TY - JOUR
T1 - Who is at risk of death in an earthquake?
AU - Chou, Yiing Jenq
AU - Huang, Nicole
AU - Lee, Cheng Hua
AU - Tsai, Shu Ling
AU - Chen, Long Shen
AU - Chang, Hong Jen
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by grants from the Taiwanese Department of Health (grant DOH 89-NH-052) and the National Science Council of Taiwan (grant NSC 90-2415-H-010-001).
PY - 2004/10/1
Y1 - 2004/10/1
N2 - Although, theoretically, the impacts of a disaster are not randomly distributed across health and socioeconomic classes, empirical evidence of this claim is scarce. In a population-based cohort study, the authors identified risk factors for mortality from the September 21, 1999, Taiwan earthquake, which occurred in the middle of the night. Among 297,047 earthquake victims in central Taiwan who experienced partial or complete dwelling damage, 295,437 (noncases) survived the earthquake and 1,610 (cases) died between September 21 and October 31, 1999. Odds ratios were adjusted for both micro-level individual variables and macro-level neighborhood variables. People with mental disorders (odds ratio (OR) = 2.0, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1, 3.5), people with moderate physical disabilities (OR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.2, 2.3), and people who had been hospitalized just prior to the earthquake (OR = 1.4, 95% CI: 1.2, 1.7) were the most vulnerable. The degree of vulnerability increased with decreasing monthly wage (measured in New Taiwanese dollars (NT$)) (NT$20, 000∼NT$39,999: OR = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.1, 2.1; <NT$20,000: OR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.6, 3.0). The significant associations of both prequake health status and socioeconomic status with earthquake death suggest that earthquake death did not occur randomly. These results might help to guide allocation of public resources for reducing casualties.
AB - Although, theoretically, the impacts of a disaster are not randomly distributed across health and socioeconomic classes, empirical evidence of this claim is scarce. In a population-based cohort study, the authors identified risk factors for mortality from the September 21, 1999, Taiwan earthquake, which occurred in the middle of the night. Among 297,047 earthquake victims in central Taiwan who experienced partial or complete dwelling damage, 295,437 (noncases) survived the earthquake and 1,610 (cases) died between September 21 and October 31, 1999. Odds ratios were adjusted for both micro-level individual variables and macro-level neighborhood variables. People with mental disorders (odds ratio (OR) = 2.0, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1, 3.5), people with moderate physical disabilities (OR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.2, 2.3), and people who had been hospitalized just prior to the earthquake (OR = 1.4, 95% CI: 1.2, 1.7) were the most vulnerable. The degree of vulnerability increased with decreasing monthly wage (measured in New Taiwanese dollars (NT$)) (NT$20, 000∼NT$39,999: OR = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.1, 2.1; <NT$20,000: OR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.6, 3.0). The significant associations of both prequake health status and socioeconomic status with earthquake death suggest that earthquake death did not occur randomly. These results might help to guide allocation of public resources for reducing casualties.
KW - Health status
KW - Mortality
KW - Natural disasters
KW - Social class
KW - Socioeconomic status
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=4644317501&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/aje/kwh270
DO - 10.1093/aje/kwh270
M3 - Article
C2 - 15383413
AN - SCOPUS:4644317501
SN - 0002-9262
VL - 160
SP - 688
EP - 695
JO - American Journal of Epidemiology
JF - American Journal of Epidemiology
IS - 7
ER -