Associations of morbidity and mortality from coronary heart disease with heliogeophysical factors

The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations among morbidity of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and mortality from ischemic heart disease (IHD) with heliogeophysical factors among the Kaunas population. The study population was stratified into three age categories: 25-54, 55-64, and >= 65 years. In this study, solar flares (SF), solar proton fluences (SPF), and geomagnetic activity (GMA) were employed as heliogeophysical factors and used Poisson regression and two methods of time series modeling (lag and lead). Influence of GMA in different age and sex category is uneven. The mean number of AMI events per day was greatest (23 %) among men aged 25-54 years on the third day and the same sex aged 55-64 years-increased 10 % 2 days before when the GMA intensity was A+S. Both for men and women aged >= 65 years, the highest increase in the mean number of deaths from IHD events per day was observed on the second day when the GMA intensity was A+S-51 and 34 %, respectively. Evaluating the impact of SF of 10(-5) <= SF < 10(-4) W/m(2) (M+X) intensity, the mean number of AMI events per day was greatest for 55-64-year-old women and men on the same and second days. Such SF were associated with a 13 and 20 % increase, respectively. Evaluating the impact of large fluence SPF, it was determined that the increase in the mean number of AMI events per day among 25-54-year-old men was greatest (30 %) 1 day, and death from IHD (54 %) was observed among women aged >= 65 years 2 days before the energy of the SPF has increased.