Risk of recent symptoms (physical and psychological) and drug use in a population exposed to the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption compared to a non-exposed population
| Non-exposed | Exposed | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| % (n/N) | % (n/N) | OR (95% CI)* | p Value | |
| Respiratory symptoms† | ||||
| Shortness of breath | 3.5 (17/488) | 6.7 (72/1074) | 2.1 (1.2 to 3.6) | 0.011 |
| Feeling of tightness in chest | 1.8 (9/491) | 3.6 (38 /1070) | 2.5 (1.1 to 5.8) | 0.03 |
| Cough and phlegm† | ||||
| Cough | 6.4 (31/488) | 15.3 (166/1085) | 2.6 (1.7 to 3.9) | <0.001 |
| Phlegm | 5.5 (27/488) | 11.3 (122/1079) | 2.1 (1.3 to 3.2) | <0.001 |
| Irritation symptoms† | ||||
| Dry throat | 3.4 (17/494) | 10.1 (110/1089) | 3.1 (1.8 to 5.3) | <0.001 |
| Eye irritation and itch | 8.6 (42/487) | 20.6 (224/1085) | 2.9 (2.0 to 4.1) | <0.001 |
| Skin rash/eczema | 5.1 (25/487) | 6.2 (67/1075) | 1.2 (0.8 to 1.9) | 0.39 |
| Musculoskeletal symptoms† | ||||
| Back pain | 23.0 (116/494) | 18.2 (196/1075) | 0.7 (0.5 to 0.9) | 0.012 |
| Myalgia | 24.2 (120/496) | 20.1 (216/1073) | 0.7 (0.6 to 1.0) | 0.024 |
| Sleep† and mental health | ||||
| Insomnia | 16.9 (84/497) | 13.7 (148/1078) | 0.8 (0.6 to 1.0) | 0.08 |
| Psychological morbidity‡ | 19.0 (95/500) | 24.6 (278/1129) | 1.3 (1.0 to 1.7) | 0.05 |
| Regular drugs use (at least once per week) | ||||
| Asthma medication | 4.7 (24/510) | 3.4 (39/1147) | 0.7 (0.4 to 1.1) | 0.12 |
| Analgesics | 11.4 (58/510) | 8.7 (100/1147) | 0.7 (0.5 to 1.0) | 0.04 |
| Any drug for depression, anxiety, sleeping and other mental symptoms | 14.9 (76/510) | 12.5 (144/1148) | 0.8 (0.6 to 1.1) | 0.12 |
| Blood pressure-lowering medication | 19.6 (100/510) | 22.6 (259/1148) | 1.3 (1.0 to 1.7) | 0.10 |
*OR and 95% CI from multivariate logistic regression adjusted for age category, gender, education and smoking status.
†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 morbidity was derived from GHQ-12 referring to ‘the previous weeks’, using a binary cut-off score of >2.