Thunderstorms May Precipitate Asthma Attacks?

There have been previous reports that thunderstorm activity has been associated with asthma deaths or emergency room visits from different parts of the world. But now there’s confirmation of the link from the American South, where both asthma and thunderstorms are plentiful. A letter to the online journal Thorax reports on a study from the University of Georgia.

The researchers analyzed a data base containing reports of more than 10 million emergency room visits in 41 hospitals in 20 counties around Atlanta , in the years 1993 to 2004. During this time 564 thunderstorms were recorded at Atlanta ’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport, i.e. on 13% of the days studied.

There was a 3% higher frequency of visits for asthma attacks on days following thunderstorms, but only with storms that were accompanied by rainfall. The relationship was also only apparent when wind speeds were greater than 20 mph.

These factors – rain and wind – support the theory that pollen grains are broken by osmotic pressure by the rain water, and the allergens that are released are spread by higher wind levels.

Before we can attach too much importance to this, note that only one center was used to record thunderstorms (the airport at Atlanta ) so that the results may only be valid for the area near the airport. More studies are needed!