using a binary cut-off score of 90th centile.
‡‡Primary care PTSD was derived from PC-PTSD referring to ‘the recent month’ using a binary cut-off score of >2.
COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ECRHS, European Community Respiratory Health Survey; GHQ-12, General Health Questionnaire-12-item version; PC-PTSD, Primary Care PTSD; PSS-4, Perceived Stress Scale.