What The Study Did: Researchers used atmospheric and lightning data for all counties in the continental United States from 1999 through 2012 to see if increases in emergency department visits for respiratory illnesses among older adults happen in the days surrounding thunderstorms because vulnerable groups and those with common chronic respiratory diseases may be susceptible to the atmospheric changes caused by these storms.
Authors: Anupam B. Jena, M.D., Ph.D., of Harvard Medical School in Boston, is the corresponding author.
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(doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.1672)
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