# Health Effects of Hurricane Ian

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2023 · $434,683

## Abstract

Hurricanes dramatically modify the physical landscape and trigger changes in the socio-physical and
biochemical characteristics of the environment (environmental stressors hereafter). This exposes the
affected communities to new environmental stressors, which persist for weeks to months after the hurricane.
For example, loss of home, business/employment, infrastructure results in socio-psychological stress; mold in
water damaged building elevates exposure to bioaerosols; carbon monoxide and particulate matter (PM) from
gasoline-powered generators elevate exposure to chemical stressors. This project aims to tease out the
adverse health impacts of Hurricane Ian (2022) and their persistence over time. We will assess the severity
of the physical impacts of Hurricane Ian, examine changes in environmental stressors and their
associated impacts on morbidity, mortality and pregnancy outcomes. We will use Landsat 8/9 and
MODIS satellite data, and the data from Florida Power and Light. And FEMA to assess the intensity of physical
impact of Hurricane Ian. We will conduct field monitoring to screen for environmental stressors using our
mobile laboratory 6, 9 and 12 months after the hurricane. We will recruit 240 subjects stratified by the intensity
of hurricane impact, and monitor indoor and outdoor environmental stressors, e.g. air pollutants, bioaerosols
(mold and pollen spores, and endotoxins), damage to infrastructure and household utilities, duration of the loss
of electricity and other facilities, and screen them for health (symptoms) and demographics. We have an
approved IRB (20190217) to acquire location-time specific mortality and birth data from Florida Department of
Health (FLDH), and hospital and emergency room record from OneFlorida Clinical Research Consortium
(OneFL) (from 2020-2024). OneFL, directed by co-PI, Shenkman, is the largest statewide repository of
hospital records, representing 75% of Floridians. We have already acquired mortality and birth data from 2015
to September 2022. We will also acquire these data until 2024. We will conduct two sets of analyses. First, we
will assess cause-specific mortality, morbidity and adverse birth outcomes, including pre-term birth and low
birth weight, with respect to time- and distance-lagged exposure to hurricane impacts using a cross-sectional
design (i.e. based on the intensity of the physical impacts of hurricanes) and then using a natural experiment
design (i.e. two years before and up to two years after the hurricane at an interval of 3 months) adjusting for
socio-demographic and neighborhood characteristics. Second, we will examine the persistence of different
disease symptoms (allergies, diabetes, asthma and COPD etc.) using the survey data, which will allow to
assess underreported morbidity burden of disease, which otherwise cannot be quantified using clinical records.
The project will improve our understanding of the disease burden of hurricanes and guide policies for
developing strategies...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10743484
- **Project number:** 1R21ES035565-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Naresh Kumar
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $434,683
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-06-13 → 2025-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10743484

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10743484, Health Effects of Hurricane Ian (1R21ES035565-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10743484. Licensed CC0.

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