Denham, A., Willis, M. D., Croft, D., et al. (2021): Acute Myocardial Infarction (Heart Attack) Associated With Unconventional Natural Gas Development: A Natural Experiment.

Researchers in this study examined hospital discharge and mortality data related to acute myocardial infarction (AMI) from 2005-2014 from people living in Pennsylvania (where shale gas activity is high) and New York (where shale gas drilling is banned). They found:

• Hospitalization rates for heart attacks increased in PA counties that hosted shale gas drilling when compared with NY communities that did not.

• The increase was seen in males between 45-54 years old and men and women 65 and older.

• Mortality from AMI was more than 5% higher in middle-aged males in PA when compared to NY communities.

McAlexander, T. P., Bandeen-Roche, K., Buckley, J. P., et al. (2020): Unconventional Natural Gas Development and Hospitalization for Heart Failure in Pennsylvania.

Researchers in this study examined associations between SGD and hospitalization rates with heart failure (HF) patients from 2008-2015 using electronic health records from Geisinger. They found:

• Over 9,000 HF patients with over 5,000 hospitalizations. The average age was 71, and 47% were females.

• SGD activity was examined in four phases: pad preparation, drilling, stimulation, and production. The adjusted odds ratios for HF with the four phases were 1.70, 0.97, 1.80, and 1.62 respectively.

• Older patients with HF were particularly vulnerable to adverse health outcomes from SGD.

Croft, D. P., Zhang, W., Lin, S., et al. (2019). The Association between Respiratory Infection and Air Pollution in the Setting of Air Quality Policy and Economic Change.

This study examined the rate of respiratory infections in adults in association with increases in fine particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5 ) concentrations, specifically in the New York region. The researchers found:

• Over 400,000 adults in NY had a primary diagnosis of influenza, bacterial pneumonia, or culture-negative pneumonia from hospital or ER visits between 2005-2016.

• Researchers estimated the rate of healthcare encounters associated with increases in PM2.5 within the last 1-7 days and then looked at the differences between 2005-2007, 2008-2013, and 2014-2016.

• Increased rates of culture-negative pneumonia and influenza were associated with increases in PM2.5 during the week prior. 

• This association continued despite changes in air quality policies or economic changes.

Willis, M. D., Jusko, T. A., Halterman, J. S., et al. (2018). Unconventional natural gas development and pediatric asthma hospitalizations in Pennsylvania.

This study set out to quantify the association between SGD and pediatric asthma hospitalizations. The researchers compared pediatric asthma hospitalizations by zip code with those exposed to SGD and those not exposed between 2003-2014. They found:

• Elevated odds of hospitalization were consistently observed in those in closer proximity to SGD.

• During the time when the well was drilled, there was a 25% increase in the odds of being hospitalized for asthma.

Rasmussen, S. G., Ogburn, E. L., McCormack, M., et al., (2016). Asthma Exacerbations and Unconventional Natural Gas Development in the Marcellus Shale.

This study evaluated the association between SGD and asthma exacerbations in Pennsylvania. Asthma patients with exacerbations between 2005-2012 were compared with those without exacerbations. The researchers found:

• SGD activity was statistically associated with increased odds of mild, moderate, and severe asthma exacerbations.