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Houston hurricane Harvey health (Houston-3H) study: assessment of allergic symptoms and stress after hurricane Harvey flooding.
Environ Health. 2021 01 19; 20(1):9.EH

Abstract

BACKGROUND

In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey caused unprecedented flooding across the greater Houston area. Given the potential for widespread flood-related exposures, including mold and sewage, and the emotional and mental toll caused by the flooding, we sought to evaluate the short- and long-term impact of flood-related exposures on the health of Houstonians. Our objectives were to assess the association of flood-related exposures with allergic symptoms and stress among Houston-area residents at two time points: within approximately 30 days (T1) and 12 months (T2) after Hurricane Harvey's landfall.

METHODS

The Houston Hurricane Harvey Health (Houston-3H) Study enrolled a total of 347 unique participants from four sites across Harris County at two times: within approximately 1-month of Harvey (T1, n = 206) and approximately 12-months after Harvey (T2, n = 266), including 125 individuals who participated at both time points. Using a self-administered questionnaire, participants reported details on demographics, flood-related exposures, and health outcomes, including allergic symptoms and stress.

RESULTS

The majority of participants reported hurricane-related flooding in their homes at T1 (79.1%) and T2 (87.2%) and experienced at least one allergic symptom after the hurricane (79.4% at T1 and 68.4% at T2). In general, flood-exposed individuals were at increased risk of upper respiratory tract allergic symptoms, reported at both the T1 and T2 time points, with exposures to dirty water and mold associated with increased risk of multiple allergic symptoms. The mean stress score of study participants at T1 was 8.0 ± 2.1 and at T2, 5.1 ± 3.2, on a 0-10 scale. Participants who experienced specific flood-related exposures reported higher stress scores when compared with their counterparts, especially 1 year after Harvey. Also, a supplementary paired-samples analysis showed that reports of wheezing, shortness of breath, and skin rash did not change between T1 and T2, though other conditions were less commonly reported at T2.

CONCLUSION

These initial Houston-3H findings demonstrate that flooding experiences that occurred as a consequence of Hurricane Harvey had lasting impacts on the health of Houstonians up to 1 year after the hurricane.

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Oluyomi AO
Department of Medicine, Section of Epidemiology and Population Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Jewish Building, Room 607D, (MS BCM307), Houston, TX, USA. oluyomi@bcm.edu. Department of Family and Community Medicine, Environmental Health Service, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. oluyomi@bcm.edu.
Panthagani K
Genetics and Genomics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. Medical Scientist Training Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. Center for Precision Environmental Health, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Sotelo J
Department of Medicine, Section of Epidemiology and Population Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Jewish Building, Room 607D, (MS BCM307), Houston, TX, USA.
Gu X
Department of Medicine, Section of Epidemiology and Population Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Jewish Building, Room 607D, (MS BCM307), Houston, TX, USA.
Armstrong G
Department of Medicine, Section of Epidemiology and Population Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Jewish Building, Room 607D, (MS BCM307), Houston, TX, USA.
Luo DN
Center for Precision Environmental Health, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Hoffman KL
Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Rohlman D
Environmental and Occupational Health, College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA.
Tidwell L
Food Safety and Environmental Stewardship Program, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA.
Hamilton WJ
Department of Family and Community Medicine, Environmental Health Service, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Symanski E
Department of Medicine, Section of Epidemiology and Population Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Jewish Building, Room 607D, (MS BCM307), Houston, TX, USA. Center for Precision Environmental Health, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Anderson K
Food Safety and Environmental Stewardship Program, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA.
Petrosino JF
Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Walker CL
Genetics and Genomics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. Center for Precision Environmental Health, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Bondy M
Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.

MeSH

AdolescentAdultAgedCyclonic StormsDisastersEnvironmental ExposureFemaleFloodsHumansHypersensitivityMaleMiddle AgedSociological FactorsStress, PsychologicalSurveys and QuestionnairesTexasYoung Adult

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Observational Study
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

