Risk of respiratory symptoms (ECHRS) in a population exposed to Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption by exposure level at the residence
| Low exposure* | Medium exposure* | High exposure* | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OR (95% CI)† | % (n/N) | OR (95% CI)† | % (n/N) | OR (95% CI)† | % (n/N) | |
| Wheezing (last 12 months) | 1 (ref) | 14.3 (21/147) | 1.1 (0.6 to 1.8) | 14.6 (91/623) | 1.4 (0.8 to 2.3) | 19.1 (65/340) |
| If yes, breathlessness at the same time | 1 (ref) | 47.6 (10/21) | 1.2 (0.4 to 3.2) | 54.5 (48/88) | 1.8 (0.6 to 5.4) | 64.3 (36/56) |
| If yes, do you wheeze without having a cold | 1 (ref) | 71.4 (15/21) | 0.8 (0.2 to 2.5) | 67.4 (60/89) | 1.1 (0.3 to 3.9) | 75.4 (43/57) |
| Nocturnal chest tightness in (last 12 months) | 1 (ref) | 6.0 (9/149) | 2.1 (1.0 to 4.2) | 11.4 (71/624) | 3.1 (1.5 to 6.6) | 16.1 (55/342) |
| Breathlessness at rest | 1 (ref) | 2.7 (4/146) | 3.3 (1.2 to 9.3) | 8.2 (51/619) | 3.3 (1.1 to 9.7) | 8.9 (30/338) |
| Coughing without having a cold | 1 (ref) | 19.5 (29/149) | 2.0 (1.3 to 3.1) | 31.1 (194/623) | 1.6 (1.0 to 2.6) | 26.6 (91/342) |
| Nocturnal cough (last 12 months) | 1 (ref) | 13.6 (20/147) | 2.1 (1.3 to 3.5) | 25.0 (155/619) | 2.0 (1.2 to 3.4) | 24.1 (83/344) |
| Cough in the morning in winter | 1 (ref) | 6.7 (10/149) | 2.2 (1.1 to 4.3) | 13.7 (85/620) | 1.6 (0.8 to 3.3) | 11.1 (38/342) |
| Cough during the day or night in winter | 1 (ref) | 7.5 (11/147) | 1.7 (0.9 to 3.4) | 12.1 (75/619) | 1.3 (0.6 to 2.7) | 10.2 (35/342) |
| If yes, it is chronic‡ | 1 (ref) | 70.0 (7/10) | 0.6 (0.1 to 3.6) | 63.9 (46/72) | 1.1 (0.2 to 6.9) | 70.6 (24/34) |
| Morning winter phlegm | 1 (ref) | 8.3 (12/145) | 1.7 (0.9 to 3.2) | 13.7 (85/620) | 2.3 (1.2 to 4.4) | 18.3 (62/339) |
| Nocturnal or daytime winter phlegm | 1 (ref) | 4.9 (7/144) | 1.5 (0.6 to 3.3) | 6.9 (42/613) | 2.4 (1.0 to 5.5) | 11.8 (40/340) |
| If yes, is it chronic‡ | 1 (ref) | 85.7 (6/7) | 0.7 (0.0 to 20.8) | 92.5 (37/40) | 0.5 (0.2 to 15.7) | 81.1 (30/37) |
| Dyspnoea | 1 (ref) | 6.7 (10/144) | 1.9 (1.0 to 3.7) | 6.9 (42/613) | 2.4 (1.2 to 4.9) | 11.8 (40/340) |
| Nasal allergy and hay fever | 1 (ref) | 17.2 (25/145) | 1.2 (0.7 to 1.9) | 19.4 (122/628) | 1.1 (0.7 to 1.9) | 19.2 (66/345) |
| Allergic rhinitis | 1 (ref) | 22.8 (33/145) | 1.5 (0.9 to 2.2) | 29.5 (184/624) | 1.7 (1.1 to 2.7) | 32.4 (110/340) |
| Physician diagnosed conditions§ | ||||||
| Asthma | 1 (ref) | 17.2 (25/145) | 0.6 (0.4 to 1.0) | 10.5 (65/622) | 0.7 (0.4 to 1.2) | 12.3 (42/342) |
| Asthma diagnosis was confirmed by an MD | 1 (ref) | 95.5 (21/22) | 0.3 (0.0 to 3.2) | 93.7 (59/63) | Na¶ | 100 (37/37) |
| Heart disease | 1 (ref) | 10.1 (15/149) | 0.8 (0.4 to 1.4) | 7.2 (45/628) | 0.8 (0.4 to 1.7) | 8.6 (29/338) |
| Chronic bronchitis | 1 (ref) | 6.1 (9/147) | 1.3 (0.6 to 2.7) | 6.8 (42/620) | 1.3 (0.6 to 3.0) | 7.9 (27/340) |
| Emphysema | 1 (ref) | 1.4 (2/146) | 1.6 (0.3 to 7.5) | 1.8 (11/623) | 1.4 (0.3 to 7.1) | 2.4 (8/340) |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 1 (ref) | 0.7 (1/146) | 2.5 (0.3 to 20.2) | 1.5 (9/619) | 1.7 (0.2 to 14.2) | 1.2 (4/340) |
*Regions are seen in figure 1.
†OR and 95% CI from multivariate logistic regression adjusted for age category, gender, education and smoking status.
‡Chronic: more than 3 months/year.
§Answering ‘Yes’ to ‘Has a physician ever told that you had (the disease)?’
¶Cannot divide with 0.