STUDIES OF VOLCANIC ACTIVITIES ON HUMAN HEALTH

Research Project

Project/Area Number	60570258
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	公衆衛生学
Research Institution	KAGOSHIMA UNIVERSITY
Principal Investigator	WAKISAKA Ichiro KAGOSHIMA UNIVERSITY, 医学部, 教授 (90041269)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	TOMARI Tsutomu KAGOSHIMA UNIVERSITY, 医学部, 助手 (00136855) ANDO Tetsuo KAGOSHIMA UNIVERSITY, 医学部, 助手 (10107865) YANAGIHASHI Tsuguo KAGOSHIMA UNIVERSITY, 医学部, 助教授 (40124854)
Project Period (FY)	1985 – 1986
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 1986)
Budget Amount *help	¥1,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,900,000) Fiscal Year 1986: ¥500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000) Fiscal Year 1985: ¥1,400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000)
Keywords	Mt.Sakurajima / Volcanic activity / Respiratory diseases / Excess of mortality / Morbodity figures / 相関係数
Research Abstract	THE MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY FIGURES FOR SELECTED RESPIRATORY DISEASES WERE COMPARED AMONG THE AREAS AROUND MT.SAKURAJIMA. PATTERNS FOR THE ANNUAL VARIATION OF THE CORRECTED MORTALITY RATES FOR THESE DISEASES.WERE REEXAMINED IN RELATION TO THE VOLCANIC ACTIVITIES OF THIS VOLCANO. THE NUMBER OF DEATHS WAS ALSO INVESTIGATED FOR THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE NUMBER OF WEEKLY DEATHS AND THE COINCIDENT LEVELS OF VOLCANIC AIR POLLUTION ON THE BASIS OF EVERY TWO WEEKS. 1. IN THE AREAS WITHIN ABOUT 30 KM FROM MT.SAKURAJIMA, THE NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM BRONCHITIS, EMPHYSEMA OR INFLUENZA EXCEEDED SIGNIFICANTLY THE EXPECTED MORTALITY FOR THE STANDARD POPULATION. A CONSISTENT DECLINING GRADIENT IN THE STANDARDIZED MORTALITY RATIOS OF THESE DISEASES WAS ALSO OBSERVED WITH INCREASING DISTANCE FROM MT.SAKURAJIMA, SUGGESTED THAT THE VOLCANIC ACTIVITIES COULD BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE INCREASED MORTALITY FROM THESE CATEGORIES OF DISEASE. IN THE AREA NEAR MT.SAKURAJIMA, A DISTINCT RISE IN CORRECTED MORTALITY RA … More TE OF THE RESPIRATORY DISEASE OCCURRED IN THE YEAR ACCOMPANIED BY THE PEAK IN THE NUMBER OF VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS,SUGGESTED A CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP OF VOLCANIC AIR POLLUTION TO THE MORTALITY FOR THE SELECTED RESPIRATORY DISEASE. 2. RESULTS OBTAINED WITH THE WEEK-TO-WEEK VARIATIONS IN MORTALITY SHOWED THAT THE ABERAGE NUMBER OF WEEKLY DEATHS INCREASED DURING THE FOLLOWING WEEKS RATHER THAN THE WEEKS EXPERIENCED AN ELEVATED LEVELS OF SULFUR DIOXIDE, SUGGESTING THAT THE EXCESS OF MORTALITY WOULD HAVE OCCURRED DURING THE PERIOD EXPERIENCED HEAVY VOLCANIC AIR POLLUTION. 3. AGE-ADJUSTED RATES OF INCIDENCES AND PREVALENCES FOR BRONCHITIS, ASTHMA AND PNEUMONIA WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN SAKURAJIMA TOWN THAN IN OURA TOWN AS A ASH-FREE AREA. IN SAKURAJIMA TOWN, THE NUMBER OF MONTHLY CLINIC VISITS FOR ASTHMA PATIENTS HAD A SIGNIFICANT ASSOCIATION WITH THE COINCIDENT LEVELS OF SULFUR DIOXIDE, SUGGESTED THAT AT LEAST PART OF THE MONTHLY VARIATION FOR THE NUMBER OF ASTHMA PATIENTS WAS NOT SEASONAL BUT A REFLECTION OF VOLCANIC AIR POLLUTION. Less