UK [3] | 1983 | 26 sudden cases of asthma attacks | Increased risk of asthma in relation to thunderstorms |
Australia [14] | 1992 | Hospital attendances and admissions because of asthma exacerbation | Late spring thunderstorms in Melbourne can trigger epidemics of asthma attacks (five to 10-fold rise) The seasonal nature of the phenomenon and the pattern of allergic responses found in affected patients suggests a possible aetiological role for rye grass pollen |
UK [15] | 1997 | Asthma or other airways disease hospital visits | 640 cases who attended during a 30-h period from 18:00 h on June 24, 1994, nearly 10 times the expected number |
Canada [16] | 1992–2000 | 18970 hospital ED asthma visits among children 2–15 yrs of age | Summer thunderstorm activity was associated with an OR of 1.35 (95% CI 1.02–1.77) relative to summer periods with no activity |
USA [17] | 1993–2004 | 215832 asthma ED visits; 24350 of these visits occurred on days following thunderstorms | Significant association between daily counts of asthma ED visits and thunderstorm occurrence Asthma visits were 3% higher on days following thunderstorms |
Australia [18] | 2000 | Asthma visits during thunderstorms | History of hay fever and allergy to rye grass are strong predictors for asthma exacerbation during thunderstorms in spring |
Australia [19] | 2001 | Hospital attendances for asthma | The incidence of excess hospital attendances for asthma during late spring and summer was strongly linked to the occurrence of thunderstorm outflows |
UK [20] | 2002 | A case–control study of 26 patients presenting to Cambridge University Hospital with asthma after the thunderstorm | Alternaria alternata sensitivity is a compelling predictor of epidemic asthma in patients with seasonal asthma and grass pollen allergy and is likely to be the important factor in thunderstorm-related asthma |
Italy [21] | 2004 | ED asthma | Six cases of thunderstorm-related asthma because of pollen (Paretaria) |
Italy [22] | 2010 | ED asthma | 20 cases of thunderstorm-related asthma because of pollen (olive tree) |
Australia [23] | 2010 | Epidemics of “thunderstorm asthma” that occurred in Melbourne during spring 2010 | The approach of spring, together with high winter rainfall in and around Melbourne that heralds another severe pollen season, raises the risk of allergic rhinitis and asthma in pollen-sensitive individuals |