ADVANCEMENT OF THE SCIENCE
addresses that did not geocode, 4 responses that were missing symptom data, and 10 responses from first responders were excluded, resulting in an analytic sample of 2,020. Overall, 911 (45.1%) of respon- dents reported experiencing at least one new or worsening symptom within the 2 weeks prior to survey completion. Char- acteristics of respondents by symptom status and respondents overall, along with demographic characteristics of the general population from 11 ZIP Codes, are shown in Table 1. Figure 1 presents a map of the distribution of symptomatic respondents using a magnitude-per-unit-area visu- alization. Only 91 responses were com- pleted between July 1–5; on July 6 and 7, an additional 860 and 630 responses were completed, respectively. Among symptom- atic respondents, 80.6% (734 out of 911) accessed the survey through the email link, and among asymptomatic respondents, 96.1% (1,066 out of 1,109) used the email link to access the survey. Analysis indicated fewer survey responses and fewer reports of using formal healthcare services in census tracts with the highest SVI quartile com- pared with census tracts with lower SVI quartiles in a nearby city. A total of 1,225 (60.6%) respondents reported contact with any material, with 965 (78.8%), 498 (40.7%), 690 (56.3%), and 47 (3.8%) of them reporting contact with smoke, dust, debris, and other mate- rial, respectively. A total of 1,047 (51.8%) respondents reported smelling an odor. Table 2 presents adjusted odds ratios for four separate models with reported symptom status as the outcome variable and dierent exposure variables (i.e., contact with smoke, contact with dust, contact with debris, or smelling an odor), adjusting for age, gender, race, ethnicity, and residential distance from the facility. Among the 911 symptomatic respondents, 635 (69.7%) reported any ENT symptom, 477 (52.4%) reported any neurological symp- tom, 380 (41.7%) reported any ophthalmic symptom, 302 (33.2%) reported any cardio- pulmonary symptom, 237 (26.0%) reported any psychiatric symptom, and 99 (10.9%) reported any skin symptom. Among symp- tomatic respondents, the median number of symptoms was 4 (interquartile range: 2–6) and the median number of symptom cat-
TABLE 2
Adjusted Odds Ratio Associated With General Health Survey Respondents Reporting a New or Worsening Symptom Within the 2 Weeks Prior to Survey Completion for Four Separate Models With Different Exposure Variables, Winnebago County, Illinois, July 2021
Exposure Group
Adjusted OR
95% CI
Contact with smoke versus no contact with smoke
4.5
[3.7, 5.5]
Contact with dust versus no contact with dust
4.6
[3.6, 5.8]
Contact with debris versus no contact with debris
2.0
[1.7, 2.5]
Smelling an odor versus not smelling an odor
5.8
[4.7, 7.3]
Note. Data include survey respondents of the general health survey and exclude first responders. The four separate models are adjusted for age, gender, race, ethnicity, and residential distance from the facility. A total of six respondents with missing age data were removed from all four models. Furthermore, a total of 252 respondents were unsure about smelling an odor and were removed from the model with smelling an odor as the exposure variable. CI = confidence interval.
TABLE 3
General Health Survey Respondents Reporting a New or Worsening Symptom Within the 2 Weeks Prior to Survey Completion for Commonly Reported Symptoms, Winnebago County, Illinois, July 2021
Symptom
Symptom Category
Respondents Reporting Symptom ( N = 2,020) # (%)
Headache
Neurological
449 (22.2)
Stuffy nose or sinus congestion
ENT
384 (19.0)
Increased congestion or phlegm (mucus)
ENT
309 (15.3)
Irritation, pain, or burning in eyes
Ophthalmic
280 (13.9)
Burning nose or throat
ENT
267 (13.2)
Runny nose
ENT
250 (12.4)
Anxiety
Psychiatric
208 (10.3)
Coughing
Cardiopulmonary
207 (10.2)
Increased watering or tearing
Ophthalmic
199 (9.9)
Hoarseness
ENT
198 (9.8)
Dizziness or lightheadedness
Neurological
181 (9.0)
Difficulty breathing or feeling out-of-breath
Cardiopulmonary
139 (6.9)
Tension or nervousness
Psychiatric
129 (6.4)
Asthma
Cardiopulmonary
105 (5.2)
Fatigue or tiredness
Psychiatric
104 (5.1)
Difficulty sleeping (e.g., falling asleep, staying asleep)
Psychiatric
100 (5.0)
Note. Data include survey respondents of the general health survey and exclude first responders. The table includes only symptoms reported by ≥100 respondents. Respondents were able to report more than one symptom. ENT = ears, nose, and throat.
12
Volume 85 • Number 7
Powered by FlippingBook