33468146

Citation

Oluyomi, Abiodun O., et al. "Houston Hurricane Harvey Health (Houston-3H) Study: Assessment of Allergic Symptoms and Stress After Hurricane Harvey Flooding." Environmental Health : a Global Access Science Source, vol. 20, no. 1, 2021, p. 9.
Oluyomi AO, Panthagani K, Sotelo J, et al. Houston hurricane Harvey health (Houston-3H) study: assessment of allergic symptoms and stress after hurricane Harvey flooding. Environ Health. 2021;20(1):9.
Oluyomi, A. O., Panthagani, K., Sotelo, J., Gu, X., Armstrong, G., Luo, D. N., Hoffman, K. L., Rohlman, D., Tidwell, L., Hamilton, W. J., Symanski, E., Anderson, K., Petrosino, J. F., Walker, C. L., & Bondy, M. (2021). Houston hurricane Harvey health (Houston-3H) study: assessment of allergic symptoms and stress after hurricane Harvey flooding. Environmental Health : a Global Access Science Source, 20(1), 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-021-00694-2
Oluyomi AO, et al. Houston Hurricane Harvey Health (Houston-3H) Study: Assessment of Allergic Symptoms and Stress After Hurricane Harvey Flooding. Environ Health. 2021 01 19;20(1):9. PubMed PMID: 33468146.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Houston hurricane Harvey health (Houston-3H) study: assessment of allergic symptoms and stress after hurricane Harvey flooding. AU - Oluyomi,Abiodun O, AU - Panthagani,Kristen, AU - Sotelo,Jesus, AU - Gu,Xiangjun, AU - Armstrong,Georgina, AU - Luo,Dan Na, AU - Hoffman,Kristi L, AU - Rohlman,Diana, AU - Tidwell,Lane, AU - Hamilton,Winifred J, AU - Symanski,Elaine, AU - Anderson,Kimberly, AU - Petrosino,Joseph F, AU - Walker,Cheryl Lyn, AU - Bondy,Melissa, Y1 - 2021/01/19/ PY - 2020/05/19/received PY - 2021/01/12/accepted PY - 2021/1/20/entrez PY - 2021/1/21/pubmed PY - 2021/8/31/medline KW - Disaster epidemiology KW - Environmental exposure assessment KW - Extreme weather events KW - Flooding KW - Geographic information system KW - Hurricanes KW - Post-disaster rapid response research KW - Post-flooding environmental stressors KW - Post-flooding respiratory outcomes SP - 9 EP - 9 JF - Environmental health : a global access science source JO - Environ Health VL - 20 IS - 1 N2 - BACKGROUND: In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey caused unprecedented flooding across the greater Houston area. Given the potential for widespread flood-related exposures, including mold and sewage, and the emotional and mental toll caused by the flooding, we sought to evaluate the short- and long-term impact of flood-related exposures on the health of Houstonians. Our objectives were to assess the association of flood-related exposures with allergic symptoms and stress among Houston-area residents at two time points: within approximately 30 days (T1) and 12 months (T2) after Hurricane Harvey's landfall. METHODS: The Houston Hurricane Harvey Health (Houston-3H) Study enrolled a total of 347 unique participants from four sites across Harris County at two times: within approximately 1-month of Harvey (T1, n = 206) and approximately 12-months after Harvey (T2, n = 266), including 125 individuals who participated at both time points. Using a self-administered questionnaire, participants reported details on demographics, flood-related exposures, and health outcomes, including allergic symptoms and stress. RESULTS: The majority of participants reported hurricane-related flooding in their homes at T1 (79.1%) and T2 (87.2%) and experienced at least one allergic symptom after the hurricane (79.4% at T1 and 68.4% at T2). In general, flood-exposed individuals were at increased risk of upper respiratory tract allergic symptoms, reported at both the T1 and T2 time points, with exposures to dirty water and mold associated with increased risk of multiple allergic symptoms. The mean stress score of study participants at T1 was 8.0 ± 2.1 and at T2, 5.1 ± 3.2, on a 0-10 scale. Participants who experienced specific flood-related exposures reported higher stress scores when compared with their counterparts, especially 1 year after Harvey. Also, a supplementary paired-samples analysis showed that reports of wheezing, shortness of breath, and skin rash did not change between T1 and T2, though other conditions were less commonly reported at T2. CONCLUSION: These initial Houston-3H findings demonstrate that flooding experiences that occurred as a consequence of Hurricane Harvey had lasting impacts on the health of Houstonians up to 1 year after the hurricane. SN - 1476-069X UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/33468146/Houston_hurricane_Harvey_health__Houston_3H__study:_assessment_of_allergic_symptoms_and_stress_after_hurricane_Harvey_flooding_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -