OBJECTIVE: An excess of deaths from cardiac causes are reported after many natural disasters. Despite the fact that floods are the most common and most destructive natural disaster worldwide, little is known about their effect on human health. We analyzed the influence of the greatest floods in the Czech Republic on cardiac mortality in the affected area. METHODS: This was a retrospective case-control study. We analyzed persons whose autopsies proved they had died of cardiac causes during the month of the flood, 2 months before the flood, 1 month after the flood, and during the same period in the 3 previous years. RESULTS: A total of 207 of 985 autopsy reports met the criteria for inclusion in the study. There were no significant differences in the proportions of men and women (P=0.819) or in age (P=0.577). During the month of the flood, an increase in cardiac mortality was observed; however, the increase was not statistically significant (P=0.088). CONCLUSIONS: According to our findings, the 1997 Central European flood did not significantly affect cardiac mortality.

Department of Forensic Medicine and Medical Law Olomouc Czech Republic

Department of Internal Medicine 1 Cardiology University Hospital Olomouc Olomouc Czech Republic

Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry Palacky University Olomouc Department of Social Medicine and Health Policy Olomouc Czech Republic

Citace poskytuje Crossref.org

Mortality risks associated with floods in 761 communities worldwide: time series study