Sapkota maps asthma hospitalization with weather patterns in Maryland
A Baltimore Sun article by Carrie Wells reports that climate change could bring higher levels of hospitalization in Maryland for people suffering from asthma. Faculty Associate Amir Sapkota, Maryland Institute of Applied Environmental Health, used a database incorporating 12 years of hospitalization data for the state. His team found that "an extremely hot day in the summer was linked to a 23 percent higher risk of hospitalization for asthma while an extremely rainy day was linked to an 11 percent higher risk," Wells wrote.
Following up on Sapkota, et al.'s results, State of Maryland officials projected that hospitalization rates in Baltimore for asthma-related illnesses could more than double by 2040.
The causes for increased incidence of asthma have not been idenfied.