ArticleMultidisciplinary respiratory medicine2013
A retrospective study on acute health effects due to volcanic ash exposure during the eruption of Mount Etna (Sicily) in 2002.
Article in Multidisciplinary respiratory medicine, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of a distant volcanic eruption on water-soluble organic aerosols composition and their cytotoxicity in monocytes.Environmental geochemistry and health · 2026Article
- Environmental Drivers of Dry Eye Disease: A Narrative Review of Pollutants, Climate, and Indoor Exposures with Practice Recommendations.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2026Review
- Human Exposure to Metals and Potential Human Health Risk in a Volcanic Environment in Italy.Toxics · 2025Article
- Article
- Volcanic eruptions and public health in Ecuador: an analysis of institutional gaps and integrated strategies.Frontiers in public health · 2025Review
- Mapping the global health burden of volcanic exposure: a scoping review approach.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Metal(loid) bioaccessibility and risk assessment of ashfall deposit from Popocatépetl volcano, Mexico.Environmental geochemistry and health · 2024Article
- Health impact of the Tajogaite volcano eruption in La Palma population (ISVOLCAN study): rationale, design, and preliminary results from the first 1002 participants.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2024Article
- Long-term health effects of the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption: a prospective cohort study in 2010 and 2013.BMJ open · 2016Article
- Volcanic ash in the air we breathe.Multidisciplinary respiratory medicine · 2013Article
- Volcanic air pollution over the Island of Hawai'i: Emissions, dispersal, and composition. Association with respiratory symptoms and lung function in Hawai'i Island school children.Environment internationalArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMount Etna, located in the eastern part of Sicily (Italy), is the highest and most active volcano in Europe. During the sustained eruption that occurred in October-November 2002 huge amounts of volcanic ash fell on a densely populated area south-east of Mount Etna in Catania province. The volcanic ash fall caused extensive damage to infrastructure utilities and distress in the exposed population. This retrospective study evaluates whether or not there was an association between ash fall and acute health effects in exposed local communities.
methodsWe collected the number and type of visits to the emergency department (ED) for diseases that could be related to volcanic ash exposure in public hospitals of the Province of Catania between October 20 and November 7, 2002. We compared the magnitude of differences in ED visits between the ash exposure period in 2002 and the same period of the previous year 2001.
resultsWe observed a significant increase of ED visits for acute respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and ocular disturbances during the ash exposure time period.
conclusionsThere was a positive association between exposure to volcanic ash from the 2002 eruption of Mount Etna and acute health effects in the Catania residents. This study documents the need for public health preparedness and response initiatives to protect nearby populations from exposure to ash fall from future eruptions of Mount Etna.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.