[A study on the health status of residents affected by flood disasters].
OBJECTIVE
To study the immediate and long-term effects of disasters caused by floods on residents health status.


METHODS
Stratified sampling by ranks of flood disaster occurred in 1996 and 1998, flood disaster areas and control areas were carried out. A retrospective study was also carried out to study all diseases involved during 1996 - 1999.


RESULTS
The incident rates of acute infectious disease in flooding areas in 1996 and 1998 were both higher than those of non-flooding areas (863.181/100 000 and 736.591/100 000, respectively). But there was no different between the incident rate of the first years in flooding areas and that of non-flooding areas. The prevalence rates of 8 kinds of chronic diseases related to circulatory system, nervous system, digestive system, injury and poisonous diseases in flooding areas were also higher than that in the non-flooding areas. The highest incidence rates of most diseases were in the mountainous flooding areas, followed by areas collapsed by flooding, and the lowest were seen in soakedareas by floods. The incidence rates of intestinal infectious diseases and respiratory infectious diseases were lower in areas where prevention and control measures were weak.


CONCLUSIONS
Flood could lead to the increase of incidence rates both on acute infectious diseases and non-infectious diseases. Interventions on non-infectious diseases should also be enforced to stop the epidemics when preventing and controlling acute infectious disease.
Li
Shuo-qi
SQ
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Center South University, Changsha 410078, China.
Tan
Hong-zhuan
HZ
Li
Xing-li
XL
Zhou
Jia
J
Liu
Ai-zhong
AZ
Yang
Tu-bao
TB
Tang
Xue-min
XM
Li
Lin-lin
LL
Zhang
Xiu-min
XM
Xiang
Bao-lin
BL
He
Hua-xian
HX
Tang
Sen-lin
SL
D000208:Acute Disease; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004190:Disasters; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies